Welcome to Hank’s Place!
Are you troubled with the merchandizing, marketing, manipulation, greed and the excesses of Christmas? Want to go back to an Old Time Christmas? I don’t think so!
Let me give you a little background to Christmas. In 320AD Pope Julius I designated Dec 25th as a holy day in order to counteract the excesses of the Saturnalia celebrations across all of Europe. Those dated back to even pre-Christ times. Until 320 churches either did not celebrate the birth of Christ or did so on any day they chose.
Well, the edict was not very successful. People enjoyed their revelry and celebrations! Many preferred to participate in the pagan festivals—and repent afterwards. The flesh loves indulgent excesses!
Things had gotten so bad in England in the 1600’s that one of the planks of Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan political party was to eliminate Christmas! He was voted in, but when succeeded by his son, Richard Cromwell, his party was overthrown by King Charles II. King Charles promised to make Christmas as bawdy as before! The Pilgrims were thrown out of power. Soon Christmas in England was back to bawdy songs, rum, rioting in the streets and thievery. Most genuine Christians loathed Christmas, considering it an instrument of the devil for sin. In some parts of London women and children feared to go out into the streets on Christmas Day!
The Pilgrims left for the new world, and landed at Plymouth in 1620. They promptly outlawed Christmas. There were no church celebrations, businesses were ordered open, and anyone caught celebrating was subject to fines and arrest. Maybe not what you expected concerning Christmas traditions in America, eh?
These laws forbidding Christmas celebrations remained on the books for over 200 years. Congress continued to meet on Christmas Day up to 1856. However the excesses of an Old English Christmas had true appeal to the unregenerate flesh, and gradually the outrageous English Christmas appeared in America, though to a lessor degree. It was NOT Christmas as we would think of it or as most of us would want it!
But on the continent of Europe things were changing. In the early 1600’s, much of Europe, especially Germany, celebrated the season as a joyous and warm family time. Carols were sung in the churches, thanks in large measure to Martin Luther, who did not fear to bring the easily sung and well loved tunes of the streets into the church setting.
Huge changes then occurred in the first half of the 1800’s. In 1822 “T’was the Night Before Christmas” was written by Clement Clark Moore and for the first time Christmas was seen in America as a joyous holiday for children. Soon Christmas as a joyous family affair appeared – most everywhere. In1834 Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” and Christmas in England was transformed! The crushing dehumanizing industrial revolution had to give place for a time to consider the wonder of life and the birth of a Savior.
In 1840 Queen Victoria of England married Prince Alfred of Germany, and the warm German Christmas traditions were imported to England—and people were overjoyed!
Christmas was undergoing a powerful transformation, a transformation quite apart from the Church. Over the rest of the century, joy, family, giving, and worship replaced pagan debauchery, lewdness, revelry, rioting and drunkenness in both England and America.
The tradition of gift giving, at first a simple and modest gesture, exploded in America following “The Night Before Christmas,” with merchants sensing great opportunity. Soon Santa was everywhere and people around the world quickly adjusted their celebrations to include him (and the sales he brought for merchants of course). Then with WWII and the time it took to send gifts to loved ones half a world away, the Christmas buying season expanded (again to the delight of merchants) to a full month before Christmas.
So what is our takeaway? Well, the cry to “Put Christ back into Christmas” stands on pretty weak ground historically. Jesus was never the official, governmental, or church focus of Christmas in England or in America.
BUT—Christmas IS here, like it or not. So why not make your own celebration of Christmas? Why not put Jesus into YOUR Christmas? Can you not see Him in the wreath, the evergreens, the candles, the tree? Can you not share Him with others, God’s gift to us, and the Greatest Gift of all?
JESUS the Son of God, who came and enabled redemption for all who believe. The JESUS who comes today as Lord to anyone who will believe, turn, and receive Him. JESUS who will come yet again for all to see: The KING of Kings and LORD of Lords! Hallelujah!
Yes, why not put Jesus into YOUR Christmas—and COME ALIVE!
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