I've previously talked about how I feel about people that are so concerned about being politically correct to everyone. I'm sure that many of you reading this have noticed over the past decade or so the change over from companies having "Christmas" parties to just having "Holiday" parties or even having some name even less innocuous attached to it so as not to offend people that dont celebrate Christmas that may be attending.
I've also talked about how even though I was born and raised a Roman Catholic, I dont practice the faith as closely as I used to. That is much more a comment on the church then on my level faith in God.
I just got an email from a good friend that kind of put the sheer lunacy of taking the reason for Christmas out of everything done in a public institution this time of year and this is what it said:
Each December I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating and even overspending.
Yet still I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments and, of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
My son was in kindergarten that year, a wonderful season for a six year old. For weeks he had been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didnt have the heart to tell him that I had to work the night of the performance, so I spoke to his teacher privately. She assured me that there would be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to come that evening where welcome to attend that and my son was happy with the compromise.
The morning of the dress rehearsal I arrived at the cafeteria and looked around at the other parents scurrying to find a seat as the students were led into the room by their teachers. Each class sat cross-legged on the floor and each group, one by one rose to perform their song.
Because the public school system had stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas", I didnt expect anything other then fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing "Christmas Love" I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
My son and his classmates were all aglow adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters and bright tossel caps on their heads. Those in the front row - center stage- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.
As the class would sing, "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."
The performance was going along smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down. She was completely unaware that her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little girl's mistake. She had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall and proud holding up her "W."
Althought many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we realized why we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why - even in the chaos - there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message was read loud and clear:
Christmas is a celebration of Christ's birth. Whether or not you believe that Jesus was the Son of God made in flesh or not, there is little doubt that Jesus was a real person that lived and died as a man. Is it so wrong to want to pay a little homage to someone who basically told all of us to treat each other with love and respect? Whether you consider yourself a Christian or not, there is nothing wrong with celebrating and remembering the birth of someone that prefers we strive for the best that we are capable of. In the long run, thats probably the best gift that any of us could ever hope or strive for.
Warmest wishes for a happy, healthy and safe holiday season to all of you out there. I look forward to 'seeing' all of you back for 2004.
