It's Christmas time! I do realise I'm stating the obvious, and I do also realise this will irritate some people. But quite frankly, I don't care. I am too full of festive cheer to be bothered with irritated people. And chocolate. But who's to say chocolate isn't festive cheer in another form?
It's quite amazing how Christmas divides people. There are some people who love Christmas, and will consume mince pies with gusto, even if they're not that keen on them, simply because it's Christmas, and it's what we do (me). They listen to the same Christmas songs every year, engage in the Band Aid vs. Band Aid 20 debate, and feel full of glee as they open their advent calendar each day. Then there are other people. People who dislike Christmas. Shudder. For whatever reason, Christmas offends them on a deeply personal level. And they like to make sure everyone knows it. They can be spotted in various forms: the grouchy lady who practically runs you over with her trolley in Tesco, then acts as if it was all your fault that it's so busy, as though you went shopping specifically to inconvenience her; the miserable person who, when they hear carols being cheerfully sung in the street quickens their pace. Or the one who constantly bangs on about the commercialisation of Christmas.
Perhaps Christmas is a little commercialised. Just a bit. I don't really need (or want) a Santa hat that flashes "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!" in a garish red light. But I think so often for Christians, the temptation is to jump into the other ditch, where Christmas is disdained, and looked down upon as being ever so slightly beneath us. One hears such things as, "Oh, we don't really do Christmas. It's so commercialised now." or "Don't you know that Christmas was originally a pagan festival?". It makes me want to run and buy every tacky, Christmas-themed product available. The whole attitude reeks of gnosticism. We seem to forget that Christmas is essentially a festival of the material. God, the almighty, all-powerful God of heaven, became a baby. A real live sniffling, crying baby with a runny nose, that did everything normal babies did. His mother gave birth to him no one knows where (but we can be sure it was not a nice, relatively clean NHS establishment), and he had to be put in a manger. Which is pretty disgusting, because that's where animals eat, and dribble, and we don't actually know if there was any dribble-free hay to put in the manger. It was smelly, probably cold, and dark. Was there ever a more material, a more real event in the history of the universe? God became man. And whether we like it or not, that changed history forever.
We forget that this event needs celebrating! As Christians, we should be creating a counter-culture that is attractive and good. What better to celebrate than the incarnation of God on earth? We should be the best at celebrating, throw the most enjoyable parties, know how to love the gifts God has given us, and how to share that love with others. God gave us the most precious gift, and I think that's worth celebrating properly.
So I'm afraid you will find me enjoying Christmas this year. I will be staying up far too late. I will drink proper mulled wine, not some imitation. I will wear a paper hat that's too big for me and slides down over my face. I will eat chocolate. I will meet up with friends and laugh and have a good time. I will dance to "All I Want For Christmas Is You", and I will (provided the Royal Mail doesn't let me down) send presents to people. Let's reclaim the culture and celebrate Christmas properly! And I refuse to listen to any gnostic arguments to do otherwise.
Mandatory disclaimer: Don't overindulge, or Father Christmas won't bring you any presents.
