Christmas is a Mortally Wounded Victim of Twenty-first Century Secularism

For the past few weeks, I’ve worked a few hours here and there in a large shopping mall. With the Holiday fast approaching, I decided to hand out candy canes while wishing those who passed my kiosk a heartfelt “merry Christmas”. I began enthusiastically, gratified by the prospect of unifying simple marketing efforts with genuine Christmas cheer and I was rewarded by warm smiles, genuine expressions of thanks, and an occasional “merry Christmas” in return.

But, I was surprised by the number that refused my simple gesture of good will. I was greeted with a fair share of angry glares, sneers, and suspicious looks. Some simply averted their gaze to avoid me while others turned abruptly away, nearly walking into fellow shoppers as they fled. A few were even compelled to repudiate my festive little candy cane in most animated fashions, as though they had been offered hemlock or some other deadly poison.

Perhaps I should have expected this. Amidst the Twenty-first Century hustle and bustle of the Holiday, stressed, hurried, and agitated countenances abounded. Some rushed about, apparently with strict schedules to keep, while others were so distracted by important Bluetooth conversations and text messages that they were oblivious to their surroundings. At one point, an elderly gentleman took a spill and, while he was assisted by attentive security guards, few others took so much as a moment to acknowledge his distress.

Decorations, sales, seasonal merchandise, children visiting Santa, and Holiday music all indicate that Christmas is near but it does not seem particularly apparent by the attitude and demeanor of those flitting about this commercial environment. While the shopping reflects the Season, there seems to be little in the way of cheer and goodwill. Sadly, this is in the South, a region once known for its slower pace, Christian orientation, and earnest hospitality.

Perhaps Christmas is returning to its Pagan roots. There are plenty of festive trees and lights and the presence of Santa Clause underscores the gifts of the Season. But, in the shops and the stores, the strips and the malls, there is little to remind us of the birth of Christ, the gift of His salvation, and the love of God. As a matter of fact, the very word “Christmas”, originally “Crīstesmæsse” (“Christ’s Mass”) is now eschewed with preference to generic and non-committal terms such as “season’s greetings” and “happy holidays” which are more reflective of a joyous Winter Solstice than reverence for our Savior and His Good News.

When considering the bottom line, it is understandable that greedy merchants and faceless, profit driven corporations fear angering or alienating cultists, heretics, followers of false prophets, occultists, and the ungodly in general: doing so could result in lost revenue. Why lose a dollar to either piety or principle when you live in a society that is consumed by Mammon and the disposable trinkets and comforts that it brings? Of course, this is but a symptom of the hedonism and humanism pervading our contemporary, “anything goes”, inclusive culture that has lost the discernment, wisdom, and fortitude to recognize that right and wrong are absolutes established by God.

Right and wrong have become relative, defined by the capriciousness of a people convinced that morality originates in individual choice which is popularly legitimized and then enforced via the ordinances and institutions of man. Likewise, truth has become a mutable object of servitude, valued not by its merit but by virtue of its expedience. This is but a natural evolution of a multi-cultural society that, in upholding the validity of many religions and philosophies, will sooner or later establish its own Pantheon to reflect that which is most convenient and gratifying at the moment.

The Age of Christianity is fading and with it, the primacy of natural rights, and the significance of the Christmas holiday. Society at large can no longer accept that which is not created and administered by itself. Contemporarily, it seems best to lay up treasures upon earth in a warm and fuzzy, politically correct environment that embraces collectiveness and rejects that which, if not all inclusive, must necessarily be offensive. Thus, the Festival of the Winter Solstice will continue, as it has for centuries, sans references to Christ or any singular religion or system of values.

Christmas as a Christian tradition is a mortally wounded victim of Twenty-first Century secularism. It has become a generic, commercialized festival that produces profit and stress at the expense of compassion and joy. For many, the only religious association with Christmas is the legend of Santa Clause. Of course, they generally do not realize that this fable descends from the life and generosity of the historical Saint Nicholas, the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra. Perhaps the next generation of Christians will celebrate the birth of their savior underground, much as the faithful of the Second Century celebrated mass in tombs, out of the public eye.