Conventional Christmas celebration

Aton Lunghar *

Christmas Eve at Imphal, Manipur on 24 December 2013 :: Pix - Ashok Ninghoujam / Gnet Cyber Cafe

As year 214 is at it close, Christmas has become second to none other festivals in its nearness. Christmas day will be there anon. Christmas, in general parlance, is a popular holiday celebrated by over 2 billion people worldwide (inclusive of both non/believers) in increasing number.

Every shop/shopper busies himself with selling and buying activities. Whether rich or indigent, each family would be spending in the region of twenty thousand on Christmas-related shopping. In the US, thanksgiving holiday that falls on fourth Thursday in November is learnt to be commonly known as ‘BLACK FRIDAY’, not because it is bad, but because this marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year due to Christmas sales. Sales have shot up so fast by far. As far as I am aware, Christmas is driven by commercialism.

During Christmas season every parent becomes shopaholic, spending huge amount of money on meat and articles of raiment/clothing. Does it augur well? Is being dandified/shopaholic at Christmas time a good mothering or parenting? Way Christmas is celebrated every year is seen to be conventional and carnal. For it is foreseen that how it was celebrated yesteryears is to be repeated this year and years to come.

Midnight service, family prayer time and other church service are the prominent features of the Christmas celebration. Among other items which comprise Christmas celebration are arranging grand fare (meals), carol, men betrothal to damsel, erection of artificial Christmas tree and star, societal meeting/gathering, jiggery distribution, sports vying, Christmas cantata, auctioning of handicraft and food items brought from near and far, fall about laughing with some Christmas comedians et al.

Some church would even prolong the celebration of Christmas by four/five days. Ironically, while taking up Christmas related busy-work one finds many people unable to attend church worship/prayer program, the importance of which is ranked above all others which they have worked. As far as I am aware, I want to liken such people to Martha in the Bible (Lk 10:38 – 42).

Martha was hospitable to guests and visitors and was very good at serving too. Nevertheless, Martha was distracted with her much serving. Do we also at times feel so after much serving? No doubt, serving people, working for the society, showing hospitality to the guests, engaging in preparing delicious meal, giving one’s time for other all count; but what is to be more counted is to learn to sit down at the feet of the Lord and listen to His word (as done by Martha’s sister Mary). As far as one’s spiritual growth is concerned we are in need of more Marys and less Marthas. To be concise, listening precedes our service.

“For the essential thing in life isn’t what we can do for God; but to realize what God had done for us”.

Much serving is often found to be the impediment to one’s spiritual progression. It is regressive to our spiritual growth. To the best of my knowledge Christmas celebration is read in the Bible to be not a biblical event. Not only that it stands not mentioned in the Bible but there is always no consensus among the Bible scholars/commentators about the exact month and day on which Christmas falls. Had the celebration of Christmas been important, would Jesus not have directed his disciples to be doing so, during His more than thirty years in association with them on earth?

In the Bible we find only three particular accounts of the so called birthday celebration. All these three birthday celebrations ended in violence/death. The first account of birthday is found in Gen. 40:20-22. Here, when Pharoah celebrated his birthday his chief Baker was impaled. The second account is found in Job Chapter one, more particularly in the 18th verse of it.

There God allowed satan to kill 10 of Job’s children through desert wind when Job’s children were celebrating the birthday of the eldest son at the house of the latter. The third as well as the last account is found in Matt. 14: 6-10. Here with the celebration of Herod’s birthday, God’s faithful servant John the Baptist was decapitated.

Thus all these three accounts are read to have ended in death. With these I am not against the celebration of Christmas. For I always do partake in it. It is only that I think it will hold good to correct the way it is celebrated by doing away with less relevant and more carnal items from it. How every individuals celebrates Christmas is what Christmas means for him/her.

Don’t let our own precious lives confirm what Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 3:2 & 4 (which read – in the last days, people will be irreligious, they’ll love pleasure rather than God. They will hold to the outward form of religion, but reject the real power; they would go to church but would not believe). Dear blessed believers, let’s not forget that with each Christmas celebration, Christ’s coming would have become nearer. Repeat to say, our own lives have shown that Jesus’ second coming day has neared for sure.

Beware, while we are celebrating the day of His first coming (Christmas) hectic, we may even miss out His second coming event. For He has announced that He will return unannounced.