Christmas is the season where we pray for peace on earth and wish goodwill to all humankind, and so I have found myself increasing distressed at the divisive tone I heard in conversations about Christmas and our culture lately. I understand that many Christians are a bit mystified by the fact that people who do not believe in Christ celebrate Christmas, the feast of the Incarnation. Rather than seeing this fact as a negative one however, as if Christmas has somehow been hijacked from Christians, I believe it is a sign of all that Christmas is supposed to be - the celebration of God's presence in the world. What do non-Christians celebrate at Christmas? In my experience, most of them celebrate family and love. Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of God's love on earth, and so wherever people gather together to celebrate love, they are celebrating Christmas. It does not detract from Christmas to have those who are not of the Christian faith celebrate the season with those of us who are; it simply affirms and witnesses to the miracle of God's love active and present in the world today. It celebrates Emmanuel, God with us.

We hear a lot about the commercialization and materialism of the Christmas season, and I do think there is a valid critique there about how we sometimes let the details distract us from what is really important, but I don't think we give people enough credit for truly appreciating the spirit of Christmas. I have always been struck by the magical spirit of Christmas. I like the fact that people smile at perfect strangers at this time of year because of a feeling of human fellowship. I like the fact that the city streets are decorated and lit up. If the lights are snowflakes and snowmen, or the trees are called holiday trees instead of Christmas trees, does it really make it any less special or beautiful? I think "Happy Holidays" is a beautiful greeting because it can encompass Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and any other religious or cultural celebration found at this time of year. What a wonderful expression to foster peace on earth! The word "holiday" comes from "holy day", so I don't think there is any reason to take the word as some sort of slight to Christianity. If people send holiday cards with pictures of snowmen on them instead of a manger scene, I would hope that the recipients can just appreciate the beautiful, loving gesture someone made in sending a card instead judging the person as somehow selling out to secular culture.

I do think those of us who are Christians benefit from the reminder to "Keep Christ in Christmas." It is so easy to get stressed out at this time of year because of all that needs to get done that we forget to take time for our own spiritual lives. I do believe that those busy Christmas preparations, decorating the house, baking cookies, shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, etc., can be part of our Advent preparation for Christmas, but I also think it is good to step back from all of that at times and think about what it is we prepare for - the coming of Christ into the world. I was reading a passage from St. Charles Borromeo earlier this week that spoke of Advent as a time of preparation for three comings of Christ: the historical coming of Christ, the second coming at the end of time, and the coming of Christ into each of our hearts. How do we prepare for that coming of Christ into our hearts? St. Charles says that we put obstacles in the way to Christ's coming into our hearts, and so the preparation of Advent is examine our hearts and remove any obstacles we find to Christ's dwelling there. When we think of keeping Christ in Christmas, we need to recall that Christ is not some theoretical idea or word. Keeping Christ in Christmas means being Christlike in our thoughts, words, and actions. We are the Body of Christ. Like Mary we are called to bear Christ in the world. When others encounter us, do they experience of God's incarnate love? My prayer this Christmas is that Christians around the world do keep Christ in Christmas by the way they touch the lives of others. My prayer this Christmas is for peace on earth and good will among ALL humankind!