AT THIS TIME of year, the hundreds of thousands of followers who read my blog look to my Christmas message as part of their traditional Christmas and have done so for nearly two years. Having to compose such a homily tests my numerous literary inscriptions to their limit: but I welcome my yearly challenge. Three weeks before Christmas my mind turns to my seasonal message.
As you who so slavishly indulge me by reading my blogs over the year; I owe it to you to put you on the right path for the coming year. But this year I have reflected upon the modern meaning of Christmas. The historical meaning, of course, was the celebration of the birth of Christ, and there was a time when, especially at this time of year, all Christian churches of whatever domination were full, and in some cases to overflowing. People instinctively paid, through attendance at midnight mass, their homage to the real significance of Christmas. Carols from Kings were always the curtain raiser to Christmas at the BBC. The Christian religion was the backbone of the celebrations. It was the intended backbone, without which Christmas meant very little.
Okay, it may have been the case that by the 1960s the dwindling effects of Christian worship began to relapse and secular society began to make inroads; and was later to emerge fully crowned. But for those like me who were born in the late forties and early fifties; we still understood the meaning of Christmas; even if we never attended church apart from weddings, christenings, and funerals. In our schooling we understood the meaning of Christmas and it was not all about presents (although, to be honest, it was what we looked forward to most): but we were taught the true Christian significance of this time of the year. It was the birth of Christ; as Easter was meant to mourn his crucifixion.
Both Christmas and Easter have become, no longer part of the religious calendar; but the spending calendar. Commercialism has long since overtaken the religious spirit of Christmas. We have Black Friday extended into Saturday and the week following. As far as commercial interest is concerned the greatest significance of Christmas is not the birth of Christ, but the presence of bargains on the high street, in the Malls, and online. Commercialism has robbed Christmas of its original religious purpose. Bargains become the true purpose of Christmas; and it also applies to the New Year sales.
IN THE UK, once atheism predominates as the author of a secular society; then what is the point of Christmas and Easter? What is the point of spending the billions of pounds world-wide on celebrating both festivals? Or for that matter, any other religious festival: atheism brings forth the iron heel of disbelief; the iron heel that destroys faith and reduces humanity to the nasty and pitiless extremes of living without a religious faith and censored by secularism.
The modern symbols of Christmas have to be decadence and decline. Gorging and spending are now the seasonal priority. Drunken women falling down in town and city centres and exposing parts of their bodies which may be considered the highest form of eroticism when sober; but become slatternly and squalid when drunk: men in turn usually end up abusing and fighting each other, usually with a beer glass, and over either football or women.
Families come together to celebrate the season and crowd the dinner table on Christmas day, pulling crackers, and wearing the contents on their heads. All is peaceful and merry. The spread before them is the product several visits to Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Morrison's; and the new kids on the block Aldi: over-consumption (i.e. gluttony) leaves the living room overcrowded with lifeless bodies snoring and farting the afternoon away: but ready to begin again come the evening.
In such an environment alcohol is the blue touch paper that loosens the tongue, and resurrect ancient injustices felt by certain family members to other family members. It takes little for a father and brother to square up; it takes only alcohol for a snide remark well targeted to transform the peace into a great shouting match between various family factions. But although these may be the extreme exceptions; we know that many arguments are started within family members at Christmas; when the Christian message of love should be at its zenith and once was, today that message, in our secular society, falls on deaf ears.
THE ONLY socially good thing about over consumption at Christmas is that it keeps store and supermarket employees in their jobs, and allows them to over consume on behalf of their own families at a discount from their employers.
Christmas today has lost both its Christian and pagan heritage. In purely religious terms there is no longer any point to it apart from what; one or two million church goers? Consumerism (and atheism) has taken over this festival. I do not doubt that in certain communities throughout the Christian world; they celebrate their faith; whether they live in North or South America, the Christian religion is hanging on and may it long do so.
My Homily is reaching its end. I do not wish people to stop celebrating, only to remember what they are meant to be celebrating: and it has nothing to do consumerism or even (a creation of mass consumption) Father Christmas/Santa. Christmas and Easter are part of the religious calendar; the first to celebrate Christ's birth; the second to mourn his death and celebrate his resurrection.
So, I hope my many thousands of followers will take my homily to heart and think about its profundity in the months leading up to next Christmas; when I shall once more give you the benefit of my wisdom on another aspect of a celebration that will continue to exist, if only in its commercial, for as long as democracy and the free market survives.
No comments:
Post a Comment