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December is Here



Disclaimer: The first half of this post will seem heavy, maybe depressing, but read on, it leads to the Light that overcomes Darkness. 

It is the first day of December. We are officially in the Holiday Season. For those who bemoaned Christmas carols and songs before Thanksgiving dinner or who scorned artificial trees in department stores as early as October 1st, the sulking is over now. With impunity, people can “deck the halls,” and embrace this festive time of year. There will be twinkle lights, balls of holly,  and all things jolly. 

And yet not all seems so jovial this year. Despite the decorations and tunes on the radio, the season seems stunted. There is an elusive shadow caste over this holiday season. For the first time the  Grinch who stole Christmas seems more sane, and Scrooge’s “Bahumbug” sounds about right. What could be this grime spirit that stalks in the shadows? Has consumerism and the commercialism killed Christmas? Was it only a matter of time tell the tinsel trees fell and Santa’s sleigh slide into oblivion? Getting the holiday blues? Or perhaps Greens, feeling green and sick of the pressure to be warm and jolly? Maybe you want to be like the Kranks and skip Xmas for a cruise. It is no coincidence that there are many classics about hating this time of year, i.e. The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Christmas Carol. In fact, we secretly find Scrooge and the Grinch appealing on their anti holiday rants. 

If you aren’t feel’in the mirth and joy this year, there is a good explanation. Firstly, this has always been a depressing month of darkness. It originally was a time steeped in paganism as Romans and Celts, Welsh, and Druids celebrated the High Solstice.  It was a time of ritualized sacrifice and other horrors of the pagan mind.  Hence why the Church sought to distract from the darkness, by celebrating Light coming into the world, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9). The bleakness was always part of Christmastime, as many parts of the world drew darker literally because of the sun and spiritually because of the pagan festivals. Without Christmas, this month of December would be bleaker still and dismember our joy utterly.   

Celebrating Christmas is a beacon on this blackest month of the year. Only our Lord Jesus Christ can recall us to merriment as we reflect on His Incarnation and our salvation.  Christ having come as a child is a sign of hope, as all babies bring hope. In a time steeped in shadow and ancient paganism, we fix our eyes on Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2) and remember His great love. We are even reminded that when our Lord celebrated His first Christmas it was not without danger, for Herod sought to kill Him and Rachael’s children were slaughtered (Matthew 2:16-18).  


Part of the reason for the heaviness of this holiday season is to force us into Christ’s bosom and to sing carols to lift our spirits. The gloom of this time forces us to seek our Bridegroom. When it is Spring or Summertime it is with ease that we shirk heavy hearts as we bask in the warm sunlight. Even Autumn has its rays of red, orange, and golden leaves to bury our burdens beneath. Winter however is like a derelict and dreary dream, where the trees look like roots shriveled into skeletons and the winds and storms beat down upon us with ice and frosty drops. The season reminds me of the storm on the sea of Galilee, when the disciples despaired and Jesus slept, “And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:23-27). That is Christmas! It is us waking our Savior up in a wintry storm with carols, asking Him to calm the waves that are pounding us inside. We are all on the ship of this season, and only Christ can send the calm into our souls and refresh us in this the stormy darkness of December, “In him was life,and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5). Amen. 




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