Away With the Manger

To many, it seems Christ has been removed from Christmas

As Dec. 25 approaches, many Americans find themselves amidst the annual, frenzied season of marathon shopping, endless gift giving and compulsive overeating -- in other words, overindulgence in all things Christmas.

Except, it would seem, for one thing: Jesus Christ.

Which raises an important question: Is the inherent religious message of this holiday -- the birth of a savior, the Prince of Peace -- drowned out more than ever in the swirl of marketing hype, commercialization and supporting the fourth-quarter profits of big business?

There's no doubt about it, in Rich Forney's mind.

"Everyone can see it, especially with the advertising and the stores. They start putting up things in August for Christmas. They're trying to make money on the gifts and decorations, and that's their business," says Forney, director of The Salvation Army, 946 N.H.

"But we need some time to be reminded of what we actually are celebrating: the birth of Jesus Christ, the gift of God to mankind. Many people forget that and get lost in the parties and the gift giving."

And the drumbeat of consumption seems to pick up the pace every year, agree some members of the clergy in Lawrence and other Christians.

"There seems to be just a gargantuan need to spend money and buy gifts, and that agenda is set by Alan Greenspan (chairman of the Federal Reserve) and the Wal-Mart specials more than by a spiritual aspect," says the Rev. Marcus McFaul, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, 1330 Kasold Drive.

"As a result, we max out the credit card, and when we open our credit-card statement we ask, ‘Now, why did we do this?'"

Santa displacing savior

But it's not necessary to be a pastor to be disturbed by the encroaching commercialization of Christmas, diluting its essential connection to the cornerstone of Christian faith.

"I think we've lost the religious aspects in all the parts of our lives, to some degree, and so Christmas isn't much different," says Judy Davis, a Lawrence therapist pausing for a break at a downtown coffee shop. "Money has turned into something we revere. Everywhere you go, it's ‘buy me, buy me.'"

Bill Browning, a student at the Washburn University School of Law and a Lawrence resident, sees much the same trend.

"I would say that our contact with the holiday, as Americans, is necessarily commercial. You're reminded by commercials on TV that it's Christmas and that we're supposed to buy things. They've been marketing Christmas in October since long before I was born," says Browning, 39.

In the face of the culture's largely secular treatment of Christmas, Davis and her family try to maintain a spiritual focus.

"We celebrate it by acknowledging that Jesus represents the coming of light and love in the world and that it's available at all times," she says.

"We light candles and play music, have a good dinner. It's a celebration, but the emphasis isn't on how much a gift costs. Our family's tradition is to make things for each other."

Even Santa himself -- or the closest thing you'll find to a "real" Santa in Lawrence -- is dismayed that the jolly old elf has become the embodiment of Christmas.

"I really feel that we have got to bring love back to this holiday, showing the love for each other," says Larry Kline, a Lawrence resident who has played Santa Claus off and on for 30 years, making appearances at nursery schools and nursing homes during the Christmas season.

"This is what we're celebrating, the birth of Jesus Christ. It's what Christmas is all about, the love of Jesus."

Meaning and purpose

The biblical nature of Christmas -- the celebration of the Nativity -- wasn't always pushed to the extreme margins of the holiday.

The Rev. Bill Hurlbutt remembers what it was like when he was growing up.

"Christ was the main emphasis of Christmas at my house. My mom baked a birthday cake, and as kids we used to sing ‘Happy Birthday' to Jesus," says Hurlbutt, senior pastor of Christ Community Church, 1100 Kasold Drive.

But society's celebration of the holiday seems to have grown ever more secular and consumerist since Hurlbutt, 49, was a child in upstate New York.

He suggests that Christians these days might want to consider an alternative way to celebrate the true spirit of the holiday.

"We tend to think of giving (only) in the realm of our own families and friends, but I know people who have adopted other families that they know are less fortunate. They take some of their blessings, and they bless somebody else at Christmas," Hurlbutt says.

McFaul urges Christians to let their religious convictions and deepest beliefs guide their choice of gifts to others, such as donating money in a person's name to a charity that works to provide for basic human needs.

"That's a gift that's a little bit more meaningful than a Salad Shooter or another Jessica Simpson CD," he says.

And people should try to keep in mind the holiday's real meaning: Jesus.

"All of this does indeed go back to the birth of the Christ, who came to bring with himself the kingdom where the poor get good news brought to them, the brokenhearted are healed, captives are delivered and the blind receive sight," McFaul says.

"That's the message. We are giving a party for someone like Jesus, if we can only remember who it was."

Jim Baker, Journal-World