This has to be one of my absolute favorite Christmas hymns – the lyrics give me chills (good ones!) no matter what time of year I hear it.
I grew up in a household that not only didn’t celebrate Christmas, we actively UNcelebrated it 😉 While we were encouraged never to tell someone’s child that Santa wasn’t real, we had all the lines down pat from a very early age. “No, *we* don’t celebrate Christmas.” “No thank you, please don’t purchase a gift.” “No, Santa doesn’t come to our house.” “No, we didn’t get anything for Christmas.” “No, we’re not sad about it.”
In all fairness, my parents did a huge Thanksgiving celebration, and our birthdays were always as lavish and extravagant as they could make them. When I was a teenager, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our church, prepping and then delivering meals to the local Meals on Wheels recipients (did you know that major holidays, people who get MoW are left a TV dinner the day before? 🙁 That’s not right!)
But I was a student in the “Christmas is a pagan tradition” school of theology, the one that looked at all of the secular and pagan roots of the traditional celebrations, and declared that God is nowhere in them. My husband grew up with just as much anti-Christmas as I did, with the added layer of the Christmas tree that dried out and fell over when he was 7, and it being declared that it was a sign and portent from above – no more Christmas for him, either.
As an adult, with an ever-deepening appreciation for the Jewish roots of my faith, I’ve encountered those just as adamantly anti-Christmas as any people I grew up with. I do get the reasoning, I respect those whose convictions are different than my own, and I certainly believe there’s wide latitude for all of us to choose.
For my little family, though…we started out very, very tentatively when The Boy was 2. I picked up a few strings of lights, and hung them in our bedroom. I woke up around 2 am one morning, with The Boy babbling next to me. I listened, and he was looking at the lights and saying “wook at de wights! Fanks, Jedus, for da pwetty wights!” With that music ringing in my mama-ears, we decided that the next year, we would embrace Christmas.
This season is our 4th actively, deliberately, consciously choosing to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. Now – we celebrate it at other times of the year, as well – I happen to believe that He was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, God dwelling with mankind. But just as pagan origins haven’t deterred me from wearing my wedding band, or wearing white at my wedding, or using the names of the days of the week, or using currency with pagan symbols on it – neither has the knowledge that some of the traditions we are honoring are very, very ancient stopped me from using them to celebrate the Light of the world.
This year, we’ll be putting up a tree. We’re wrapping gifts and placing them under the tree, as well as giving some away to those less fortunate. We’re singing carols and listening to music and observing Advent. We’re using every tradition, every kitschy hallmark moment to teach The Boy about the child who was fully God and fully man, the One who came and sacrificed everything for us.
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
And every time I hear the lyrics above, I’ll tear up as I think of the ways God has taught me to love, the chains He has broken, and the oppression that has ceased….
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
