Brief thoughts on Christmas Day
By A. A. Fenty
So we have ourselves reminded of the well-known “reason for the season”: the birth, reportedly, of the Christ Child to a rather mis-matched couple – matured carpenter Joseph and Virgin Teenager, Mary. (One friend tells me that in those days no one frowned on the spousal/generation gap)
The priests and pastors, the Christmas Carols and Nativity re-enactments strive to emphasise the myth-like fairy tale of the story of God’s Word Being made Flesh to dwell amongst us – the realisation of the fore-told concept of God the Son. I have often heard and read that “the whole of Christian teachings would fall to the ground if it were the case that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus were NOT events in real history, but (just) stories told to illustrate truths which are valid, quite apart from these happenings”.
In other words, if Christians, through their immense faith, belief and/or evidence (?) do not accept, or even have some doubt about the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection after the public crucifixion, then there would be no real basis for their faith, its origins and its validity or hold! For, so far, I have not come across any Christian theologian, researcher, scholar or student who rejects those two fundamentals of their faith, replacing them with other foundations.
Where the miracle of the Virgin Birth/Immaculate Conception is concerned, I suppose modern-day medical science can even offer lots of evidence of such non-intercourse conceptions and eventual births. The good Christian position, however, is that the entrance of the Baby Jesus was indeed God’s Divine Creation which merely used young Mary as a pure, innocent vessel. As mentioned before, Christians just have to accept that. How about you? If you are a practising devout Christian on this Christmas Day, reflect on what has made you believe in the Virgin Birth.
WHAT TIME? WHAT BABY?
Again, elementary research tells us that December 25 is certainly not the month or day of Jesus’ Birth. And there are even Christians who don’t accept the concept or doctrine of the Trinity – a Son, Father and Ghost – so there is no celebration or Christmas for them, just as “there is no contemporary evidence of the exact date of Jesus’ Birth”. Bethlehem is given as the Christ-Child’s birth place and Nazareth of Galilee, his childhood neighbourhood.
In fact the first December 25 “Christmas” celebration was, reportedly the year 354 in Rome as to popularise their own earlier periods of celebration. Eastern countries used early January (06) as their date and it is said that various months were used by other societies to mark the Child’s advent.
No need to dwell on the ethnicity (Jewish) or physical appearance of the Christ Child. He certainly could not have been lily-white-fair as earlier depicted in European imagery, but we are told that (somehow) his physical hue or appearance does not matter. Again I ask: what say you? And do you accept that this Divine Gift, born amidst such drama as a Census and a reported Massacre of Innocents by a troubled jealous King Herod, was indeed the Messiah of mankind? As predicted in the Old Testament?
A SAINT OF GIFTS
In the music video produced by Guyanese Bonny Alves – “My Baby King”– the point is made that “it was not Santa Claus who was born on Christmas Day”
My own favourite on the subject is the Jamaican Lovin Deer’s rendition of “Natty Santa” in which his daughter’s answers about a Santa Claus visit revealing a lean, brown hard-working Father Christmas with natty dreadlocks. Santa is certainly a loving commercial rival to the Christ-infant these days!
Again, it’s now easy to research and discover the various origins of the wonderful tales of Santa Claus, the Saint Nicholas of gift – giving to the poor and the young. It is said, and I verily believe, that if adults did not create a Santa, children would have invented one! To this, my adult senior day, I love the story of Santa Claus and what it stands for – the good generosity of man amidst all the worst he can also stand for. The real Saint inspired the people of the world to give to the less fortunate. And not only at Christmas.
Casual research indicates the many legends and lore associated with Saint Nicholas, the apparent inspiration for Santa Claus. Saint Nick was the patron Saint of a really wide variety of persons and organisations. Catholics, other orthodox Christians, sailors, pawn brokers and dozens of countries (even New York City) hold the Saint of Gifts to be their own Patron Saint.
The popular jolly, bearded, pot-bellied Santa of recent vintage, our Santa Claus, is derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas, who has his own version of rich European mythology attached to him.
Now today’s European Santa Claus/Father Christmas/Kris Kringle, modelled after the Saint Nicholas, is the legendary Gift-giver, who lives in some North Pole location of perpetual snow during the year. Western cultures have developed this lovely legend to inspire children with mankind’s goodness and their own need to be good during all the months preceding December and Christmas Eve, the traditional night he favours for delivering gifts.
But herein lie some adult dilemmas… This is how one source puts it: “there has long been some opposition to teaching children to believe in Santa Claus. Some Christians say the Santa tradition detracts from the religious origins and purpose of Christmas. Other critics feel that Santa Claus is an elaborate lie, and that it is unethical for parents to teach their children to believe in his existence. Still others oppose Santa Claus as a symbol of the commercialisation of the Christmas holiday, or as an intrusion upon their own national traditions. Others point out that the Claus tradition is a good example of how children can learn that they may be deliberately misled by their elders; this will help teach them to be cautious about accepting any other superstition or unsubstantiated belief.”
THE NEED TO BELIEVE
For me, childhood fantasy has a place in growing up – just as adults need to believe in something. Like Lovin Deer, The creative Jamaican, I think the Santa Claus tale must be balanced by also letting children know that their real, hardworking daddies made, bought and/or brought them their Christmas gifts. A child’s imagination can take care of both.
I close with my favourite theory (which can fly in the face of all things local and Caribbean – including a Black Santa Claus) I hold the view that so good a psychological job has been done to us in these parts – both our old and young – that if we were to reject and delete all those Roman/Pagan/European, inappropriate, irrelevant images, symbols and songs of Christmas, our sense of “Christmas” would be severely diminished!
As you debate that latter point of view, be assured that I wish you a Merry Christmas and an even better new year.