“Let’s Not Forget the Reason for the Season” is a Terrible Slogan for Christmas
"Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14
Christmas is by far the most popular holiday in the world. Billions of people celebrate Christmas every year. People take off work, go see family, and exchange gifts with the people that matter most to them. It’s a time where people finally take a step away from the day-to-day grind and spend a few days with family and friends. Kids are out of school, parents are off work, and families reunite, perhaps for the first time all year. It’s a time of joy, peace, and thankfulness.
That’s the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is that Christmas is a time of stress, loneliness, and sadness. The one time all year the family is together turns into chaos as old feuds are opened, politics are argued, and stress grips mothers and fathers that can’t afford to give their children the Christmas they deserve. Some people don’t have families to see and spend their holidays alone. In these cases, the happiest time of year turns into a nightmare.
Regardless of whether your Christmas is the best- or worst-case scenario or somewhere in between, Christmas is, for all intents and purposes, a secular holiday. Even the most devout Christians spend the obligatory one hour in church on Christmas Eve, get a family photo to post to Instagram to show their followers that they attended, and then get home to spend the next 24 hours eating, drinking, and opening presents with no regard for the only reason Christmas exists.
You will likely hear the words “let’s not forget the reason for the season” thrown out there during the prayer before dinner, while everyone is hanging out, or after everyone opens their presents. This is a horrible mindset for Christmas. Simply not forgetting about Jesus while we tear open presents or eat until we can’t get up is a laughable standard for Christians. However, aside from the one hour of church, this is the only reference to what Christmas is all about during the holidays for many families.
You may think this is a cynical take on Christmas, and to some degree that is correct. But Christians have largely relegated the religious activities of one of the two most important days all year to one hour of church and a bumper sticker slogan. It is a sad reality that Christians are largely unbothered or unaware of how little time they spend in their faith on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
You may also think that the consequences of this are isolated just to those that are Christian. After all, it’s just one day a year. But think of the person who may be curious about Jesus and who He is. Or someone who is questioning what they believe and are exploring what Christianity teaches. Or what about the person who is struggling with their faith and needs inspiration. They look at Christians and see that all they can muster up for an extremely important day in the church calendar is 60 minutes of sitting in a pew. If Christmas is only worth an hour of time for practicing Christians, what do the other days of the year look like. Why would anyone be inspired or moved by this?
They aren’t. And unless Christians change the way they act, Christmas will continue to grow more and more secular, and Jesus will continue to take a back seat to new iPhones and cheap plastic. Yet, like many issues, changing the perception of Christmas is not difficult.
First, Christians must spend more time worshipping, praying, telling the story of the Nativity, and serving others and less time opening presents during the holidays. How we spend our time matters, not only to us, but to others. Second, Jesus, not presents or anything else, must be the center of Christmas. Exchanging gifts is a wonderful way to show appreciation and care for others, but it is secondary to the birth of Christ and needs to go back to being that way. Last, Christians cannot allow the story of Christmas to be told only one day of the year. The story of Jesus is not relegated to one day a year. It is something that is foundational to our faith and must permeate throughout the entire year.
So, while Christmas may be in our rear-view mirror, we need to look at 2024 as an opportunity to begin slowing turning the ship and pointing Christmas back in the direction of Christ.