M o n t h l y N e w s f r o m F P C Ty l e r • Vo l u m e 1 0 , I s s u e 1 2 : D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5
A War on Christmas By Rev. Dr. Stuart Baskin I tend to steer clear of political matters in my preaching and teaching. It’s not that political matters are unworthy of theological reflection. But when pundits and politicians wander into the theological realm, I feel a sense of obligation (along with a dose of trepidation!) to reflect on what I hear. I hear talk of a war on Christmas and I’m sure there are some people who are openly hostile to Christmas. I’m not sure this represents a war on Christmas, but it makes for good press to talk about it though. As a historian of the church, I am more struck by the irony that we should even be talking about a war on Christmas in the first place. You see, it wasn’t very long ago that we Presbyterians, and most other Protestants, didn’t celebrate Christmas at all. In fact, among the Puritans in New England, celebrating Christmas was punishable with a fine of five shillings. Christmas was not even a federal holiday until 1870. There were certainly regional differences in attitudes
about Christmas. In the deep South, it was an important social season. But Christmas in America was very different 150 years ago from what it is today. Sometime in the 1800’s, retail businesses began to see profit to be gained from Christmas, and invented some of our most cherished Christmas traditions. Many Christians were horrified. For them, businesses turning Christmas into an opportunity to turn a profit was an affront to the sacred nature of the occasion. It constituted something like a war on Christmas. How far we’ve come since then. While on the one hand many decry the commercialization of Christmas, many among us accuse businesses of waging a war on Christmas if they do not openly and publically promote Christmas. As for me, whether businesses do or do not promote Christmas is a matter of indifference. Is there a war on Christmas? I don’t know. But I will say this: with all the expensive trappings of the season, it’s awfully hard to smell the hay in the manger.
i n t h i s i s s u e | H I G H L I G H T S & F E AT U R E S Blue Christmas Service | pg 2
Santa’s WorkSHOP | pg 7
FPC Christmas Services | pg 3
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First Presbyterian Church of Tyler, Texas 230 West Rusk Street, Tyler, Texas 75701-1696 (903) 597-6317 | www.fpctyler.com