{"id":2027,"date":"2017-01-13T10:26:50","date_gmt":"2017-01-12T23:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2027"},"modified":"2017-01-13T10:26:50","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T23:26:50","slug":"christmas-a-cultural-phenomenon-25-12-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2027","title":{"rendered":"Christmas: A Cultural Phenomenon? 25-12-2016"},"content":{"rendered":"
Christmas: A Cultural Phenomenon?<\/strong><\/span>
\nGalatians 4: 1 \u2013 7; Luke 2: 1 – 20<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Christians down through the ages, have converted the prevailing culture\u2019s traditions and beliefs.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Let us take Christmas Day as an example and see what we can learn from this. The most probable reason for Christmas Day being the 25th December is the Roman feast of Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a feast that was celebrated during the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year. The solstice takes place somewhere between 20th and 23rd December. We commonly mark the occasion as December 22nd. Saturnalia was a family and community time of merriment. During the festivities of Saturnalia things were turned upside down. Dress codes were relaxed and gifts were exchanged. Slaves were treated to a dinner where their masters served the slaves. It celebrated the death of the sun and then the rise of the sun with the shortest day being the turning point. The 1st century Roman poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus, described Saturnalia as the best of times.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
It is not surprising to see how Christians could look at the Saturnalia festivities and the winter solstice as natural symbols for the birth of Christ Jesus. It is the very nature of God to turn things upside down. Christ Jesus said the first shall be last and the last first. God\u2019s grace is the very epitome of things being turned upside down. And of course, the notion of the sun dying but then rising is an example of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. There is something about seeing nature as revealing the character and mind of God. Why wouldn\u2019t it if nature is Created?\u00a0 It would be quite reasonable for pagans to interpret the winter solstice as symbolic of their agricultural god, because that is exactly what happens. Plants seem to die and then burst into new life. Naturally for Christians the winter solstice would be an example of the sacrificial death of Jesus and the Resurrection of Christ Jesus. In short we bring our beliefs to the reality we face and we make sense of reality. Christians make sense of reality through the lens of a God who comes in human form, who re-forms the tradition, expands our view of who our neighbour is, and shows us that unconditional love is the ante-dote to our fear and hate, our anger and despair.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
So the first lesson\u00a0 we may learn is that Christianity, like other religions, has adopted the local traditions and converted them. So it is not that the Romans gave us Christmas but Christians converted a Roman festival that celebrated the change from darkness to light, the dying sun to the rising sun, and family life, into a festival. As I said this is the most probable reason for Christ Jesus\u2019 birth being celebrated at this time.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
You\u2019ll remember that when you were younger the Christmas dinner was roast fowl of one sort, roast potatoes and vegetables, and of course, Christmas pudding. Above all it was a day when the family got together. It still is a family day. What or who forged this tradition in the English speaking world?\u00a0 Charles Dickens is the answer. Dickens in his little book that became so very popular, A Christmas Carol, set the scene of a roast dinner, boiled Christmas pudding and a day for the family. What Dickens was concerned about was the state of the employed, who were being deprived of celebrating the birth of Jesus with their family. In the early 1800s Christmas Day was not a public holiday. It was a workday. Why would a businessperson stop his business because of Christmas? Scrooge argued that Sunday was more than enough for a holiday! Remember holiday comes from \u2018holy day\u2019. One \u2018holi-day\u2019 is quiet enough. Dickens was concerned with the exploitation of labour, the lack of charity and the nurturing of family life. To address this situation he wrote A Christmas Carol.\u00a0\u00a0 A little sketch were Scrooge represents the avaricious business person ruthlessly working his labour force. Bob Cratchit is the family man struggling to make ends meet yet retaining the family identity and Fred, Scrooge\u2019s thoughtful and charitable nephew, represents the family torn apart by naked commercialism.\u00a0 This delightful tale unwinds with Scrooge being visited by Marley\u2019s ghost and his companion spirits. Marley is Scrooge\u2019s deceased business partner. Marley and Scrooge are clones of each other. Marley comes to warn Scrooge of the dangers of an uncharitable life. This simple tale ends with Scrooge a changed person who now becomes the epitome of a charitable and happy wealthy businessperson.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Recently cricket\u2019s Big Bash League floated the idea of a game on Christmas night next year. A howl of protest took place. One of the chief reasons being that Christmas is family time. Nothing about Jesus is mentioned. It is a family time and we should not interfere with this.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The second lesson is that traditions change and are reconverted. Our secular society has adopted Christmas to be their cash injection into the economy and a prime family time. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that Christmas was not merely about enhancing the economic system and family life, but about unconditional forgiveness and love of God meeting us in our humanity.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The third lesson closely follows the second. Lose sight of the purpose of a tradition and you will set loose the tradition. Dickens\u2019 focus on the family and charity lessened the focus on the Christ-child. Dickens did not intend that. No he was trying to get people to practise Christ\u2019s love for the world in our daily lives. It seems that our society has taken the first part of the gift of Christmas, but not the second most enduring part.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I spoke with my older non-Christian brother \u2013 he is quite clear about not being a Christian – who now concedes in his old age that he has practised Christian values all his life without worshipping God. Today he looks upon Western society and despairs at the loss of the influence of the Church on society. He sees his society losing its Christian charity. He lives in England.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I offer you two things to take home today.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
1) Enjoy the Christmas festivities of merriment, good food, drink, family and friends. You know that rather popular reading for funerals about there being a time for this and a time for that from Ecclesiastes. The passage concludes with these words. He (God) has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God\u2019s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. [Eccl 3: 11-14]\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span>
\nYes, God wants us to enjoy the pleasures of food, drink, company and family. Go and enjoy and share that with others. Don\u2019t leave others alone. We are to share this with everyone.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
2) Remember that Christmas did not give us the Cross, but the Cross gave us Christmas.\u00a0 Or to put it another way, it was not the Nativity of Jesus that gave us the Resurrection, but the Resurrection gave us the Nativity. It was because this son of Joseph and Mary was so special that people looked to his origins. It was because this Jesus not only died, but more importantly rose from the dead that caused those first Christians to begin to ask, what happened at his birth? They would have asked Mary when it was she notice that there was something special about Jesus? Yes, there were special signs in the heavens in those days!\u00a0 Yes, the prophets did speak of a young woman bearing a son who would liberate the Jews. Yes, the prophets did say that Bethlehem was significant for the future of Judaism. \u2018But when did you notice that the child was special, Mary mother of Jesus?\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
In this little Christmas ramble I want to leave you these thoughts. Enjoy Christmas. It is a wonderful time. Enjoy the fellowship, the family, the friends and the food. Enjoy it all. But remember to look back to why and what we are celebrating at Christmas, because then and only then will the gift of Christmas emerge. The gift of Christmas is hidden, sometimes deeply hidden, in our food and fun, family and friends and all the tinsel of this period. When we look back we will see that mysterious force \u2013 love \u2013 that transcends our humanity and embraces all of creation.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
*******<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\nPeter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC:\u00a0 25\/12\/2016<\/strong><\/span>
\npgwhitaker@tpg.com.au<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0\/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christmas: A Cultural Phenomenon? Galatians 4: 1 \u2013 7; Luke 2: 1 – 20 Christians down through the ages, have converted the prevailing culture\u2019s traditions and beliefs. Let us take Christmas Day as an example and see what we can learn from this. The most probable reason for Christmas Day being the 25th December is the Roman feast of Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a feast that was celebrated during the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year. The solstice takes place somewhere between 20th and 23rd December. We commonly mark the occasion as December 22nd. Saturnalia was a family and community time of merriment. During the festivities of Saturnalia things were turned upside down. Dress codes were relaxed and gifts were exchanged. Slaves were treated to a dinner where their masters served the slaves. It celebrated the death of the sun and then the rise of the sun with the shortest day being the turning point. The 1st century Roman poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus, described Saturnalia as the best of times. It is not surprising to see how Christians could look at the Saturnalia festivities and the winter solstice as natural symbols for the birth of Christ Jesus. It is the very nature of God to turn things upside down. Christ Jesus said the first shall be last and the last first. God\u2019s grace is the very epitome of things being turned upside down. And of course, the notion of the sun dying but then rising is an example of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. There is something about seeing nature as revealing the character and mind of God. Why wouldn\u2019t it if nature is Created?\u00a0 It would be quite reasonable for pagans to interpret the winter solstice as symbolic of their agricultural god, because that is exactly what happens. Plants seem to die and then burst into new life. Naturally for Christians the winter solstice would be an example of the sacrificial death of Jesus and the Resurrection of Christ Jesus. In short we bring our beliefs to the reality we face and we make sense of reality. Christians make sense of reality through the lens of a God who comes in human form, who re-forms the tradition, expands our view of who our neighbour is, and shows us that unconditional love is the ante-dote to our fear and hate, our anger and despair. So the first lesson\u00a0 we may learn is that Christianity, like other religions, has adopted the local traditions and converted them. So it is not that the Romans gave us Christmas but Christians converted a Roman festival that celebrated the change from darkness to light, the dying sun to the rising sun, and family life, into a festival. As I said this is the most probable reason for Christ Jesus\u2019 birth being celebrated at this time. You\u2019ll remember that when you were younger the Christmas dinner was roast fowl of one sort, roast potatoes and vegetables, and of course, Christmas pudding. Above all it was a day when the family got together. It still is a family day. What or who forged this tradition in the English speaking world?\u00a0 Charles Dickens is the answer. Dickens in his little book that became so very popular, A Christmas Carol, set the scene of a roast dinner, boiled Christmas pudding and a day for the family. What Dickens was concerned about was the state of the employed, who were being deprived of celebrating the birth of Jesus with their family. In the early 1800s Christmas Day was not a public holiday. It was a workday. Why would a businessperson stop his business because of Christmas? Scrooge argued that Sunday was more than enough for a holiday! Remember holiday comes from \u2018holy day\u2019. One \u2018holi-day\u2019 is quiet enough. Dickens was concerned with the exploitation of labour, the lack of charity and the nurturing of family life. To address this situation he wrote A Christmas Carol.\u00a0\u00a0 A little sketch were Scrooge represents the avaricious business person ruthlessly working his labour force. Bob Cratchit is the family man struggling to make ends meet yet retaining the family identity and Fred, Scrooge\u2019s thoughtful and charitable nephew, represents the family torn apart by naked commercialism.\u00a0 This delightful tale unwinds with Scrooge being visited by Marley\u2019s ghost and his companion spirits. Marley is Scrooge\u2019s deceased business partner. Marley and Scrooge are clones of each other. Marley comes to warn Scrooge of the dangers of an uncharitable life. This simple tale ends with Scrooge a changed person who now becomes the epitome of a charitable and happy wealthy businessperson. Recently cricket\u2019s Big Bash League floated the idea of a game on Christmas night next year. A howl of protest took place. One of the chief reasons being that Christmas is family time. Nothing about Jesus is mentioned. It is a family time and we should not interfere with this. The second lesson is that traditions change and are reconverted. Our secular society has adopted Christmas to be their cash injection into the economy and a prime family time. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that Christmas was not merely about enhancing the economic system and family life, but about unconditional forgiveness and love of God meeting us in our humanity. The third lesson closely follows the second. Lose sight of the purpose of a tradition and you will set loose the tradition. Dickens\u2019 focus on the family and charity lessened the focus on the Christ-child. Dickens did not intend that. No he was trying to get people to practise Christ\u2019s love for the world in our daily lives. It seems that our society has taken the first part of the gift of Christmas, but not the second most enduring part. I spoke with my older non-Christian brother \u2013 he is quite clear about not being a Christian – who now concedes in his old age that he has practised Christian values all his life without worshipping God. Today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Leighmoor.Master","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/leighmoor-master"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Christmas: A Cultural Phenomenon? Galatians 4: 1 \u2013 7; Luke 2: 1 – 20 Christians down through the ages, have converted the prevailing culture\u2019s traditions and beliefs. Let us take Christmas Day as an example and see what we can learn from this. The most probable reason for Christmas Day being the 25th December is…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2027"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2028,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions\/2028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}