Hallmark, Disney, & Dickens
The True Meaning of Christmas
Disney and Hallmark have claimed Christmas as the most “magical” time of the year. My family loves to go to Disney…we’ve been at Christmas and the decorations and effort that go in to the parks and resorts is amazing.
This year Hallmark released a record number of “Christmas” movies — AKA love stores that take place at Christmas. 40 movies in total are scheduled for this year…my wife and I have watched many of them.
Christmas movies, gatherings, and decorating are a staple of the American culture. Society has made Christmas into a holiday devoid of its original meaning. If you don’t believe in the traditional Christmas story, you can still celebrate with Mickey & Minnie Mouse and Hallmark. There’s nothing inherently wrong with what Disney and Hallmark are doing, but as Christians we want to make sure to cling to the true meaning of Christmas.
If you had to summarize the meaning of Christmas, what would you say? What are the fundamental truths about Christmas?
When you think about Christmas, what are your favorite parts? Is it mostly decorations, cookies, and gatherings. When you reflect on and talk about your most cherished aspects of Christmas are they secular traditions or spiritual reflections?
The Christmas story is familiar to us as believers, yet it can escape us. It can get squeezed out by Hallmark and Disney. While there’s nothing wrong with chestnuts roasting on an open fire, they have nothing to do with Christmas. Too much secular can push out the spiritual.
The danger for believers is that we know the Christmas story but spend much of our Christmas celebrating mainly in secular ways.
Christ is Christmas
Luke 2:10–11
And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring good news to you of great joy which will be for all the people: that today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.
Notice in this verse:
- An angel announces the coming birth of Jesus
- This is great news that brings with it great joy
- The Savior has come
The news is so glorious that God sends an angel to announce it!
The angel is a herald announcing “good news” on behalf of the king. At Christmas we like to decorate with nativity scenes. When we think of the nativity depicting the birth of Jesus does it strike us “good news” that’s worthy of being proclaimed by an angel?
After all, this is news that will change the world — it’s joyous. Is there joy in your Christmas celebrations? True joy that celebrates the “Good news” of the savior, Christ the Lord. Do you take time to celebrate Christ and the salvation he brings?
This news is inexplicably good! It’s news about a living God who has made himself known through Jesus. It’s so good it’s difficult to describe in words — it’s like trying to describe a rainbow to someone whose never seen one.
A Christmas Carol
At the end of the Dickens classic Scrooge makes a couple of impressionable statements:
- “I shall love it [Christmas], as long as I live”
As Christians, this should be our response to Christmas. God gave us the gift of himself through Christ. How we think & reflect on Christmas is a product of our response to God for his gift. Perhaps something is missing from our Christmas celebration — Amazement & Wonder.
2. “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!”
Scrooge vowed to remember the things that the spirits showed and taught him. If we want to recapture the amazement, wonder, & joy of the good news of Christmas, we need to remember. We need need to balance the Hallmark and Disney with Scripture reading and study.
The real miracle of Dickens’ story has nothing to do with whether or not Tiny Tim would recover, but with Scrooge’s changed heart. Transformation is at the heart of the good news.
Luke 2:19
But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering them in her heart
Why is this verse included in Luke? It doesn’t move the story along…it’s included because the story that God is telling is not one of mere facts, but one of changed hearts. Our response is part of the story.
We should treasure our Savior — Christmas isn’t only about a baby in a manger, it’s also about lives that are forever changed.
The impact of Christmas upon us should be like that of the transformed Scrooge…When we ponder the blessings of Christmas we’re overjoyed to the point that we want to bless others.
Like Scrooge, we’ve been given a second chance.
