Christmas Wishes 2023

It has been hard for me to focus on the joys of Christmas this year with all that’s going on. The world situation is insane. The Russians are fighting the Ukrainians. Israel is fighting against practically everyone. Then there is the economy. Last year’s stock market roller coaster had me extremely nauseous. The Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell claims that inflation is over but, I wonder? Hey, did you see those pictures of the Icelandic volcanic eruption? The school shooting in Czechia? Then there is my personal life. Some things have come up.

Wow, I need to get a grip. Even my menu for Christmas needs a grip. I am all over the place. There’s the mincemeat pie, dried fruit is soaking in rum for Weihnachten Stöllen and, my duck confit is finally ready. Does all this even go together? I am getting slightly nauseous again, except this time it isn’t the U.S. economy. I guess I will have to bill this as an international Christmas celebration. 

Then, something happened. I learned that my Pastor received a letter from a man who asked him to reconsider celebrating Christmas at our Church. He went on to detail all the reasons that he considers it to be a pagan holiday. Suddenly, all those feelings that I periodically get came flashing back. The vague feeling that I am doing something wrong. 

We all know that Christmas has taken on some bad meaning. “Santa Con” and drag queen Christmas shows come to mind. Then there are people spending money they don’t have. What about the dread people currently feel as they deal with the Pro-Hamas protests around the world? These protests are purposely disrupting Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations all over the world. Austria, Germany and Spain have had threats from Tajik Islamic groups.The police must send bomb detecting dogs into Cologne Cathedral before and after each service. People will have to be searched as they enter the Cathedral too. That is one big Frohe Weihnachten message from the Muslim world to us. Iran is threatening to stop shipping into the Mediterranean Sea. There are forces at work trying to destroy Western Civilization with its bedrock of Christianity. 

Then there is the biblical story of Jesus’ birth and how it relates to the way that we celebrate Christmas today. Is Jesus’ birthday on December 25th or is that some convenient way to have replaced the pagan festival of Saturnalia? But, did we replace it? What about the orthodox day of Christmas in January? 

In addition, there are symbols that have come to mean Christmas which now seem to be supplanting the Savior’s birth! Have we just gone from pagan, to Christian, and now back to pagan? Was this man who wrote my Pastor a letter earnestly concerned that everything has gone too far and there is good reason to reconsider our festivities?

Okay, so my tree went from worship practices in the groves, to sanctification by Martin Luther, and this year we had a run on pink Christmas trees in honor of the Barbie movie. What are we celebrating this year? Is it Barbie, our vacation, our friends and family, the presents or traditional foods? Have we made a place for the child in the manger, Jesus, in our holiday? That is what I wondered when I spoke to Jamika* at the supermarket checkout the other day. I said “Merry Christmas,” and she said, “I’m just not feeling it this year.”

She went on to tell me how everyone she knows is struggling financially. So, I asked her if that was the “meaning of Christmas?” After she looked behind me to see if anyone was waiting, she thought for a moment and said, “ its’s about friends and family.” After a few more minutes, she came up with,” but if you don’t have any money for food and presents, what kind of Christmas is it really?”

“What about Jesus and a potluck?”  “Or, when it really gets bad, what if we just had Jesus?” She had no response for me after I said that. Deep in thought she continued to silently pack my groceries and I packed them into my cart. I introduced myself and wished her a Merry Christmas, ere I rode out of sight. Oops, there I go interjecting a poem about St. Nick into my celebration of Christmas. (For those of you who don’t recognize it, I just partially referenced the famous poem, “Twas the night before Christmas” by Clement Moore). See how many things come into our head when attempting to celebrate the birth of Jesus?

My Christmas Stöllens are finally coming out of the oven. My kitchen smells so good. I had plenty of time to think of Jesus on this Christmas Eve as I have spent most of my day in the kitchen. The Stöllens have to be kneaded and rise three times. The various courses all take time to prepare. Stir this, take a break, knead that, take a brake, wash plenty of dishes, read the Bible and write my thoughts on Christmas Eve. 

I decided that because the Stöllen already has dried fruit in it, no sense making mincemeat tarts since that might be a little too much fruit on the stomach. Instead, I will make the tarts for New Year’s Eve. In their place, I will serve a gingerbread cake. The duck confit will be a lovely Christmas Eve meal after our Church service. Turkey and various vegetables will be great for the main Christmas Day meal.

As the cooking fell into place and everything was nearly ready, I relaxed at the kitchen table and put on one of the London Philharmonic’s recordings of Handel’s Messiah. The words of Isaiah prophesized the birth of the savior of the world. He describes many of the details that were fulfilled in the  birth and in the story of Jesus. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”-Isaiah 9:6.

We all need all of the above and the salvation that Jesus has brought so much that I wondered why we should not celebrate that every day of the year or anytime that we feel moved to do so! Although, we undoubtably have added everything but the kitchen sink to the celebrations surrounding Christmas, there remains that all important nugget of the truth. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”-John 3-16. 

As you enjoy all that God has blessed you with this holiday season, make sure that you take time to talk about and reflect upon the one who was given to us on that miraculous day when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He is Jesus Christ. Make him a part of your celebration. We can not let any one, or any group take away our relationship with the Lord. That is a battle that every believer is called to fight. The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of our Lord. We must reflect upon that and remember it well during this Christmas season and always. 

It is my tradition at the end of every year, to look at my blog statistics to see what countries have read my blog in the past twelve months. Next, I try to wish my readers a Merry Christmas in their own language. This year there was a surprise in my blog statistics. It was the first time, since my blog started, that I got more readers from another country than my own, which is the USA. The country with the most readership was Singapore! Next, was the United States and then Hong Kong. The list is done from top to bottom, most readers to less. Check out this list to see who else is reading.

Singapore- Selamat Hari Natal

United States-Merry Christmas

Hong Kong-聖誕快樂, Sing Daan Faai Lok

Canada-Merry Christmas

Vietnam-Chúc Mùng Giáng

Germany-Frohe Weihnachten

Czechia- Veselé Vánoce

Finland-Lloista Joulua

United Kingdom-Happy Christmas

Netherlands-Vrolijk Kerstfeest

Russia-С Рождеством! 

South Korea- 즐거운 성탄절

Australia-Merry Chrissie

Indonesia- Selamat Natal

Poland-Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia

United Arab Emirates- عيدميلادمجيد, Milad Mubarak

France-Joyeux Noël

Ireland-Nollaig Shona

Panama-Feliz Navidad

Sweden-God Jul

* the name has been changed. 

The Demonstration

The Demonstration came to my town this weekend. It does not seem like a coincidence. It is always better to kill two birds with one stone. If that is true, then they nailed it because, the pro-Palestinian demonstration was timed to coincide with the third day of Hanukkah and a downtown Cookies, Crafting & Shopping event. The Saturday people, and the Sunday people, BAM! Business disruption? Classic marxist tactic. Families frightened? Traditions will change. One bullet and look what you get!

As local merchants planned a holiday event, controversy arose. Isn’t that the new norm? In my experience, yes. Somewhere in the middle of my busy week, I saw a small article of interest pop up on a local news source. During the Christmas season, I try to stay informed of local activities, road closures and weather outlooks.

But, lo, and behold, what is this? A local Islamic Center will hold a march right down Main St. Wait, isn’t Santa coming to town? Isn’t there a make-a-Christmas ornament children’s event? What about the special shopping deals, the chance to win a raffle, is that still going on too? Although the Islamic Center claimed it would be a peaceful rally, I had my doubts.

What did people think about this? What would they do in response to this news? I began to inquire. I first checked local police websites and facebook postings to see what was being said, nothing. Next, I checked the local small business group facebook page. Surely, they would make a public statement about it. They did not, but instead I found something deeply disturbing. 

The small business group, has been organizing Christmas events every year in order to bring Christmas shopping back to local stores and away from Amazon, Walmart and the other big box stores. They are always promoting local products and creating events to engage the public, and bring them back to the proverbial Main Street, U.S.A.

They feature slogans that often advise people to Shop Local and Support Local Business. In fact, they have put in a lot of effort to create and coordinate a wide array of activities for this weekend event. Each member of the local business group also individually promoted this event through their own social media accounts thereby multiplying the buzz. It was all very uplifting and cheerful but, now what?

What disturbed and surprised me was the fact that the small business group acted like nothing was happening. They just doubled down in their sales pitch and added more, very photogenic pictures of Mr. & Mrs. Claus advising families to come on down and meet the Santas. Oh, they did post an advisory that the main shopping street would be closed off for several blocks. They advised customers to park on a side street. They even posited how lucky we all are to have such a walkable town. Problem: they neglected to say why the street would be closed.

Never mind that if you were busy and did not manage to learn that a protest march was heading straight down Main Street you might get caught in the maelstrom. I am supposed to want to support local businesses but, where was there support for me? What could they be thinking? How could they just announce a last minute Main Street road closure and not explain what happened? 

How could you stay on good relations with your shoppers and not use your social media influence to get the word out and explain that a situation had arisen? Adding, although shops would still be holding their event that customers needed to know that an Islamic group had just received a permit to march straight down the street where all the stores are located. This would give people the information needed to be able to make an informed decision on whether to attend the festivities. That would have showed respect and concern for your customers. 

I wondered if some of the merchants were so addicted to positivity, no negative thoughts were allowed. Perhaps, they had some trouble coping with the reality. I wondered if some business owners wanted their Christmas business so badly that they might withhold some details hoping that people might stay and shop even (with the commotion and fearful circumstances) since they were there already. Were some businesses supporting this event, or were they afraid of standing up for what is right? 

Whatever it is, I know this Saturday was an opportunity for leadership that most everyone missed. The Mayor, and council missed an opportunity to correctly balance the needs of their business district, the safety of families and the rights of free speech.Why not have the rally by the government building, or in some very public park location? Why not allow the festivities that were planned to proceed unencumbered? Why not have the police dispatched to patrol? There wasn’t one police officer present to give a message pointing to the rule of law. What about the small business group hiring private security if they wanted the business so badly? 

No, the Muslims ruled the street today in my little town. They chanted lies about what was happening in the Hamas/Israeli War. They yelled intifada and people buried their head in the sand. I went down to report from the front lines of this religious and cultural war front for this week’s blog post. I had a number of interesting conversations and experiences. I can confirm that business was practically non-existent. Business owners would lose money because of this event. Covid has put many small shops out of business and now this. 

I saw a plucky business try to compete with the very loud bullhorns with their own loudspeaker playing Handel’s Messiah and other Christmas music. Yes, it was probably dangerous for one’s hearing that day but, they were having a war game of sorts. I saw another business owner of middle eastern descent run from his store to hear the commotion. He was not in the know and so was unaware of the events that were to take place. He lamented, that he was “from the Middle East and had left there to get away from all this and that now it was here!” 

There was some leadership from a group of businesses who asked a lawyer to send a letter to the Mayor and other officials. In it, they asked the Mayor to change the permit route and informing those officials that they would sue the city if any damage was done. I also learned that this same lawyer is trying to get a motion to formally stand with Israel approved by our County. I hope that happens.

Of course, this event is not happening in a vacuum. We have all heard of the worldwide protests that have erupted. We have seen other small towns engulfed in this debate, as well as schools and universities. Where will it end? The Bible tells us the world will turn against Israel. We who are called according to God’s purposes need to continue to pray for Israel, and then do whatever we can in our own little sphere of influence to stand up for her. 

I know now, that I must support the motion for our County to stand with Israel. I already sent an email to the lawyer in charge of that proposal. I sent an email to the Mayor respectfully stating my thoughts about how things could have been done better. 

I left a message at the local conservative synagogue to tell them that I stand with Israel. By the way, when I went to their website I learned that they had a prayer service recently under very tight security. They had to check people for weapons. How awful. 

I am also committed to educating those around me about the facts. One young adult watching the demonstration stated his support for the marchers. When a local merchant asked him, “what about what Hamas did on October 7th? His innocent and dumb reply, felled me,”what’s Hamas?” He was serious. People are supporting things that they know nothing about, and that is an opportunity for all of us to help explain the real facts. We can no longer ignore these issues and put it on the back burner. Educate yourself, because The Demonstration is coming to a town near you!

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places-Ephesians 6:12.