A few days ago, in discussing different perspectives on the Christmas season, I posted a comment that included this statement:
Make no mistake about it – over the next month, allusions to the cross will be nearly as plentiful as allusions to the cradle in many fundogelical churches.
I didn’t need any reinforcement of that idea, but I got it anyway. When the deacon came home from his company Christmas party, his grab bag included this little Christmas tree ornament:
There’s something morbid about a religion that ceaselessly compels people – even in a season that’s supposed to exemplify joy, hope, love and peace – to contemplate suffering and death.
– the chaplain
Mike aka MonolithTMA
December 5, 2009 at 1:06 am
I have, and gave as gifts years ago, a big nail like the ones used to nail Christ to the cross, with a red ribbon to hang on the tree. Morbid indeed. I’m glad I no longer revel in the death of another man supposedly in my place, even more glad I no longer feel guilty about it.
Lorena
December 5, 2009 at 1:52 am
Oh, that turns my stomach. Way to ruin a perfectly cute Christmas tree.
athinkingman
December 5, 2009 at 9:14 am
It is strange how culturally acceptable this means of torture and execution has become. If a new religion were invented today (god forbid!!!) it would seem very bizarre indeed if people started to wear silver gallows, guillotines, or electric chairs.
the chaplain
December 5, 2009 at 9:23 am
Mike:
You came to the right place to make your confession. 8) Christmas is much more pleasant when one sheds the morbid Christ-myth.
Lorena:
It really is a gruesome ornament. The tree is cute, but the backside is just awful.
athinkingman:
If people wore guillotine necklaces, we’d probably think they were mentally unbalanced. We in the West have grown immune to what the cross symbolizes, an idea that makes me more than a little bit uncomfortable.
Digital Dame
December 5, 2009 at 12:47 pm
My question is: Who does the deacon work for? Zondervan Publishing? Liberty University? I’m really surprised they would give something like this out. I work at a major international corporation, and all we can do is a ‘holiday’ party. Someone suggested singing Christmas carols, and we actually debated about which ones would be acceptable. ‘Rudolph’ and ‘Frosty’ made the cut, but anything overtly religious did not.
I would have given the thing back.
the chaplain
December 5, 2009 at 1:41 pm
DD:
(men are so helpless sometimes!). Believe it or not, he had no clue that there were two bags of pecans in there (caramel cluster and chocolate covered – I’ll sample them and share my opinion with you some time), along with this ornament. He did manage to open to the gift card and his bonus check without my assistance. Go figure.
The deacon does not work for either Liberty U or Zondervan, although those ideas are amusing. He had no idea what was in his grab bag – I opened it for him when he got home
Digital Dame
December 5, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Heh, would be fun to infiltrate those organizations, at least for awhile.
I’m sure the deacon was lead to that bonus check by god (tongue firmly in cheek).
My manager received a 2010 calendar from a supplier the other day, one with inspirational Bible quotes on it. He very snarkily asked if I was interested in it, but I pointed out to him (yet again) that I am in the service of the Dark Lord.
Enjoy those pecans!
The Exterminator
December 5, 2009 at 4:18 pm
chappy:
Believe it or not, he had no clue that there were two bags of pecans in there (caramel cluster and chocolate covered)
Maybe someone was trying to tell him that Jesus was a nut.
Mark
December 5, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Christian arrogance always amazes me. I said, “arrogance”, not intelligence.
chanson
December 6, 2009 at 11:05 am
Why do they hate the joy of Christmas and want to ruin it for everybody?
(Sarcasm. sort of.)
PhillyChief
December 6, 2009 at 11:07 am
Could you imagine if instead of copying the decorating of a tree from England, someone came up with the bright idea of decorating a big cross instead? Blinky lights, garland, ornaments, and gifts at the bottom. The only thing that would make that better would be the site that first week in January where everyone had their crosses out front of their houses with their trash.
the chaplain
December 6, 2009 at 11:30 am
Ex:
He may have been a nut then, now he’s just a wafer.
Mark:
Depending on specific situations, the arrogance is amazing, annoying and amusing, sometimes singly, sometimes in various combinations of the three variables.
Chanson
Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether Christians love Christmas or hate it.
Philly:
Your description of decorated Christmas Crosses is truly horrifying. Which means that some enterprising Christian stumbling across your comment will be selling them in 3…2…1…
Mike aka MonolithTMA
December 6, 2009 at 11:37 am
3…2…1… http://www.terrysvillage.com/ui/search/processRequest.do?Ntt=IN-95%2F2816&x=17&y=22&requestURI=searchMain&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&N=0
Close enough?
the chaplain
December 6, 2009 at 11:59 am
Holy shit, Mike! I was kidding! Yikes! Take a look at this, folks:
Spanish Inquisitor
December 6, 2009 at 2:01 pm
I always end up burning my Xmas tree sometime after Xmas, after it dried out a good bit. Perhaps if I stuck a cross on the front lawn and burned it?…but, then someone might get the wrong impression.
Of course, that could be a real problem in the deep south.
The Exterminator
December 6, 2009 at 2:22 pm
SI:
Of course, that could be a real problem in the deep south.
I always wondered why devout Christian bigots would burn their own symbol.
alex-a
December 8, 2009 at 4:30 pm
PhillyChief:
My step-dad actually did this. Put up a 6′-tall cross out in the front yard and put blue lights on it.
We live in Georgia.
athinkingman:
That’s an interesting idea. Now I’m thinking about ordering (or, hell, even making one myself) a gallows or guillotine pendant. Might start some interesting conversations.
Modusoperandi
December 9, 2009 at 5:22 am
Somewhat tangental, but a Christmas tree ornament that’s a Christmas tree seems terribly redundant. The ornament should have little Christmas tree ornaments on it, etc, making it the least interesting fractal ever.
alex-a
December 9, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Modusoperandi:
Yay for infinite recursion!
Ric
December 11, 2009 at 10:17 am
What cheap bastards! They gave the Deacon a stick for Christmas.
Grace
December 12, 2009 at 8:50 am
But, guys, apart from the reality of the incarnation, there would be no Christmas to celebrate.
Christians believe that God loved us so much that He fully entered into human life, and suffering, absorbed the consequence of human sin, and evil into Himself, so that we could share in His life, forever, along with the whole creation.
This is the joy, and hope of Christmas.
No disrespect intended, but some of these posts are not making alot of sense to me.
If this is all nonsense, why bother to celebrate Christmas, or be concerned about Christmas decorations one way or the other. Geesh!!
We can get together with friends, and family, and party anytime.
Think I need to give up blogging for awhile.
Sincerely,
Grace.
Mike aka MonolithTMA
December 12, 2009 at 8:57 am
Jesus was born closer to Passover/Easter than to December 25th. They should just move Christmas and combine it with Easter. Take the kid straight from the manger and tack him up!
Grace
December 12, 2009 at 9:18 am
Want to add that I like wearing silver jewelry made in the shape of the Celtic knot, an awesome symbol of the trinity. I have a beautiful necklace enlaid with amber.
Mike aka MonolithTMA
December 12, 2009 at 9:30 am
The Celtic knots and the Celtic crosses are my favorites too, Grace.
PhillyChief
December 12, 2009 at 9:52 am
Grace,
If you’re not celebrating the unlikely victory of the Mexican army over the French, and the last time there was a foreign invader on this continent when you celebrate Cinco de Mayo, then why bother celebrating? Geesh!!
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is analogous to celebrating Christmas. It’s an excuse to have a celebration. Why wouldn’t anyone be onboard? The other thing is humans have been creating reasons to celebrate around the Winter Solstice for as long as we know of, far before there was even an Old Testament, let alone a Jesus figure. Now as Mike pointed out, your Christmas story didn’t even occur at this time of year. Theologians put it at anywhere from Passover to August. The move to late December was a PR move to glom on to the existing pagan celebrations.
So no disrespect intended, but I think you need to get your facts straight and realize there’s both a whole world outside of the Christian bubble, and a rich heritage of human history that predates not just Christianity but Judaism as well.
the chaplain
December 12, 2009 at 10:26 am
Philly:
Thanks for saying all that for me. You saved me some time today.
Grace
December 12, 2009 at 11:48 am
Philly, I guess it’s because people seem to have such very strong feelings against the Christian faith, and everything connected with this, and yet are celebrating Christmas.
It does seem like an oxymoron to me. As a committed Christian I would not be on board in participation in a pagan celebration, or say, Ramadan.
But, in another sense, Philly, who am I to judge? It just would not make sense to me personally.
Let you have the last word.
Ric
December 12, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Grace:
people seem to have such very strong feelings against the Christian faith
That couldn’t be because so many followers of the Christian faith hold such very strong feelings against everything non-Christian and us non-Christians are sick to death of Christians shoving their ‘faith’ down our throats every chance they get, could it?
As for Christmas, it is nothing more than a celebration of the new American religion of shopping, in which Americans crucify themselves on their credit cards in order to spread the gospel of forced joy and expensive junk. God is Nieman-Marcus and the priests are the checkout clerks in WalMart.
Now where are my goddam presents?
Digital Dame
December 12, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Grace said: “It does seem like an oxymoron to me. As a committed Christian I would not be on board in participation in a pagan celebration, or say, Ramadan.”
Ah but you do, Grace, that’s the thing. What do decorated conifers have to do with the birth of a Jewish messiah? Nothing. It’s an old pagan thing. Ditto mistletoe and holly. Ever burn a Yule log? Teach the kids about Santa Claus? Wassail? It’s all excellent paganism. You participate in pagan celebrations every year. I won’t even get started on Easter.
Grace
December 12, 2009 at 2:22 pm
You have a point, here, Digital. I may have to eat “crow.” No pun intended.
Although, of course, the symbolism of a Christmas tree is very different for me as a Christian.
That Other Guy
December 12, 2009 at 2:56 pm
As the others said, everything aside from church isn’t really Christmas. It’s actually the Winter Solstice/Sol Invictus.
Mike AKA MonolithTMA
December 12, 2009 at 6:10 pm
“the symbolism of a Christmas tree is very different for me as a Christian.”
That’s the whole point. It’s what you make of it.