"Creeping Christmas"

A week ago, on Election Day, our village lit its Christmas tree on the square. That was November 4, less than a week after Halloween, and 51 days before Christmas. Today, since it was Veterans Day, each of our downtown streetlight poles bore both Christmas decorations and the American flag.

This past Friday evening, I was in Wal-Mart with my family. Not only was there Christmas decorations at the front door, but Tony Bennett was crooning Christmas songs over the store-wide sound system. Clearly, it wasn't just signaling that Christmas is coming. At Wal-Mart, Christmas is already here!

Does it seem to you like Christmas arrives earlier each year? According to this story from The New York Times, "creeping Christmas" is not a figment of your imagination. And it's no accident either.

It's not that I'm angry about holiday overlap, too-early decorations, and the eclipse of Thanksgiving (though I can admit that I'm a little annoyed). And I'm not writing here to rail against Wal-Mart or even our good village. I want to make us think about our own practices as people who claim to celebrate Christmas in all its religious and historical significance as the birth of Jesus Christ, who came to be our Savior.

Now, there's no rule about when you can put up your tree. Let me be clear-- this is not a moral issue, as such. But, on the other hand, I think it's worth asking the question: At what point do our celebrations begin to take on a life of their own apart from that which was meant to be celebrated?

This question pertains to far more than our decorations; we could easily apply it to our gifts, goodies, gatherings, and so on. When do we say "that's enough" or even "slow down" or maybe "not yet"? And it isn't just a matter of moderation rather than overindulgence. If we examine our own holiday habits, will we find that we are we doing what we do for the sake of celebrating Jesus Christ, or just celebrating the celebration of Christmas?

As professing Christians, we know how much the wider culture has preserved "Christmas" as merely parties and presents (or perhaps as the original economic stimulus package) while emptying it of its confessional content. We may already be at the point where we just might honor Christ more by celebrating Christmas less.