Why Bring Back The Christ in Christmas?

Photo by Aro Ha

News Peg

Stuck in a typical 5:30 pm New York City traffic jam, I sat quietly in the bus leaving from Port Authority. The flurries of December snow made the buses move even slower, and slush smudged across the windshield of the bus, as it crossed the Lincoln Tunnel. I knew it was going to be a long ride back to New Jersey. And so I rested my head on the window looking at the snowflakes fall down slowly. I looked at the RAV-4 standing idle next to us in the traffic. It had several different bumper stickers splattered on the trunk, and glistening in the white snow. One of them caught my eye. It read: *“Bring Back the Christ in Christmas.”* It made me think - how important was it to bring Christ back into Christmas? Was it true that Christmas had lost its religious backbone? Pope Francis stated on Sunday, December 1, “We must overcome the temptation that the meaning of life is accumulation.” He told his believers to "resist the dazzling lights of consumption, which will shine everywhere this month. "When you live for things, things are never enough, greed grows, other people become obstacles in a race where consumerism reigns supreme." Americans spent more than $730 billion during the holiday season, especially Black Friday, this year. The phrase I read on the bumper sticker truly gained recognition because of a trend in consumerism we see today during this holiday season.

What Does it Mean to Bring Back the Christ?

This argument in my opinion has very little to do with religion. In fact, the only religious thing to do with the “bring back the Christ in Christmas” argument lies in the topic of Jesus Christ.

But the underlying argument behind both this banner and the recent words of the Pope, the leader of the Catholic institution, is a cultural one. When the foundation of a culture or a belief system is removed and replaced by a counterintuitive or different ideology, it is both unjust and outright wrong.

For example, suppose a family establishes a farm in which the husband and wife (let’s call them Tom and Mary Harrison) make it imperative and important to treat animals, especially the cows, properly and ethically. Their son, Joe, after the parents pass away, makes the farm larger and follow the same principles. They see the demand for their dairy products growing and expanding, but Joe remains firm in keeping the ethical practices alive and thus sustainably and justly treating the animals.

But, after several years, Joe’s children take over the farm. His children see the lucrative business possible by establishing multiple farms and selling more products at a faster rate. They see opportunity. And thus, they inject hormone-inducing products and drugs into the cows to make the animals produce more milk at a fast rate, and ultimately killing the cows.

For the purpose of making more money, the children sacrifice the foundational ethical practice signature of the Harrison Farm, only to establish more Harrison Farms across the globe. Is that right? Didn’t the grandchildren of Mary and Tom act unjustly and wrongly? Consumer Capitalism - The Culprit The same is the argument we see here. And the culprit is consumer capitalism.

This is not a Christian argument, nor is this a religious belief. This is purely a request to understand, realize, and reestablish the roots of a tradition. This happens culturally and historically when cultures mix with others. But even in that case, the root belief or philosophy can be kept intact.

But when a counterintuitive philosophy hits hard and mixes with the established culture, things are bound to get messy.

As the Pope clearly stated, “the dazzling lights of consumption,” which he later calls, a “virus,” have attacked the basic philosophy of self-control, selflessness, and contentment with oneself that spiritual belief systems, like Christianity hold on to. Consumerism preaches accumulation as the source of happiness.

When the birth of Jesus Christ - a celebration for Christianity believers to commemorate a man who lived by the spiritual belief system - is celebrated by the counter consumerism philosophy, it makes no sense - rather it gets messy. It is true that exchanging and buying gifts for one another to inspire family love and community is at the core of Christmas.

Santa Claus and many traditions and customs have seeped into the spirit of Christmas, and that is purely beautiful. But while the holiday season is a time to give and spend quality time with family and loved ones, why is it one of the most concentrated times of consumption in the year.

As a matter of fact, during Thanksgiving more than 32 million Americans went out shopping and the average American spends more than $1,600 during Christmas. Consumerism has certainly taken over the spirit and core philosophy behind Christmas.

Again, the argument has nothing to do with following a religion, nor does it have anything to do with making consumerism a usual suspect. It has nothing to do with allowing cultures to intersect and mix. Cultures should be given the freedom to do so - it symbolizes unity and openness to accept everyone.

But the core philosophy of a single tradition, custom, culture, or religion, for the matter, should be allowed to stay intact. After looking back at the bumper sticker, it all made sense.