I wrote a poem way back in English III in Jacksonville, Florida. It was 1960 (yes, I am old!). I had lived in NC prior and remembered a winter in Selma, NC when I was four years old and the snow was so deep, it was almost higher than I. Maybe that is why, although I can only recall one Christmas with real white stuff lying around in NC (and certainly was not going to see that in Jacksonville), I wrote this poem. Maybe it was nostalgia—or maybe the influence of Christmas card scenes. These are simple lines, but I think of them every year when Christmas rolls around and decided to make myself vulnerable and share them. In fact, we have posted other poems on my website that you may find interesting.
Christmas Is Coming!
Christmas is coming, make ready with song
Something we’ve waited for all the year long
Now that the bells and the singing are here
We can remember until the next year
How the sleigh bells ringing out through the air
And the soft snow lying restfully there
Made us all tingle with joy and delight
As we sat singing by Christmas Tree light.
I think what led me to share this today is an article I read in a magazine about a woman of Hindu background whose family immigrated to America. They wanted to assimilate while also maintaining their Hindi faith. So, they integrated every secular Christmas tradition they could into their December but refrained from any of the “religious“ traditions. I wondered to myself, can you really completely sever the customs from the tradition in which it emerged?
If so, we have some work to do. The light that we celebrate every year—on trees, in windows and outside decorations—originally began to be used by Christians in devotion to the One Who claimed, “I AM the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, NRSV). In today’s context, however, all the tinsel and glitter are simply about having celebratory times with family and friends. There is nothing wrong with that. Goodness knows, we all need to celebrate life, especially in a pandemic! But, how can we as Christians distinguish our celebrations from the non-Christian world?
The world at large decorates Christmas trees, listens to Christmas music, bakes Christmas cookies, exchanges gifts, and all the rest. So, what makes our celebration different? Look around your home and ask: if an unbeliever walked in today, would he or she see anything that points to Christ? For that matter, would my family members recognize in my home that “Jesus is the reason for the season?”
If not, you have some work to do! Find a Nativity set, some Christian-themed ornaments, an Advent wreath, angels, and have sacred Christmas carols playing in the background. Let your friends and family know why we celebrate Christmas! When we sit singing by Christmas Tree light, be singing songs that celebrate the coming of the Savior! And wrap it all in prayer! Give Glory to God in the Highest for bringing True Light into the darkness of our world—a light that only grows brighter in our hearts.
Merry Christmas!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
