The commercialization of Christmas and the holiday (etymologically associated as holiday derives from Holy Day) associated with gift giving has diluted “real” message of Christmas. This has been discussed and debated over and over and I’m not going to attempt to add anything new to that particular discussion. However, for my family, for the last two years have been trying something new. Which we hope is a way to further the disconnect between the two, i.e., the commercial/gift exchange and celebration and remembrance of the Nativity of Jesus.
The figure of Santa Claus derives from Saint Nicholas of Myra and based on this we’ve made a slight change. The feast day for St. Nicholas is December 6 … which is quite close to the Christmas break. Thus we’ve made the decision that for our family we now have been (and will) exchange gifts on December 6 (technically after evening Vespers on the 5th), not on December 25. Thus on the 24th and 25th the “special” things we do is that we attend the Nativity services (and end the Nativity fast). Thus the anticipation of “stuff” that kids (of any age?) associate with the gift exchange has been (and is) disconnected with the Nativity which is then rightly and more easily focused on Christ and the Church.
So to bastardize Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals, if we universalized that practice … do you think that would that help? Is this a good way to disassociate the commercial and worldly aspects of the Nativity from the Sacred? Is/was this move a good idea? I welcome thoughts and opinions on this little switch.
December 4th, 2009 | 1:39 pm | #1
I am an Orthodox Christian, and I do think this is a nice idea. However, I wonder how Christians who are not Orthodox (and do not have any kind of role for the saints) would view this tradition.
In addition, my church works with a Christian group that provides gifts to families that could not otherwise afford to spend money on gifts during the holiday season. Because the Nativity Fast is a time of increased prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for Orthodox Christians, I believe that providing gifts to children or families who don’t have much money is type of almsgiving–and I plan on buying gifts for an entire family. So I don’t see it as wrong to buy gifts for needy children or needy families at Christmas when these people would otherwise not have a chance to get anything special.
But for many Americans who are well-off and wealthy, I do agree that Christmas is much too commercialized. Perhaps this is a double standard, but this is how I feel.
December 4th, 2009 | 11:05 pm | #2
My Pentecostal>Anglican point of view sees this as a fantastic idea. Get the commercialized gift giving over with (and scale it down considerably)…and do the appropriate worshipful activities to celebrate the Incarnation. Or, you could delay gift-giving until the Epiphany, and take advantage of after-Christmas sales…
December 6th, 2009 | 10:39 am | #3
Indeed in the Netherlands they regularly give gifts like this:
“In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas’ Eve (December 5) is the chief occasion for gift-giving. The evening is called “sinterklaasavond” or “pakjesavond” (“presents evening”). In the Netherlands, children receive their presents on this evening whereas in Belgium, children put their shoe in front of the fireplace on the evening of December 5, then go to bed, and find the presents around the shoes on the morning of the 6th.”
A practice we picked up when we lived there and still do to this day. (Though we hybridized it for our American sensibilities and only had one gift on December 6th… the rest on Christmas)
Links
Blogs
Find Us
Contact