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INTRODUCTION
Dear Friends,
In a church school class, one five-year-old remembered Christmas this way: "At Christmas time we like to sing. One of the songs we like to sing is 'Santa Claus loves the little children, all the children of the world' The innocent substitution of "Santa" for "Jesus" is symptomatic of more serious problems in our Christmas celebrations. The commercialization of Christmas often results in obscuring the real meaning of this holy day.
How can we celebrate Christmas in ways that are both joyful and consistent with the faith we profess? The struggle--and it is a struggle--to celebrate Christmas with integrity is won or lost in the home. This society's popular cultural values pour into our living rooms and children's minds, especially through the medium of television. Unless there are efforts in the household to counter this flood of propaganda, mass culture is sure to win out. This booklet is designed to equip households for that effort.
We hope you will want to use this booklet yourself and will choose to make it available to each household in your parish.
Sincerely,
Milo Thornberry
Director
About this booklet
This booklet is designed to assist you celebrate in the spirit of Advent and experience the joy of Christmas.
On the Christian calendar, the Christmas season begins with Advent and ends with Epiphany. The season of Advent comes before Christmas, both in time and spirit. Advent begins on the Sunday nearest November 30 and includes the four Sundays before Christmas. Originally, Advent (from the Latin adventus meaning "coming") was a season of solemn self-examination and repentance by the faithful in preparation for celebrating the birth of Christ. Christmas was then joyfully celebrated, for two weeks, culminating in the feast of Epiphany on January 6th, the date when tradition says the magi arrived in Bethlehem.
How different from that is the way our society observes the season! The first Sunday of Advent is often overshadowed by the Thanksgiving weekend, the biggest shopping weekend of the year. Even in the churches the first Sunday of Advent seems to inaugurate four weeks of pre-Christmas celebrating. During these weeks, anything other than parties, frantic shopping and decorating seems out of place. That's a shame.
In our society, we are bombarded daily with images of a "good Christmas" that have little to do with either reality or faith. With such energy and money spent on cultural trappings during December, when Christmas does come it often finds us spiritually, emotionally and financially exhausted. Vague feelings of guilt about misspent energy and resources often undermine the great joy and renewal we could experience at the celebration of Jesus' birth. For many, by the afternoon of December 25th, Christmas is over.
Those who first began observing Advent in the early centuries of the church did not have to contend with the forces of a commercialized Christmas, but they did have to contend with other pagan festivals. They needed to put some distance between themselves and the popular celebrations in order to keep their perspective. So do we! Advent was, and is, a way to get ready to observe the birth of Christ so that it can be an occasion for genuine joy and renewal.
Exercising restraint during the weeks of Advent will better enable us to resist powerful cultural pressures and prepare us for joyous celebrating that begins, not ends, on December 25th.
What You Can Do And How This Resource Can Help
IN YOUR PARISH:
- ORGANIZE AN ADULT STUDY OF THE ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS TEXTS. Joan Chittister's meditations will help you probe these familiar texts to uncover what they say about our observance of Advent and Christmas.
-
ENCOURAGE GIVING A "BIRTHDAY GIFT." Invite households to set aside 25% of
their Christmas budgets and give this money as a "birthday present" to those
in need. You may want to provide an opportunity around Epiphany for these
special gifts to be presented to the church. (See Guidelines for Alternative
Giving, pp. 15-17.)
WARNING: This is not a fund-raising scheme, nor is it a "christmas basket" approach to dealing with poverty. It is a way for individuals and families to honor the one whose birth we are celebrating. - PROVIDE OTHER RESOURCES. In the back of this booklet you will find a list of additional resources. As you make your Advent and Christmas plans look at these resources for help.
- LOOK AHEAD TO EASTER. If Christmas is near, Easter can't be far behind. Begin now to think about how you will observe Lent and Easter. (See Easter resources described on page 30.)
IN YOUR HOME:
- CONDUCT THE HOUSEHOLD SERVICES EACH WEEK OF ADVENT and CHRISTMAS . These brief services are designed to encourage the observance of Advent and Christmas in the home. The services may be used for family gatherings or daily private devotions. The HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES section offers suggestions for activities that complement the Household Services.
- STUDY THE ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS TEXTS. These texts are to us what the North Star was to ancient seafarers, an indispensable point of reference for setting our direction. The purpose of Joan Chittister's reflections is to assist you 'as you examine what these passages have to say.
-
RECONSIDER PERPETUATING THE SANTA CLAUS TRADITION. Although an issue on which
concerned people can and do disagree, think about Santa's role in your holiday
celebrations. With family members, or an interested group in the parish,
consider the pros and cons and make decisions about what you will do. (See
"What Shall We Do About Santa.")
-
CONSIDER NEW WAYS OF CHRISTMAS GIVING
- Have a "Birthday Gift" to Jesus at the top of your Christmas list.
- Look beyond what you can buy as possible gifts. .
- Include in your celebrations some who would otherwise be alone?
- Go over the "Guidelines for Alternative Giving" and plan special ways to give this year.
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Page updated 22 October 2012
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