WHY DO WE NO LONGER CELEBRATE A “COMMERCIALIZED” CHRISTMAS
I have always loved Christmas. For the first half of my life, I celebrated it just like my parents had done when they were children. My memories are filled with reindeer on the roof, jingle bells ringing (mysteriously at night to make us think Santa had come), white flocked trees, long drives as we looked for Santa, the hanging of outside colored lights on the rooftop, and homemade cookies set out for the special guest to arrive after we retired to bed. Stockings were hung, and gifts were piled high under the decorated tree. We would have homemade lasagna with my grandparents for Christmas Eve and awaken to glazed orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast. This was how Christmas was done in my home for many years. When I became a new mother with children, I focused on these traditions that were part of my loved childhood. In fact, aren’t some of these traditions in every home? Mostly, I would sometime in the late fall begin telling my children they better be nice if they want Santa to remember them and not be put on his naughty list.
Over the years, we did adjust our focus a bit more to the Savior by giving gifts that represented what the wise men gave (a need, a want, and a treasure), and our Santa drives turned into looking for lit-up nativities in surrounding neighborhoods instead. Christmas was special to me, and I felt it had spiritual significance. My family loved celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in all these different ways.
However, everything came to a halt one year, and we decided to stop celebrating the commercialized part of Christmas we had always known. I know that most people do not understand why someone would do that. Why would you yank the beloved tradition of a man who comes down the chimney that had been a part of your family for years, away from children? Not celebrating Christmas as the world teaches is also not a subject that most people are willing to talk about. I get that, because I was there once, too. However, these traditions, as beautiful and well-meaning as they were to us, just are not grounded in the scriptures. Scriptures do not teach that we can worship how we want as long as we have good intentions.
Because of the radical changes to our holiday, I thought I would answer here in this blog some of the questions I have received over the last few years regarding our decision to no longer celebrate Christmas as the world does.
ARE YOU BEING A BIT EXTREME?
Yes, I am afraid I was being a bit zealous. I remember trying, at first, to compromise by making everything miniature size thinking this would be acceptable to God. I traded in the large tree for the smaller tree, and gift-giving to one item only per person, but even this small adjustment was still not noticeable. I was still participating in traditions that were unsober, light-minded, unrefined, and just plain silly, and I felt that they would still not be acceptable to God. I had to let it all go, especially if I wanted to pass the faith down to my children and their children correctly— in hopes they would build a stronger foundation of how to worship better than I.
So, as I stood facing the newly decorated Christmas tree and with only two weeks left until Christmas, I decided to just let it all go, and we would worship correctly this year. So, within about 10 minutes the entire house, which was decorated in garland and lights, was taken down. The decor was thrown in a box marked “free,” and (along with the tree, stockings, and 20 years of Christmas books) was set out on the porch.
WAS IT HARD TO LET THOSE TRADITIONS GO?
Very much so! We didn’t choose to walk away because we didn’t somewhat enjoy it nor value it. We loved all the decorations, food, and gatherings. It was magical. The first year we stopped our commercialized Christmas, I felt like something was missing when we didn’t have the stockings up or the tree lit up. I won’t lie. It was hard. I pondered how I was going to keep my family together and what we were going to do for our new traditions and memories. I had grown children coming home, and I did not have a single idea of what I was going to do, or even how I was going to explain to them what I had done. I needed a plan!
So for that first year, all we did was add lights to our ficus tree for a “tree of life” feel. We held a Bethlehem dinner, and on Christmas day we studied scriptures and sang hymns. It was different. This was the beginning of purging old traditions. However different it was, it was beautiful. The spirit that came will always be remembered, as it was not centered on the counterfeit spirit of magic with its false idols and busy distractions, but rather a true spirit that fed us and lingered for weeks.
ISN’T CHRISTMAS IN THE BIBLE?
Yes, the birth of our Savior is found in the accounts of both Matthew and Luke known to the world as the nativity. However, the Lord did not tell us we could celebrate Him on this day as we pleased. If God wanted Jesus’ birth to be celebrated, would not the date be clearly recorded in the Bible and the command be given to do so? So instead of celebrating him, He asked us if we would remember him, love him, love others, then follow him, keep his commandments, and learn his doctrine. That is it.
WHAT ABOUT GOOD INTENTIONS?
This doesn’t seem to be a pattern of His in the scriptures. If we want to not be deceived, then we look for patterns. Yes, he could have redeemed the golden calf, but he did not, and the people were punished. He could have used the temple of Ba’al as a worship center for himself, but He did not. Instead, He had it turned into a public toilet (2 Kings 10:27). He could use our culture for good and tell us to accept it, but He said, “Come out of here and be clean” and this is what we have tried to do, even in our attempt to worship correctly, as he would.
DO YOU MISS CELEBRATING IT?
No, not at all. Not celebrating the materialism of Christmas with Santa and elves, and lies doesn’t mean you have to be miserable. We have loved introducing our children to a mild Hanukkah, a focus on Joseph Smith’s Birthday, as it has more meaning to our Israelite heritage and even our Christian roots than you think! Christmas Eve now has the focus on Christ’s attributes rather than fantasy and magic.
HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE CHRISTMAS STUFF?
Once October hits, you will usually not find much in the stores especially the isles of holiday decor. We try to avoid the commercialized scenes. We stopped watching cheesy Christmas movies or attending so many lifeless parties. So at the very least, we are only reminded that the world is celebrating when we see all the trees and glitter in windows or when lights are turned on in the neighborhood. However, on occasion when we do see a fully decorated home or see a yard filled with Santa scenes and presents piled to the ceiling, my heart sighs. Not because I miss it, but because I think to myself, “There is so much more joy in leaving behind the false traditions and focusing on things that are real.”
HOW DO FAMILY AND FRIENDS FEEL ABOUT YOU NOT CELEBRATING?
Some have taken it better than others, but usually, it’s a range from confused to offended. It is hard because it has put a division in some of the families. The world of materialism was the glue, and once removed things fell apart. It shows that we were not centered on Jesus Christ and his ways as a family but on man’s way. Many still believe and participate in the tradition, so trying to come together is very hard, and for that, I am sorry. This change does not change the fact that we still love the people in our lives. I understand why they enjoy Christmas, because I did for so long, too. I just feel like we need to celebrate differently to reach future generations.
HOW DO YOU HANDLE CHRISTMAS PARTIES?
We now avoid anything that does not glorify God. This has caused us to let go of work or even some friend parties where the music, food, and loud laughter are a bit too much and bring a different spirit than the one we want to be around. The lies, selfishness, and the focus on magic, which is a counterfeit, are avoided along with the attitude of “eat, drink, and be merry” and are not where we wish to spend our time right now. This doesn’t mean we rule out everything and are complete hermits as we still look for places to go and people to lift and build during this season.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED BY DOING THIS?
My faith has grown so much by taking this tangible step to follow God! His blessing of true obedience is more precious than gold, and that blessing didn’t materialize with exaggeration, excuses, and justifications. I love the simplicity of our home, and how the true spirit of worship has come into our lives. I love that I do not have to lie to my grandchildren nor keep up a tradition not rooted in scripture. It’s nice to read through the Bible and relate to stories such as King Josiah when he takes on the idols in the land and removes them so righteous worship could take place once again, or I relate to people like Ruth who left their culture to live God’s way. I am not sure if being zealous and dumping everything like the tree was the right thing to do permanently. But to refocus things on Christ I know was needed for this time in our family, to really take a look at the direction we were heading and re-center on the reason for the season.
I am sure as we continue to build a “better house” and learn more and more about counterfeits we will see that some of these traditions may have been once good but now corrupted. Satan has a way of doing that ya know. So it will be interesting to see what we end up passing down to the next generation as we sort out how we want to truly worship him. Whatever it is though, I do hope it is my testimony of the Savior and my love for mankind that will be known to my posterity—gained by focusing on what really matters most.
Now that you have heard our story, and we have answered questions pertaining to our experience, it’s your turn! What do you want to do? Do you want to make a dramatic purge and no longer partake in the commercialized Christmas? Are you still compromising or are you looking to worship correctly? What are you afraid of? Share your thoughts with us!
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