The Myth of Christmas

As a Christian and ordained priest of The Church of England I am once again shocked at the way our celebration of Christmas take place. As a driver of a local Dial-A-Ride bus I spend many hours each week travelling the very many roads and streets of our town. Many weeks before Christmas and along those same streets and roads windows and exteriors of homes were beginning to be decorated with coloured lights and images of all types as people did what they considered to be the way to mark the festival.

The illuminated images included steam engines puffing 'smoke'; christmas trees; Father Christmas figures; cuddly teddy bears etc. The list is endless. What struck me about this vast array of hundreds of flickering, lighted images was that nowhere did I see an image of the baby Jesus. I once again conclude that Jesus, of whose birth we are apparently celebrating, doesn't have much meaning to the populace at large.

In addition to this the retail trade, the drivers of the virtual mass hysteria which now takes place in this season, fill shelves with gifts and cards etc. of almost bewildering choice and variety. But once again images of the baby Jesus or the Nativity are practically non-existant. In the pursuit of profit the true meaning and spirit of Christmas becomes all but a distant memory to those who knew better, more meaningful Christmases.

I hope and pray that the true spirit of Christmas will one day return to this land.