A Brazilian Christmas?

How does one celebrate Christmas in Brazil?  In a country of palm trees, beaches and tropical climes, it seems far removed from the image of reindeer, freshly fallen snow and sleigh rides.  By the same token, the landscape of Palestine doesn't lend itself very well to the Nordic scenes we in the US tend to associate with the holiday.

Many of our snow and winter-related customs can be traced to the appropriation of traditions such as Sinterklaas and St.  Nicholas, Europeans combining the holiday with the pre-Christian observance of the Winter Solstice and the Victorian celebrations in England.  Personally, I think the old Coca Cola ads probably reinforced this idea as well. In the 1930s in the US, there were no less than six ads featuring Santa and winter images.

Bing Crosby has us longing for a "White Christmas."  And one of the most popular non-religious Christmas song has us "dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh." (Which interestingly enough was originally written as a celebration of Thanksgiving, not Christmas).  

So Christmas in the USA is done up in trees of spruce and pine, flocked with artificial snow and tinsel to represent the sparkle of a wintry night.  Aaand this is where we can get stuck.  We get caught up in the accouterments of the holiday.  The external, peripheral stuff.  And in so doing, we miss the heart of the celebration. 

My children were born in La Mesa, near San Diego.  When I remember their birthdays, my focus isn't on the Chargers, the Padres or Sea World.  That would be ludicrous to substitute the joy of Tracey and Brandon's births with such minor trivialities. 

In much the same way, Christmas isn't about the where.  It's not whether we celebrate in Brazil, in southern California, in Japan or in the Netherlands.  It isn't even about the what.  Not what trees are best, not what our holiday table will include, not the best deals, not what should go beneath the tree.

Christmas is about the who.  Christmas is about Jesus. He is the focus of our celebration, the source of our joy.  I invite you to find a quiet time and place to rediscover the wonder and the heart of the Christmas season.  To find comfort and consolation in the presence of the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  And may we find no end in his rule, his peace and his lordship over our lives.  

Blessings to you from Pastor John.