Royal Bank LetterPublished by Royal Bank of Canada

The Spirit of ChristmasThe Christmas season has become inescapable for everyone

in our society, Christian or otherwise. But Christmas has

also been drifting back to its origins as a general celebration

of life. And what it stands for applies to people of anyreligion. Can anyone rightly object to peace and goodwill?

It is probably only a nostalgic illusion that theChristmas season gets longer every year, but itcertainly does seem that way, doesn’t it? The frosthas barely penetrated the ground here in Canada beforetinsel decorations start sprouting out on the streets,and we are arbitrarily treated to the tediously familiarstrains of Christmas music in shopping malls.

Whether or not it really does consume a largerpart of our lives than it did in the good old days ofour unreliable memories, the buildup to Christmasnonetheless makes hungry demands on our physical,financial, and emotional resources. Swept along bythe advertising, the shopping, the partying, the specialmedia presentations and all the rest, people in thissociety find it impossible to ignore.

The main complaint about Christmas, of course, isthat it has become scandalously commercialized.Viewed critically, the season may be seen as a stateof artificial excitement whipped up by businessinterests to hustle consumers into buying things theyotherwise would not buy.

When it is not blatantly pitched at children whocan be expected to harry their parents into providingalluring gifts, Christmas advertising attempts to pryopen pocket books through mawkish appeals tosentimentality. Imbued with a feeling of obligation to"buy, buy, buy," families that could use money tomeet more practical needs may blow it on costlypresents and other luxuries.

Still, the commercialization of Christmas seems tobe one of those things that everybody talks about butnobody does anything about. The reality is that it hasbecome a kind of necessary evil in the retail sector ofour economy, in which a "good holiday season" may

spell the difference between an annual profit and lossfor many stores.

Part-time workers and students seeking pocketmoney have reason to be thankful for the materialisticturn Christmas has taken. Others owe a major part oftheir livelihood to the season -- for instance, farmersraising turkeys or growing Christmas trees.

"Oh, this Christmas season!" sighs a character in astory by Hermann Sudermann. "I believe it wasinvented by some evil demon expressly to annoy uspoor bachelors, to show us the more clearly thedesolation of our existence. For some it is a source ofjoy, it is for us a torture."

That forlorn individual might have been speakingfor all the multitudes of people who find themselvesout in the cold at this time of year, looking in at thespecial warm glow it generates in contentedhouseholds. Their ranks include the homeless, thebereaved, and individuals separated from their lovedones for any number of reasons. Within familiesthemselves, the public display of extravagance makesit a bleak time for those financially unable to join inthe spending spree.

Even members of reasonably affluent families mayexperience a kind of guilt at the fact that theirrelationships do not live up to the blissful scenespresented in the mass media’s seasonal programming.

On television, the .cosy affection of close-knit andtrouble-free families reaches its peak around theChristmas tree. The underlying message is that thereis something wrong with people who do not celebratethe occasion in an atmosphere of unconditionalharmony.

Psychologists report a high incidence of depressionaround Christmas among people who feel that theirlives should be more like those ideal fictitioussituations. They are distressed because they feel that,at this emotive time of year, they should by rights behappier than they are.

In countries such as Canada where many religionsco-exist, the general celebration of the birth of Christplaces an added psychological strain on many non-Christians. Much to the discomfort of their parents,little Hindus or Muslims or Buddhists cannot beexpected to understand why they should be excludedfrom the singing, the gift-giving, the pageantry andthe revelry that surround them, tending to eclipsetheir own cultural celebrations. The feast of Hanukkahhas taken on increased importance among Jewishfamilies in western countries because of its proximityto Christmas. Jewish children are able to celebrate asort Of parallel feast -- presents and all -- connectedwith their own faith.

Smoothing the wayfor pagans to becomefollowers of the cross

Well-meaning attempts have lately been made inmulticultural communities to circumscribe theChristian content in Christmas decorations and eventslike Santa Claus parades and school pageants. Therehave even been attempts to suppress the use of the

word "Christmas," so asnot to offend people ofother faiths.So far, these ventures insocial engineering havehad little effect. Givencenturies of conditioning

in places where the majority of people were at leastnominally Christian, it is difficult to instil the feelingthat Christmas is just another faceless holiday like,say, Labour Day.

In any case, the fact is that, for all its outwardrituals, Christmas is no longer a very "religious"occasion. The degree of devotion with which it isobserved among Christian themselves is left largelyup to individual belief.

It has long since been generally understood thatyou do not have to be a Christian to have theChristmas spirit. After all, the most popular andaffecting of modern Christmas songs, "WhiteChristmas," was written by an American Jew, IrvingBerlin.

Traditionalists who object to the commercializationand secularization of the feast are prone to say that itis "taking the Christ out of Christmas." Some pointwith horror to the habit of abbreviating the name to"Xmas" as though it were a modern abomination,

oblivious of the fact that "X" is an age-old symbolfor Christ derived from the first letter of the name inGreek.

Non-Christians and non-practising Christians whofeel uneasy about participating in the event may takesome comfort in the fact that it was not an exclusivelyChristian celebration to begin with. When Christianitywas being suppressed by the Roman Empire and thelater barbarian conquerors, members of the faith joinedin the winter pagan rites for protective coloration.Later, when the religion came out of the catacombs,Christian missionaries merged their ceremonies withlocal modes of worship, reasoning that it wouldsmooth the way for pagans to become followers ofthe cross.

Lacking an exact record of Christ’s birth, churchleaders settled on December 25. It was an improbabledate in the context of the Christmas story; for instance,in that inclement season, shepherds in Galilee wereunlikely to be watching their flocks by night. But thedate had an advantage; it coincided with the paganperiod of rejoicing at the rebirth of the sun after thelongest night of the year in the northern hemisphere.

Originally Christian communicants confinedthemselves to performing a special mass, Cristesmaesse, amidst the hubbub of the pagan winter solsticefestivities. The timing fitted neatly with the conceptof Christ bringing light to the world.

Christmas as such was not widely celebrated untilthe fourth century AD, mainly because the firstChristian leaders feared anything that might precipitatea relapse into paganism. They condemned the publiccelebration of birthdays as most objectionably pagan,recalling the orgies that once took place in the courseof commemorating the Roman Emperors’ births.

The early churchmen preached that the date of aperson’s physical birth was of no consequence; whatreally mattered was the date of one’s spiritual birthon becoming a Christian through baptism. Thus formany years the chief celebration of Christ’s cominginto the world was of his baptism, marked by thefeast of Epiphany. Some sections of the EasternOrthodox Church still combine the observance ofChristmas (properly speaking, the Nativity) and theEpiphany on January 6.

In strict Christian liturgy, the Nativity is merelythe fourth-ranking feast of the year, after Easter,Pentecost (the visitation to Christ’s disciples of theHoly Ghost), and the Epiphany. Christmas wasvariously celebrated in January, March, May andSeptember in different locales until the late Decemberdate become standard some time after AD 500.

The prime model for this Christianized winter feastwas the Saturnalia, honoring the Roman god ofagriculture. Many of the customs we now observe atChristmastime can be traced back to this pre-Christianaffair, notably the hanging of decorations, the lightingof candles, and the giving of presents. When, in ourpresent-day armed forces, the officers serve Christmasdinner to the enlisted ranks, they are following atradition that harks directly back to the Saturnaliabanquets at which masters waited on their slaves.

In fact, most of the customs we automaticallyfollow at Christmastime today have their roots inpagan rituals. Though the Christmas tree as we knowit comes from eighth century Germany (or, arguably,Latvia or Estonia) it represents an extension of theage-old worship of trees as spirits. The ancientEgyptians are known to have put up green palmsindoors during sun-worshipping ceremonies. TheRomans hung trinkets on live pines, while the Druidsused tree branches to make offerings of cakes, candlesand painted fruit to the gods.

The lighting onsuburban streets" goesback to primitive belief

Popular singers who croon about the genesis ofromance under the mistletoe are unwittingly referringto the pre-Christian role of that plant as a symbol offorgiveness and reconciliation. Among the ancientBritons, enemies who met under the mistletoe, whichgrew as a parasite on the branches of oaks, wereobliged to drop their weapons and embrace -- hencethe modern convention that couples who find

themselves under themistletoe at a Christmasparty must kiss.In northern cultures, thedark days of Decemberwere a time of super-stitious dread, so peopleplaced wreaths of ivy and

evergreen boughs in their houses to evoke themysterious power of the evergreen to resist wilting inthe deadly cold of winter. This explains the ubiquitouspresence today of artificial decorations and wrappingpaper bearing an evergreen or ivy motif.

Ancient northerners believed in having plenty oflight in the form of bonfires and torches to encouragethe sun to make a speedy return to its full life-givingpower. When you drive down a suburban street andsee all those coloured fairy lights festooning the housesand lawn ornaments, you are witnessing an electricvariation of those hopeful rites.

Pagan influences set the tone of Christmas as atime of unrestrained merriment. Europeans in theMiddle Ages adopted that idea with enthusiasm andaplomb. For ordinary folk, the holiday happened to

fall at an ideal time for letting oneself go, in the lullbetween harvesting and planting when farm work wasin abeyance. Latter-day Scrooges who deplore thewaste of productivity and overindulgence during theChristmas holidays may be referred back to the dayswhen the carousing went on practically non-stop forthe better part of a month.

From that era comes the custom of the wassailbowl, containing a special brew for all comers. Thecustom is perpetuated today by people who servetheir guests eggnog, punch, or other specially preparedseasonal drinks.

’No Christmas/’ theycried," and plumpuddings werebanned by law

This is often done on Christmas Eve, which wasreally part of the same day among the early Christianswho, like the Jews, started the day at sunset. It was

then that carols were sung,the word having beenderived from the Latincantare -- to sing -- androla, an expression of joy.One might think that sucha light-hearted feast would

come last on the list of things that Christians couldfind to quarrel about. But it did become a subject ofbitter controversy and contention after Martin Luther’sReformation in the 16th century.

Luther’s disciples tried to tone down the revelry,especially the heavy gambling involved, but theypreserved the Roman Catholic custom of marking theoccasion. In England, the Anglican Church alsodecided to carry on the Catholic festive tradition withsome restrictions on its wilder aspects. It was a policyfor which the leaders of the Church of England werefiercely attacked.

Under the influence of John Calvin’s cry of"thrift,industry, and sobriety," the English Puritans couldnot stand to see these qualities turned on their headsat Yuletide. Railing against the heathen character ofthe celebrations, the Puritans declared that Christmasshould be kept as a fast instead of a feast.

After Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth seizedpower in England in 1642, a law was passed banningChristmas observances. The Puritan Parliamentarianswent to the lengths of outlawing plum puddings andmince pies. Town criers roved the streets shouting"No Christmas!" Whole congregations were arrestedfor defying the ordinance.

The ban was repealed after the Restoration in 1660of the suitably nick-named "merry monarch,"Charles II -- but not before the Puritans had carriedtheir detestation of this "pagan mockery" across theAtlantic to the American colonies.

In 1659 the General Court of Massachusettsimposed a law making any observance of December25 a penal offence, punishable by a hefty fine of fiveshillings. The resistance to Christmas in the futureUnited States gradually died out over the next twocenturies; but it lived on in Scotland, where Calvin’sideas held sway in the dominant Presbyterian Church.

Despite their exposure to media influences fromEngland and the U. S., Scots today still treat Christmasas a minor occasion, very much secondary toHogmanay, their New Year’s celebration. Similarly,the big day in mainly Calvinist Holland is the Feastof Saint Nicholas on December 6, when presents aregiven out.

Not enough goodwill towards men,and therefore not

enough peace

With the Dutch colonization of what is now thenortheastern United States, the gift-giving saintunderwent a metamorphosis from "Sint Nikolass" to"Sinterklass" to "Santa Claus." It was not until wellinto the 1880s that he emerged as the jolly figuredriving a team of flying reindeer on Christmas Eve.

That was thanks to thepoem "The Night BeforeChristmas" by Dr.Clement Clarke Moore ofNew York City, andcartoons in Harper’sWeekly by Thomas Nast

depicting a suitably jovial philanthropist.A Turkish-born bishop, the real St. Nicholas was

indeed revered for his generosity. But long before hewas born in the fourth century, Christmas and itsantecedent feasts were known as a time when peoplegave the generous sides of their natures free rein.

The Romans instituted the custom of distributinggratuities to tradespeople, a tradition we carry on whenwe stick a few dollars in a Christmas card for ournewspaper carrier or regular waitress. (The forerunnersof all greeting cards, Christmas cards were a 19thcentury English innovation.) Medieval churches hadboxes hung on their wails in which parishioners putmoney for the poor, the precursors of today’s SalvationArmy kettles. The boxes were opened on December26, known ever since as Boxing Day.

St. Nicholas was also renowned for his love ofchildren, who still delight in his image. Christmasalways has been a magical time for the very young.For a brief while, it puts the little ones at the head ofthe line, allowing them to fulfil their fondest desireseven at the expense of a tummy ache. Children providea foil for adults who enjoy celebrating Christmashugely, all the while protesting, "We only do it forthe kids."

"Perhaps what Christmas is all about is to help usrediscover the child in all of us, the fact that. we havehearts and are capable of loving," said Jean Vanier,the saintly Canadian founder of the L’Arche movementfor mentally disabled people. Certainly it is a timewhen we tend to revive childhood memories, andwhen grown-up "children" feel a longing to be withtheir parents and siblings. Just as it is a time ofrenewal in the cycle of the sun, it is a time of renewaland confirmation of family ties.

It is also a time to be with friends, showing ourappreciation of them through our hospitality. But ifwe behave with extra kindness towards our intimates,the basic character of Christmas calls upon us to bejust about as kind to everybody else. The traditionalYuletide throughout Christendom was a highlyegalitarian feast, in which the more fortunate sharedtheir bounty with their poorer brethren. This is thetheme the familiar carol "Good King Wenceslaus", inwhich the king of Bohemia regales a poor serf withfood and drink.

It is paradoxical that though Christmas is the mostsecular of all religious feasts, it is also the most"Christian" in terms of bringing to life Jesus Christ’steachings. He urged generosity, tolerance, andforbearance, all of which we must exercise if we areto "keep Christmas" in the true meaning of the event.

It is difficult to think about Christmas withoutthinking about the saying that Christianity might be agood thing if anybody ever tried it. All too many"Christians" only qualify for that descriptionconceptually for a few weeks every year, oozing goodwill towards their fellow men until after the NewYear, when they can go back to their dog-eat-dogexistence and their indifference to the plight of otherhuman beings.

The strife-torn history of the world shows thatChristians have a disgraceful record as followers ofthe figure whose birth was heralded by the words,"and on earth, peace, good will towards men." Up tothis very day, there has never been enough good willamong Christians themselves, or between Christiansand other believers. And because there was not enoughgood will, there has not been enough peace.

The spirit of Christmas, by which people of anyreligion can abide, is a compound of kindness,generosity and understanding. Criticize the institutionas we may, there is only one thing essentially wrongwith it. And that is that everyone does not have theChristmas spirit all year round.