The crazy consumerism around Christmas is a recent development in our society that you can read more about if you like. A century ago no one could have imagined that frantic shopping, “Hallmark” expectations or decorating frenzy that now surrounds this holiday.
And yet, we need a respite from the dark, cold, dreary days of winter. The pagan mid-winter celebrations that ultimately became Christmas did just that. At mid-winter Christmas offers us a chance to gather with friend and family and take time to reflect. But more and more people are finding other ways to do this that do not involve shopping, decorating or frantic activity as Leo Babuata creatively explains in his thoughtful article “The Case Against Buying Christmas Presents.”
But Christmas is not merely another pagan winter solstice holiday. Christmas is the celebration of the Christian belief that God is not like the Greek god Zeus – distant and impersonal. In Christmas, Christianity makes an astounding claim. The ancient Greek worldview insisted that the Infinite (God) could not fit in the finite, meaning in this world which was finite. Christianity’s claim that God entered the world in the person of Jesus blatantly rejects that worldview. The Infinite or God could fit in the finite. God became a human person in the person of Jesus, truly God and truly human.
This belief made a profound claim about who we are as persons. We each have the capacity to contain divinity or God within ourselves because we are truly human too. The world is a fundamentally good place fit to be inhabited by God and we are fundamentally good at our core. Certainly God shone through more clearly in someone like Mother Theresa than in someone like Hitler whose ego ran the show. Nevertheless God lived in both of them. This Christian claim insists that God is within the world and within us even though God is also beyond what we can know or understand. So the world is sacred and God is deeply personal. What a shocking thing to declare! Christmas reminds us of this declaration. Emmanual, meaning God with us and within us.
So how to celebrate this amazing understanding? Last year I gathered with close friends three times. Each time we learned how to make something easy, new and delicious. The first time we learned how to make wonderful, buttery soft caramels. The second time we tried our hand at no-knead, crusty artisan bread and an authentic Italian tiramisu. The third time we took advantage of our many hands to make dozens of tamales with corn husks, masa, jalepanos, various meats and cheese. Soup, wine and music rounded out the afternoon. Each time we gathered we talked, shared, and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. We left with something delicious we could share with others and enjoy easily as leftovers. The Christmas season seemed to gently flow from Thanksgiving through to January. No frantic shopping or frenzied activity. All of those activities I simply let go of. Just fun and enjoyment with friends and family.
Other years I have done holiday baking as a way to serve homeless families or hosted a Christmas Tea to help raise money for ESPERA Funds, transformative community lending funds for women caught in the cycle of poverty.
These are some different ways to experience the spirit of Christmas. To deeply experience the sacred in our lives sometimes we need to consider what really adds substance to our lives rather than activities our culture, society or families expect. How do you experience the spirit of Christmas revealing itself in your life? How could you help others do the same?
Merry Christmas!
