What is the spirit of Christmas? .......... Parables 622

December 22, 1998

What is the “spirit of Christmas”? After a survey, here are some opinions.

Some say it is family being together, eating and giving gifts. It is a pervading sense of good will. Even strangers go out of their way to say ‘Merry Christmas’ (at least they used to!)

Others call it an anticipation, like that of a child filled with wonder and excitement. Many claim it is a spirit of generosity, an open-heartedness that thinks benevolent thoughts and gives gifts. Others say it is remembering the reason for the season yet they do not define it.

Some respond by saying they put up a tree, put lights on their house, and play their Christmas CD’s to get into the spirit of Christmas. For them, you don’t have it until you unpack the decorations or play the music or open the gifts. Others counter by saying no, the Christmas spirit is in your heart, a warm, glowing feeling that you cannot buy in a store.

But many still think the spirit of Christmas is out dazzling your neighbors with more—more ornaments, a bigger tree, more presents, more flashing lights, more moving figurines, more parties, more of everything.

Today’s celebrations are foreign to the first Christmas. That day there were no parties, lights, turkey dinners, brightly wrapped gifts or Christmas carols. The people who took part in the event may have had a song in their hearts, but they were not at all as we imagine them today.

For instance, our Christmas cards picture clean, gentle shepherds, but the genuine tenders of sheep were rough and unkept. Their bodies and clothes both needed a bath and they had little or no education. Shepherds were considered the lowest on the social scale.

Yet the shepherds were joyful. They returned from seeing the newborn Christ “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.” They had the spirit of Christmas.

After Jesus was born, few recognized His significance. One who did, a devout Jew named Simeon, “took Jesus in his arms and praised God.” He had the spirit of Christmas.

Mary and Joseph seemed amazed at their baby. The Bible says they “marveled at what was said about him.” They had the spirit of Christmas too.

The “spirit of Christmas” as indicated by the story in God’s Word, is partly an incredible awe, an awe that fills the air and touches even those who have no idea where their joy comes from. It is the awe of response to a great message: God became a baby and entered our world as one of us. It is the awe of hearing angels saying this is “good news of great joy for all people.” It is an awe that touches those who haven’t even heard that good news because the spirit of Christmas fuels the joy and the music, and touches people with a warmth from outside themselves, a sweet delight from the heart of God.

Would it be the same without the birth of the child? One man complained about carols ruining his Christmas because “those religious people have to get into everything.” He and others like him fail to make the connection between the celebration and the reason for the season. They are like people who go to a baby shower, eat the food, laugh, enjoy themselves and pass around the gifts, but never bother themselves to admire and praise the baby.

They miss the point but they also miss that ancient and original spirit of Christmas. The Bible says that “God inhabits the praises of His people.” That is, if we throw a Christmas party filled with the praises of our lips, the goodness He puts in our lives and the carols that honor His birth, then He is the guest of honor. For those at the party, the spirit of Christmas becomes a deeper and richer awareness of His presence.