I wrote these last year to help better understand Christmas. As an adult who lives far from family and has no kids, the meaning of Christmas had become lost of the past few years. I had trouble talking to people about this as they usually ended up just calling me a Scrooge when I presented my arguments against their “meaning” for Christmas. As such, I got the idea from reading “the Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis, and wrote letters to Scrooge. This helped me layout my arguments and find my answer. I hope you enjoy them:
Scrooge Letter #1
Dear Uncle Scrooge,
I seem to be having a crisis of faith about Christmas lately. Since you have some special enlightenment about the holiday, I am hoping that you will share some of your wisdom on the subject. As I am now firmly in the middle ages of my life, I find I have lost the meaning or purpose of Christmas. It no longer has any mystery or magic to it and I have trouble seeing it in others. I hope to discuss with you Christmas, but not on some high level, but to tear it apart and look at each of the pieces as if under a microscope. I guess the best place to start is to look at where Christmas comes from.
The very base of its name is Christ Mass or the celebration of Christ. Just about anyone you talk to today would tell you that it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. However, with a little research, one can find a flaw with December the 25 being the date that Christ was born. In the account of the birth found in Luke chapter 2:
1 And it happened in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (This taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee to be taxed (out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David). 5 And he took Mary his betrothed wife, being with child. 6 And while they were there, the days for her deliverance were fulfilled. 7 And she brought forth her son, the First-born, and wrapped Him, and laid Him in a manger– because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And in the same country there were shepherds living in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And lo, the angel of the Lord came on them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were grievously afraid. 10 And the angel said to them, Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it happened as the angels departed from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Indeed, let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord made known to us. 16 And hurrying they came and sought out both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. 17 And seeing, they publicly told about the word spoken to them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard marveled about the things spoken to them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these sayings, meditating in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as was spoken to them.
Here we can see that when Jesus was born, shepherds where living out in the fields with their sheep (verse 8). I now live here in sheep country. Shepherds do not leave their flocks of sheep (let along live outside) in the middle of winter. Sheep are brought in during the winter months. Now I have never been to Israel to see the land for myself during the winter, but unless that nation is in the southern hemisphere (and last time I check a globe it was not), it would have been winter there too. This passages seems to indicate that Jesus was born in late spring, summer or even early fall and not in the middle of winter.
But how then did Jesus’ birthday get set at December 25? For this we can thank the Catholic church. In the early days of the church, priests found that many pagans celebrated the winter solstice (shortest day of the year). Their goals where to please their gods so that their gods would bring spring and new life. Since the Catholic church had such a hard time getting people to stop celebrating winter solstice (a day with such importance and meaning to them), the Catholic church did what they do best and just assimilated the holiday, making it their own. To give it even more importance and meaning, they set the birth of Jesus to that day. What could be more important that the birth of the Christian Lord and Savior? This allowed people to celebrate the holiday without going against faith.
So, given the evidence from the bible and the history of the holiday, it is clear that it is NOT the real day of the birth of Jesus. But does that make the holiday null and void? If it is not the actual day of Jesus’ birth, then is the entire holiday a farce to be avoided? The answer to that can also be found in the Bible. Paul address this in 1 Corinthians 10:
31 Therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense, either to the Jews, or to the Greeks or to the church of God; 33 even as I please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, so that they may be saved.
Since the church’s purpose of the holiday is to bring glory to God and that many may be saved, there is is nothing religiously wrong with celebrating Jesus’ birthday on the 25 of December (provided your religious beliefs include the new testament of the Bible).
As you can see, I find this holiday to be one of conflict and paradox and I have only started with this issues I have with Christmas. However, the hour is drawing late and I must go for now. I will continue this in a later letter. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this confusing subject.
Your loving great nephew
E. Cliff
Scrooge Letter #2
Dear Uncle Scrooge,
In my last letter I talked about how even though December 25 was not the actual birth day of Jesus Christ, it is still okay for a Christian to celebrate it, provided they do it to the glory of God. But do people really celebrate the birth of Jesus on that day? It is the custom of Christians to give gifts to the person celebrating their birthday. Although there are a lot of gifts being exchanged on December 25, I have never known a single person that gave a gift to Jesus on that day. Instead, we give gifts to each other. I have been told that the reason we give gifts to each other is that Jesus gave us the gift of life. And although I agree that was a great a noble thing to do (and wish to take nothing away from it for it is the greatest gift once can give), Jesus gave that gift on Easter so would it not make more sense to give gifts to each other on that day instead of Christmas? Clearly, that cannot be the reason for the giving of gifts. Perhaps the reason we give each other gifts is simpler. Maybe we give each other gifts because it is our custom to give gifts on a birthday and Jesus is not here (physically) to accept them. Although this reason may not be as noble, it does make sense (and as long as we do it for the glory of God, then this is still okay). But there is a great danger in this line of reasoning. It is too easy to forget Jesus, to remove the glory of God from the day. I would believe that if you asked anyone how much of that day (December 25), and if they were honest, they would admit that a very small percentage of the day was spent focused on Jesus. I image that if you asked their children, that percentage would be almost non-existent.
Perhaps we are celebrating in the wrong way. Perhaps giving and receiving gifts is not how we are to celebrate the holiday. The best place to look for an answer would be God’s word (the Bible). Here in lies a problem as there is no mention of celebrating the birth of Jesus in the New Testament (the Old Testament was written before He was born so there would not be a mention of the holiday). But that is not to say the Bible is not without any input on the subject. We can look at His birth and surrounding events. Again we can look at Luke chapter 2:
1 And it happened in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (This taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee to be taxed (out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David). 5 And he took Mary his betrothed wife, being with child. 6 And while they were there, the days for her deliverance were fulfilled. 7 And she brought forth her son, the First-born, and wrapped Him, and laid Him in a manger– because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And in the same country there were shepherds living in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And lo, the angel of the Lord came on them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were grievously afraid. 10 And the angel said to them, Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it happened as the angels departed from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Indeed, let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord made known to us. 16 And hurrying they came and sought out both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. 17 And seeing, they publicly told about the word spoken to them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard marveled about the things spoken to them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these sayings, meditating in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as was spoken to them.
First event was a census and taxes. Is this how we should celebrate Jesus birthday, by counting ourselves for taxes? Thankfully, I think the answer to this is no. Clearly this event was started by the Roman government before His birth. It’s affect was only to dictate where Jesus would be born (Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to be counted in his tribe). Next we see that He was born in a manager. This would be located in a barn. So are we to all go spend the night in a barn? To follow in his footsteps? Again I do not think so. They passages does say the only reason they were in the barn was that the motel was full (and the generous heart of the motel manager). The last part deals with shepherds and how angles appeared to them, gave them a message and sang. The shepherds then traveled to see the baby. So should be sing and travel to see Jesus? Well, these are both events that happened because of His birth so I think these are good candidates for how to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The singing is still done by some today, we call them carolers (although singing of Christmas Carols door to door is a bit of a lost art). What about the going to see the new baby? Obviously we cannot go see Jesus as a baby today but where could we go? What would could we do and see to bring glory to God? Go to a special church service? Go do some special community service? I think the answer to that question must be answered by each person.
The are other events that took place that I choose not to cover as they were standard for any child in that era. Luke 2:21-24 tells us of His circumcision and His presentation to the Lord. The next non-normal event that took place occurs in Matthew 2:
13 And when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and His mother and flee into Egypt. And be there until I bring you word, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy Him. 14 And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt. 15 And he was there until the death of Herod; so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called My Son."
Here we see that Jesus (via his parents) had to flee the land of Israel and go to Egypt. Since the reason for His exile was self-preservations, I do not think that God would want us to pack up and flee our country every year. Although one could argue that take a trip to a foreign land during this time could be in celebration of His birth, that same person would have to be very careful to do it “for the glory of God” as it would be too easy to forget about Jesus on a vacation.
We have seen how Jesus celebrated his birth, but how did other people? First, let us look at the three magi. Matthew 2 gives us an account of their visit:
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, 2 saying, Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. 3 But when Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it is written by the prophet, 6 "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the governors of Judah. For out of you shall come a Governor who shall rule My people Israel." 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, inquired of them exactly what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again so that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the child was. 10 And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother. And they fell down and worshiped Him. And opening their treasures, they presented gifts to Him, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Here we have the account of gifts for the baby. The Bible refers to these men as Magi or Wise Men from the east. This is where one can get this idea of giving gifts and I can find no argument in that line of reasoning. The gifts given were not only nice, they were expensive. Gold has always been of great value; frankincense is an oil of a tree highly prized for it aroma; and Myrrh is a powder from rare trees, also prized for this aroma. So, should we be giving the most expensive gifts at Christmas? To understand this, we would need to know the financial situation of these three men. They could have been VERY wealthy and these gifts represented very little to them or they could have been very poor these represented all their worldly wealth. I just do not have enough information to answer that question. I must therefore fall back on the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:31 for the answer to what the value of the gift should be.
The three magi appear not to be people of the Jewish race (having traveled from the east). How did the people of the Jewish faith celebrate? We have already talked about the lay-man (the shepherds) and how they celebrated the birth of Jesus. Perhaps we should look at the people of the church. How did they celebrate the birth of Christ. Luke 2 gives us on such account.
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 And it happened to him, being instructed by the Holy Spirit, he was not to see death before he would see the Christ of the Lord. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And as the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do according to the custom of the law concerning Him, 28 even he received Him in his arms and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now You will let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word. 30 For my eyes have seen Your Salvation 31 which You have prepared before the face of all the peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel. 33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken by him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, Behold, this One is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against 35 (yea, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in many days, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. 37 And she was a widow of eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, serving God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in at that instant gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all those in Jerusalem eagerly expecting redemption. 39 And when they had finished all things according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was on Him.
Although this account occurs several days after His birth, I think we can still look at it because they were unique to His birth. Both Simeon and Anna praise God for the child and both give the child and Mary a blessing. I think giving thanks to God definitely fits the “glory to God” criteria. Giving Christ our blessing is also a great act too but here we have the same problems as with the gifts, the baby Jesus is not here physically with us. However, maybe we should use the same logic here as we do for the gift giving: “Since Jesus is not here for us to bless, we should bless each other.” But how do we give someone a blessing? I think we can rule out gifts as this passage does not show any gifts being exchanged. Maybe a blessing is more about the act and less about the gift. I believe you have some experience with this Uncle Scrooge. What act can we do for someone to bless them? I do see people today that spend time in homeless shelters helping people in need. There is no gift exchanged, only their time and effort. Is this how we bless people today?
Lastly, I want to look at how kings celebrated his birth. To see this, we look in Matthew 2 again:
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was greatly enraged. And he sent and killed all the boys in Bethlehem, and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully inquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
Again, this takes place after the actual birth but it is still done only because of His birth. King Herod (king of Israel at the time of Jesus birth), celebrated His birthday by killing all children in Bethlehem. I will not even ponder that thought that we are to repeat this terrible act in honor of Jesus’ birthday. Nor should it be a day where there is “wailing and weeping and great mourning.” This act was obviously done to the detriment of His birth, not to honor it.
As you can see Uncle Scrooge, the birth of Jesus Christ was a moment of great joy and singing as well as the cause of great mourning. How does a person resolve such a conflict in order to find “joy” in the day? I look at how most people celebrate Christmas these days and I see so little of Jesus in it. And when I look at His actual birth, I find both great joy and great pain. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue.
Your loving great nephew,
E. Cliff.
Scrooge Letter #3
Dear Uncle Scrooge,
Thank you for your last letter. It has given me a lot to think about and I must concede on point. You are probably right that I am over thinking this whole Christmas holiday. I fear that I have given you the impression that I am against celebrating Christmas and that is not the case at all. My goal in writing you is not to convince you of the futility of Christmas (like anyone could even do such a thing), but rather to help me find what is missing for me and Christmas: a purpose and reason. To paraphrase my mentor: To do something just because that is how it has always been done is wrong. To do something because you understand and agree with why/how it is done is right. I just want to understand why I do the things I do at Christmas.
I must say that something you said in your letter (I think more of a passing comment to make your point) has given me the most to think about. Perhaps Christmas has less to do with Jesus. This made me think maybe Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus (at least as it is celebrated today). This caused me to look at Christmas with a religious meaning.
Certain parts of the holiday become easier to explain. Things like the lights and the tree become just decoration for the holiday, much like the decorations for other holidays. This would also help explain “Santa Clause” as this I can find nothing in the Bible to account for such a character. And why give gifts? One could say that it is for the joy of giving, but if that is the case, why not then tell children the gifts are from you instead of Santa? I will admit that giving a gift to someone (especially a child) that they really like does make a person feel very joyful. However, for many people, there is much stress over finding the ‘right’ gift for someone. Worse of all, is seeing the look of disappointment in the face of a child (or hearing their cries) when they did not get the gift they wanted. The feeling you get from their disappointment cancels any joy from the act of giving. Without a religious meaning, how does one explain gift giving in moments such as these? Now please understand I do not blame the child for acting that way as they are only acting how the feel. One of the things that adults learn is how to how to hide their feelings at such times so as to spare the giver’s feelings. Could we then argue that (without religious meaning), the purpose of gift giving, and thus Christmas itself, is to teach us how to deal with disappointment? Heaven forbid such a thing. If it were true, then the best way to celebrate Christmas would be to purchase the worse gift for each person, thus helping them with their Christmas spirit. This hardly seems like a valid reason for such a holiday. Still, I am hard pressed to think of another reason for the gift exchange.
And what of the “good will toward your fellow man?” Although its origins would be a mystery, the idea of helping improve the condition of other people is a great idea. This idea does not need a religious purpose or meaning to be followed. Perhaps the idea comes from the concept of karma (or as the Christian call it, the Golden Rule). I have found this concept in just about every religion. Making Christmas about good will towards your fellow man could then be a way to remind us we should be mindful of the condition of others and gives us a change to do something about it. (Remember I am speaking of a Christmas without religious meaning).
There are elements that do not fit when you remove religious meaning from the holiday. This includes items like the Nativity Seen and most Christmas Carols as they both are religious in nature and subject. It is clear after close examination that Christmas must have some type religious meaning in order to make sense (or it much be completely made-over). Christmas must has a religious meaning if it is to be celebrated at all.
Your loving great nephew
E. Cliff
Scrooge Letter #4
Dear Uncle Scrooge,
I do agree with you that it was a bit strange to try to look at Christmas without Christ, but it was an exercise that I needed to do. In order to find out what the real meaning of Christmas is, I have asked my friends what they think of the meaning is and why they celebrate the way they do. Most have given me the standard answers that I have address already with you. When I present my arguments against, I usually get one of two responses.
The first is they say that if I had children, I would feel different about Christmas. They say that seeing Christmas through their eyes is to understand Christmas. Now I will not deny that my feelings towards this holiday would be very different if I had children, but does this mean that since I do not have children, then I can never truly know Christmas? Is Christmas just about children? If it is, then there is no hope for those without children to fully appreciate Christmas. I hope this must not be so. This attitude focuses too much on the gifts and the birth of Jesus would be easily be lost. If the Holiday is just for the children, then what of the caroling and good will? Children are and always will be a large part of Christmas, but they cannot be the focus or purpose of the special day.
Another reason they say is that Christmas is about family. I can understand this as I do have a family and enjoy the (American) Thanksgiving, which is about family. The problem I have with Christmas being about family is that I have for many years lived several hundred miles from my family. Although traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday is fine, the roads are too treacherous and the weather unpredictable to travel to be with them at this time. Spending time with friends becomes awkward as my friends spend the holiday with their families. If Christmas is about spending time with your family, does this mean that people who either have no family or live to far away to travel cannot enjoy Christmas?
Although I will admit that I am part of a minority of people (I have no children and live far from my family), I do not believe that Christmas would exclude anyone. A religious holiday is for all believers of the faith, not just for the majority. I will not deny that children and family can and do enhance Christmas, but the meaning and enjoyment of Christmas cannot be solely found in them.
Now after four letters, I fear I am no closer to an answer to the real meaning of Christmas. I cannot seem to reconcile the Christmas that I see and feel with the Christmas I am told about. My mind tells me that Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus Christ, but my heart does not feel that. I pray that you might have some insight to help me with my dilemma.
Your loving great nephew
E. Cliff
Scrooge Letter #5
Dear Uncle Scrooge,
I have been giving your last letter a lot of thought. I think you might be right that in my quest to find the true meaning of Christmas, I have found but overlooked the real answer. In comparing the acts of celebration today with the Bible, I found that although they did not line up, there were Bible verses that made it all right. Of course I am talking of 1 Corinthians 10:
31 Therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense, either to the Jews, or to the Greeks or to the church of God; 33 even as I please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, so that they may be saved.
At first, I thought these to be just catch-all verses, but now I think they are the key to Christmas. On the surface, these verses would appear to be a way that a Christian can get away with doing anything, but these verses go much deeper. They are not a license to do anything but rather are guideline on how to tell if what you are doing is right. These verses are very clear that it is not about the act but about the heart. The Bible states this more clearly in Matthew 15:
17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters in at the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the waste-bowl? 18 But the things which come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; 20 these are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.
Clearly God is saying that what is in your heart matters and not what you say or what you do. Our intensions matter more than our actions (although our actions to do matter).
So what does this have to do with the true meaning of Christmas? The secret to the holiday is not what you do or even why. The secret is in your relationship with God. If we have an active relationship with God then our hearts will rejoice at Christmas and it will not matter what we do. If however, a person lacks that close relationship with God, then the holiday can hold no meaning as without God in our hearts, there is no meaning in Christmas. It is clear that the place for me to search for the meaning of Christmas is to work on my relationship with God. Christmas is not in any action, any carol, any gift, or any lights or decoration. Christmas is found in the hearts of men (and women) when God dwells within.
I want to thank you for your guidance and wisdom in this issue. I see now how I must proceed. I hope all is well with you and wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Your loving great nephew
E. Cliff
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