Listen up! Message from Santa
‘Twas The Month Before Christmas
‘Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the store,
Each department was dripping with Yuletide decor.
The Muzak was blaring an out-of-tune carol,
And the fake snow was falling on “Ladies’ Apparel.”
I’d flown many miles from the North Pole this day,
To check on reports which had caused me dismay.
I’d come to this store for but one special reason,
To see for myself what went on this Season.
I hid in a corner and in a short while,
I saw the Store President march down the aisle.
He shouted an order to “Turn the store tree on!”
And also the “NOEL” in blinking pink neon.
Up high, grandly hanging from twin gold supports,
Four hundred pink angels flew over “Men’s Shorts.”
And towering over the Rear Mezzanine,
A 90-foot Day Glo “Nativity Scene.”
The clock on the wall said two minutes to Nine,
The floorwalkers proudly all stood in line.
I watched while the President smelled their carnations,
Then called out his final command - “Man Your Stations!”
When out on the street there arose such a roar,
It rang to the rafters and boomed through the store.
It sounded exactly like street-repair drilling,
Or maybe another big Mafia killing.
I looked to the doors, and there banging glass,
Was a clamoring, shrieking, hysterical mass.
And I felt from the tone of each scream and each curse,
That the “Spirit Of Christmas” had changed for the worse.
The clock it struck Nine, and the door opened wide,
And that great human avalanche thundered inside.
More fearsome than Sherman attacking Atlanta
Came parents and kiddies with just one goal - “Santa!!”
In front stormed the mothers, all brandishing handbags,
As heavy and deadly as 20 pound sandbags.
With gusto they swung them, the better to smash ears,
Of innocent floorwalkers, buyers, and cashiers.
Egged on by their parents, the kids had one aim,
To get to the man who was using my name.
They mobbed him and mauled him, the better to plead,
For the presents they sought in their hour of greed.
The President watched with a gleam in his eye,
As he thought of the toys that the parents would buy.
Of all Christmas come-ons, this crowd would attest,
That a visit to “Santa” was clearly the best.
It was all too much for my soul to condone,
And I let out a most unprofessional moan.
The crowd turned around, and I’ll say for their sake,
That they knew in an instant I wasn’t fake.
“I’ve had it,” I told them, “with fast-buck promoting,
With gimmicks and come-ons and businessmen gloating.
This garish display of commercialized greed,
Is so very UN-Christmas, it makes my heart bleed!”
I cannot claim to have written the poem, but I certainly share this real Santa’s reaction.
Hands up all those who hate the commercialization of Christmas. Hmm, me too.
But that doesn’t make me a killjoy. I still like Christmas trees, and I like the idea of giving and sharing. I just want it to be meaningful.
So, Christmas has become a Christian holy day, a birthday celebration for Jesus. That in itself is interesting. The most likely calculations actually have Him born sometime in September.
The other interesting thing… nowhere in the Bible are we told to celebrate the birthday of Christ.
For those who would like to follow up on this, the following paper makes a good read:
Christmas: An Historical Survey Regarding Its Origins and Opposition to It, by Kevin Reed.
(If you find yourself unable to access the paper directly via this link, simply Google the words: Christmas Kevin Reed.)
However, the majority of Christians choose to celebrate the birth of Christ anyway, and there is a good case for doing so without this being regarded as a pagan thing to do.
Is Christmas Christian?
A Response on “Christmas”
The writer, T.L. Hubeart, sums up as follows:
For the average Christian, who has hardly heard of Tammuz or Osiris or the idols of two or three thousand years ago, is certainly not regarding them as any kind of factor in his celebration. For him, the holiday is about Jesus Christ, a way to honor His coming to earth, and the fact that this holiday has been arbitrarily assigned to December 25th simply gives all Christians an agreed-upon day on which to honor Him. The fact that two thousand years ago pagans happened to be praising false gods on the same day is irrelevant to the believer today, just as the fact that a pagan in Paul’s day worshipped an idol while butchering an ox meant nothing when the apostle bought the meat from that ox.
Let us celebrate Christmas in a way that is pleasing to God, and let no idols of any kind keep us from giving him praise and worship.
I particularly like that last sentence.
Yes, let’s do that. I think the poem’s Santa would say Yes to that as well.
