Christmas Trees in October?

I'm Baaaaaaaack! 

I've discovered that since I'm retired I'm not disciplined enough to work full time and focus on writing. I've got bits and pieces of writings throughout my hard drive! But, maybe for the present I can resort to my favorite (and most effective) mode of therapy. If you find something worthwhile in it, I'll be pleased.

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I am not one who gets upset about the date stores begin to put up Christmas decorations, and I was grateful for that yesterday when I walked into Home Depot and saw their Christmas Tree display. I had a choice; so I chose to experience joy, rather than resentment.

Please don’t insult my intelligence by lecturing me about commercializing Holy Days. I’m as disturbed about that as anybody. [God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.][1] But I've not seen or heard about any valid, effective effort to address the issue. 

But since my seminary days as a student pastor, all I've seen or heard is people griping, whining, complaining and otherwise objecting to the date the tinsel goes up—a date presumably prior to some magical—but unspecified—“appropriate” date.

I have two responses.

First, complaining changes nothing. It does nothing more than spread a negative pall over a season intended for joy. Momma always said, “If you can’t say anything nice…” So my first response is, if you’re not going to do anything about it, griping won’t accomplish anything effective or edifying.

Of course, we all have a right to hold an opinion on any subject; but none of us is obligated to share it. St. Paul advised the church in Ephesus, “Let no worthless talk come out of your mouths; but only what is useful for building up, so that your words may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). Do our opinions "build up"? Do they "give grace"?

In order to accomplish anything positive or effective, some specific things need to be established. First, what, exactly is the upsetting factor? Is it the date stores put up Christmas decorations? If so, why is an early date objectionable, what date would be acceptable, and what would be changed and accomplished by enforcing a new date?

Is the upsetting factor the commercialization and/or the profiteering implied by the early decorations? If so, we’ll need to find an acceptable balance between our moral indignation and the governmental regulation required to affect the change (because governmental involvement would be required. Giving up profit is not likely to become a voluntary effort).

And the fact that we’re dealing with a religious celebration begs the question of the relationship between religion and government. And as a nation that boasts religious freedom, the question arises: are we willing to insist that the celebrations of other religions (e.g., Ramadan, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Maha Shivarati, etc.) be granted the same considerations?

It’s only after determining our goals that we can begin to strategize.

A second response emerges because there appears to be no collaborative effort to influence change in the commercial trend toward early Christmas marketing. If you’re not going to (or can’t) do anything about it, and since it appears to be inevitable barring specific legal regulation, you at least can choose how you will respond to it.

It happens every year; we can anticipate it, expect it, and determine what our response will be. Since we can’t dictate what others will do or how they will respond, we can choose to make our response, as St. Paul advises above, one that will build up and give grace.

I’m guessing that those who are offended by early Christmas marketing are aware of the real “reason for the season”—otherwise (I’m guessing) they wouldn't be upset. So, when in mid-October you see a Christmas Tree or a Santa Figure or a holly wreath, what specifically comes to your mind, that doesn’t come to your mind when you see the same things in December?

In our home, some time in early-to-mid October we decorate for Fall, adding some jack-o-lanterns and ghosts and witches late in October. Early in November we take down the Spooks and bring out the turkeys and cornucopias and pilgrims. Immediately after Thanksgiving we put away the Fall décor and set up the Christmas decorations. That’s what we do. We can’t control—nor do we sense a desire to control—how and when others celebrate the passing seasons of the year and, quite frankly, it’s none of our business. But, we do have nativities and other Christmas symbols in our home that stay on display year-round. Is that OK?

There’s a whole genre of businesses in Branson, Missouri and other resort areas called “Christmas Stores”. They’re open year-round. In Alaska we visited a huge "Santa Store" (Jo Lynn had her picture taken sitting on Santa's knee)--in July! Have you ever visited anything like that? What went through your mind?

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. No matter what month of the year, no matter in what venue and no matter whether my thoughts focus on presents under a tree or straw in a manger, when I see a visual symbol that represent Christmas, I cannot divorce that experience from the joy of knowing that Jesus, the Savior of the World, was born, and in that birth, God is with us!

That joy, for me at least, trumps all commercialism—no matter what time of year. I experienced my first little twinge of "Christmas Spirit" last night when I saw Home Depot's Christmas Tree display.

And that’s how I see it through the flawed pane of glass that is my world view.

Together in the Walk,
Jim

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[1] The Serenity Prayer adopted by AA and many other 12-step recovery groups; attributed to American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.