Commentary: You can't take Christ out of Christmas – Roland S. Martin

Here is an excellent commentary on the Christmas Season By Roland S. Martin. Worth the read…glad to see this on CNN.

Commentary: You can’t take Christ out of Christmas

He raises some good questions…

What if families decided to forgo gifts, and instead, used their shopping days giving back to those in need? What if more of us went into our closets, grabbed old toys and clothes, repackaged them, and provided them as gifts to those without? Instead of gorging on food, what if we used some of the dough to feed those who are in need?

I think it’s important not to lose your identity as a consumer during the Christmas Season (or in any season).  I fall into this trap too.  Even with my kids, I want to give them lots of presents at Christmas.  But I also want to open their eyes to the idea that we can help people too.

Merry Christmas!

4 comments

  • Good piece — I still disagree with the premise, though. You can’t take Christ out of something He was never in to begin with (trust me on this one, everything we associate with Christmas really started elsewhere).

    That being said, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement from Mr. Martin:

    “…do we have to be so crass during the Christmas season? Its time that we return to traditional values, and end this ridiculous charade.”

    I would also urge those who REALLY like Christmas to take some responsibility for the holiday and not accept everything that comes down the pike just because it has “Christmas” attached to it. Just a thought.

  • Really? Have you ever met anyone who’s crass about CHRISTMAS??

    The only “upset” I see at Christmas is from those who work in retail and have to put in crazy hours dealing with crazy customers doing a crazy amount of shopping. A nice “Thanks! And have a merry Christmas!” usually clears that up, though.

    I guess I don’t really get the whole thing about the hidden agenda to get Christ out of Christmas. Those who celebrate Christ’s birth at this time of year generally do that with as much excitement, authenticity and gladness as those who choose to spend Christmas celebrating being with friends and family.

  • Chris,

    The crassness pervades the culture — try doing some simple grocery shopping any time between mid November and the end of December — you’re inundated with tacky crassness at every turn (good luck if you’re going to a mall just to pick up a CD or some clothes).

    In a big way it’s like traveling abroad and seeing the stereotypical loud American who doesn’t understand why everyone can’t understand English so he just talks louder. Those who have bought into EVERYTHING just because it places itself under the banner of “Christmas” just can’t understand why some of us would rather go hide in a corner every December than subject ourselves to more of the crassness.

    OK, I’m off to buy some stock in coal now, since everyone says that’s what they’re getting for me ;)

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