Controversies over public Christmas activities have made the news several times recently. Some minority groups are advocating removing Christmas customs and celebrations from schools and other areas of the public sector.
Some schools and businesses have dropped the "Christmas" label in favor of more generic terms such as "winter party" and "holiday tree" instead of "Christmas party" and "Christmas tree," to the dismay of many who enjoy Christmas celebrations. So while some have caved into the pressure from one side of the issue, others have changed because of pressure from the other side.
I personally do not observe Christmas because of the pagan origins of it and its customs. So it may come as a surprise that I agree with the majority of Christmas keepers that changing the names to remove mention of Christmas should not be done. My reasons for this are not the same as theirs, but are biblically sound.
This is not a new controversy. It has been around for decades. In fact it could even be traced back to the early settlers of the United States who objected to the observance of Christmas for some of the same reasons that I do. So why would I side with Christmas keepers on this subject?
Several years ago when my children were still in school, one of my daughters came to me in late December to ask if she could attend the school "winter party." I tried to tell her that, despite the name, this would be a Christmas party. She insisted otherwise. So I told her that I would not tell her what to do and that she could make the decision herself. She decided to attend. When she returned home after the party, I asked her how it went. She hung her head and sighed, "It was a Christmas party."
Had the occasion been properly presented as a "Christmas party" instead of a "winter party," her course of action would have been clear. Instead, she was hoodwinked into attending because of the misleading designation of "winter party."
The right or wrong aspect of Christmas observance is not the issue here. The point is honesty. Children are especially naive and trusting. To expect one thing because of what they are told, only to find out that the opposite is true can be a very negative experience because of the betrayal of innocent trust.
Honesty is a fundamental biblical value that we all can agree on. "You shall not bear false witness ..." is in fact one of the Ten Commandments. As the old saying goes, "Call a spade a spade." Calling something what it isn’t is simply dishonest and misleading. Resorting to euphemisms doesn't solve any problems; it just causes other problems, as my daughter's experience illustrates.
The question ought to be whether the celebration of Christmas should be a school activity in the first place. If the decision is in the affirmative, then call it what it is. If not, take it out.
In our case the school's policy stated that children could be taught about religious customs, but that religious celebrations in school were inappropriate. I called this to the attention of school officials. Through considerable discussion they reasoned that because Christmas is both a religious and secular holiday, it did not violate school policy. Soon thereafter the school policy was amended to remove the clause prohibiting religious celebrations and Christmas parties have continued on as usual.
I was disappointed but not surprised by their response. One of the fundamental lessons of human nature is that if people want badly enough to do something they will find a way to do it, even if it means bending, changing or even flagrantly breaking rules.
The oft-quoted mantra of "separation of church and state" allegedly disallows classroom prayer, reciting the pledge of allegiance and displaying Ten Commandment plaques in government buildings and other public places. But Christmas always seems to be exempt because an overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens want it that way.
Therefore, I don't expect local or national institutions to cater to minority groups on such matters. I will deal with them on the personal level, as I have for decades. But I do ask that we be honest and call such things what they are so that people, children especially, may be factually well-informed when making decisions regarding which course of action to take.
Larry Walker serves as an elder in the United Church of God congregation in Bend, Oregon. He retired from the full-time employed ministry in November 2016, and is a 1966 graduate of Ambassador College. He and his wife Karen have four children and eight grandchildren. They live on a peaceful and scenic wooded acre in the country near La Pine, Oregon, where they experience the beauty of God’s creation and walking on trails through the woods at a nearby state park. They are avid readers and enjoy many types of music.
