1
BERNARDO M. VILLEGAS
November 13, 2009
Keeping Christ in Christmas
May the Philippines never commit the mistake of many European countries that have forgotten that their cultural roots are to be found in Christianity. Pope Benedict XVI has been constantlyreminding Europeans "of a truth--increasingly relegated to silence--namely, the decidedly Christian inspiration of the founding fathers of the European Union" (from a message to the new head of thedelegation of the Commission of European Communities to the Holy See).
We can start by making sure that our Christmas celebrations are always centered on the Person of Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. We must make sure that the extremely rich traditionalpractices all over the country, such as the simbang gabi, the displays of the Nativity scene in both public places and private homes, the singing of Christmas carols, the colorful Christmas lanterns,etc. will lead us to the adoration of the Child Jesus at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in the Blessed Sacrament present in every Tabernacle. We cannot allow Christmas to be turned intoan exclusively secular celebration used as an occasion to promote commercial transactions and to organize dance, film and musical festivals. Especially among children, the Child Jesus cannot be eclipsed by Santa Claus, the Christmas tree laden with gifts or Rudolf, the red-nose Reindeer. It is uncanny how in someWestern countries with deep Christian roots, there is a very subtle but very effective campaign to remove Christ from Christmas. In a Buddhist country like Thailand, one can see a statueof Buddha in almost every street corner. In Indonesia, which is predominantly muslim but which has no established religion, religious chants from the ubiquitous mosques fill the air throughoutthe whole day. In contrast, public authorities in some Western countries with Christian roots prohibit the public display of Christian symbols like the Nativity scene under the pretext of religious pluralism. Just last November 3, 2009, the European Court of Human Rights declared that crucifixes in public school classrooms are a violation of freedom. Our leaders in the future should be vigilant so that such a misunderstanding of democracy will not lead to the banning of town fiestas celebrated in honor of patron saints, the holding offluvial parades to celebrate the feast of Our Lady ofPenafrancia and numerous other public displays of the Catholic faith all over the country. Culture--which is the traditional behaviour ofa community of persons--is indelibly marked by religion, as it is by geography and the history of a nation.
Keeping Christ in Christmas should start in every Catholic family in the Philippines. First, the central Christmas decoration in every home--inside and even outside in the garden—shouldbe the Nativity scene. The children should be involved in the yearly custom of putting up the "belen" with the figurines of the Holy Family, the shepherds, the Three Kings, the angels and whateverother items the creativity of the parents and children may want to add. Here, I would like to cite the exemplary case of the home of my sister, Tessie Arcenas, whose very elaborate Christmasdecorations were once featured in the TV program of Korina Sanchez. Although the decorations include some of the most modern computerized gadgets (such as Santa singing and dancingat the clasp of a hand), the centerpiece of the decorations is always an elaborate Nativity scene. Her grandchildren immediately intuit that all the other decorations would be completely meaningless if Christ had not been born in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago.
Another example I would like to cite is that of my mother, who turned 100 years recently. Every Christmas, she sends scores of Christmas cards because she has friends all over the world. There is not a single Christmas card she sends without an explicit reference to the birth of Christ. I am disappointed to receive from my Catholic friends Christmas cards containing, say, only Mayon volcano, or Santa riding on a sled, or mountains covered with snow, or poinsettias. I suggest to my readers that they should always choose Christmas cards that in pictures orwords make explicit reference to Christmas being a celebration of the birth of Christ. I fully understand if there is no such reference in the cards I receive from my non-Christian friends. But Christians should be the first to make sure that we always keep Christ in Christmas. Incidentally, this "apostolate of keeping Christ in Christmas" should be an important reason whywe should continue to send Christmas cards even during these days of electronic mail. There is still a big difference between receiving a Christmas card and a greeting contained in anemail.
In all the wonderful days of feasting and merry making (puto and cochinta during simbang gabi, queso de bola during Noche Buena, gift giving on Christmas Day and the feast of theThree Kings, etc.) we should always make an explicit reference to what we are celebrating: the birthday of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. If we allow these days of joy to be completely secularized,we should not be surprised if a day will come when Christmas will be celebrated with entire families going to the beaches in their bikinis, as the start of Lent is celebrated in some South Americancountry with women dancing practically naked in the streets. For comments, my email address is .