Bah Humbug: Your pastor’s thoughts and concerns about Christmas

Thanks to my wife, there has been much discussion at church and on Facebook about my innate Grinchness.  So let me explain myself.  These points, modified from something I wrote a couple of years ago, explain some of my joys and frustrations of Christmas.

1. I think fruitcake gets a bad rap.
2. It is a safe bet that Jesus was not born on December 25th.  I lean more toward sometime in the spring, and others believe it was in the fall. 
3. I don’t have a problem with celebrating Jesus’ birth on December 25th. I would, however, rather not start the celebration in October.
4. I would really like to find a Nativity scene that has figurines that aren’t caucasian. That would probably be more accurate.
5. I am not a fan of the big, inflatable, yard nativity scene.  I think the Incarnate God deserves a little better than that. 
6. I think Christians could do more to express the purpose of this holiday season by:
   a. buying less and incurring less debt
   b. giving simpler gifts that convey the Christmas story and spirit
   c. stopping all the complaints about stores saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”
7. I think we (the Church) need more Advent hymns. There are only about 2 or 3 Advent hymns we know and sing. Advent is 4 weeks, and I really do enjoy a good Advent hymn. 
8. I really love Christmas carols.
9. Shocker – I love Seuss’s Grinch.  Even he came to understand Christmas better than we do sometimes. “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
10. I despise eggnog. Why would someone come up with that vile concoction?

Our tree is up and decorated now (Grinchs’ hearts can grow if you remember).  Kim and I even struck a compromise to decorate on the 1st Sunday of Advent.  So there.  Despite rumors to the contrary, I do really like Christmas.