Much of what we think we know about Christmas is fiction. Try as you might, you won’t find any of the following in the Bible: singing angels, an innkeeper, Mary riding a donkey, kings with gifts, a silent contented baby, an illuminated manger or even a stable. What you will find is a story of awkwardness and discomfort, of social suicide and making the best of what little they had – but one which is shot through with gratefulness and a glimpse of what God really considers important and glorious. Now that is something really worth meditating on and thanking him for. Happy Christmas!
What? I’m a day late? Really? Not according to the official Church calendar, I’m not. Christmas is 12 days long, and ends when Epiphany begins on 6 January. The whole idea of festivals being barely a day in length is really quite a modern one, birthed, no doubt, of our incessant drive to speed up our lives and cram more in. In most of history up to Jesus’ day and beyond, guests would rarely come round for just one meal, weddings would last a week or more and if they had celebrated Christmas (which they didn’t until Constantine in AD 300 of course) they would certainly not have confined it to a frantic morning of present-opening and a brief church service. Even if it is preceded by the most drawn-out shopping and partying period ever in the name of ‘preparation’!
I for one love the idea, once the frantic present buying part is over, of having a relaxed 12-day period of thanksgiving of one of the most significant events in history. After all, Christmas is about when God joined us, in arguably the biggest act of love and vulnerability we have ever witnessed. I’m going to keep celebrating and enjoying it until early January at least, and frankly even after that it’s worth remembering from time to time.
Happy Christmas, one and all!