Keep Christ in Christmas
Last Friday, I had the privilege of attending the taping of the Christmas mass at St. Jude the Apostle with Bishop Hubbard. The church was decorated beautifully, the children’s choir sounded amazing and Bishop Hubbard’s homily stressed that although the world has commercialized Christmas, as Catholics we must remain steadfast in our love for Christ and each other, always modeling the true spirit of Christmas regardless of the actions of others.
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
This week’s review is about the movie “Christmas with a Capital C” which confronts the growing trend towards saying “Happy Holidays”, “Seasons Greetings”, and the removal of “Christ” from Christmas. The story begins when Mitch Bright (a lawyer) returns to his hometown only to find his high school rival Dan Reed (now Mayor) breaking the law by displaying a nativity scene on government property. Having a personal vendetta against Dan, Mitch decides to file an injunction to prevent the nativity scene from being displayed in the town. Tensions rise, dividing the town and challenging Dan’s notion of what it means to “fight” for Christmas as the Mayor but more importantly as a Christian man. Soon, Dan realizes that the best outward sign of our love for Christ at this time of year isn’t the decorations we are “allowed” to display, but by the love and compassion we show for one another…even those that have hurt us. This cannot be taken from anyone.
Over the years, I too have succumbed to the societal pressure to mindlessly say “Happy Holidays” at times, especially with people I didn’t know well. Our Christmas cards became “Season’s Greetings” cards with no mention of Christmas. This left me feeling empty and ashamed. After seeing this movie and hearing Bishop Hubbard, I realize that evangelizing Christ’s birth and modeling Christ’s behavior is the perfect way to “display” the true meaning of Christmas to the world.