Have you ever groaned when you hear Christmas music being played at shopping centres around September or October time every year? Yeah, I groan sometimes too. Have you wished that we celebrated Christmas around December time and not wished our year away? Yeah I wish that too. But, such is the world that we live in, that Christmas, and in fact any public holiday for that matter, is commercialised and turned into a shopping fest as its centrepiece instead of the birth of Jesus (or the death and resurrection of Jesus for Easter, or any other meaningful message) as it should be. There’s probably nothing that we can do to change it, but there is something that we can do to respond to it.
Now I know what you’re thinking- why am I writing a Flashback Friday’s Christmas post when Christmas is two months away. Aren’t I adding fuel to the fire of commercialism by writing this post? And yeah I guess you could be right in some aspects. I mean no one wants to be reminded of an event two months in the future, even if said event is eternally significant, as it means we keep wishing for that thing to happen, and time to move quickly, as opposed to living each moment in the present. In some regards, listening to Christmas music can be seen as subconsciously wishing our day away, our week away, and even our whole year away, even if we don’t realise it. I’ve just noticed this realisation today as I was reviewing Matt Maher’s new album The Advent Of Christmas, and it got me thinking ‘why are people in such a hurry to start ‘celebrating’ something that some of them don’t even believe in?’ I’m not talking about the people who really believe Christmas, but the people who believe more in the commercial aspect of Christmas… and I was pondering and thinking, with the answer being as plain as day on a blog I wrote a couple of years back. So I will quote verbatim the whole blog, then finish off this blog (yeah it is over- my shortest blog ever I reckon!) and let you dwell upon some pearls of wisdom even I never knew I wrote.
Have you all finished reading what I wrote 2 years ago? Let me update it a bit more for the purposes of this blog. I reckon we all want to start celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier, because at some level, even the most Scrooge-like person wants to be kind to others, as we strive to be better people- and Christmas is one way where we can act kinder, and not have people we know and love stare at us in the face and think we’re crazy for acting in a way we don’t normally act. Thus comes the crux of my blog and it is this- as I was reviewing Matt Maher’s new Christmas album and thinking about why Christmas is promoted so early, I realised that we as humans on probably the most subconscious level know that Jesus is Lord and Saviour, and that is why our spirit longs to celebrate Jesus all the time, hence Christmas being promoted and celebrated earlier and earlier. I know, I know, it’s a bit of a conspiracy, but I reckon that when you stop and dwell upon the fact, you’ll find that it’s not a bad thing. Well the part about wishing away your years is, but if we can arrest that part of celebrating Christmas and focus on the true meaning, then I guess celebrating Christmas early is more than ok.
As you can tell I haven’t come to the album/s I would like to share with you this week, so let me do that briefly. Michael W. Smith’s The Spirit Of Christmas and Jason Gray’s Christmas Stories: Repeat The Sounding Joy are two of the most ‘complete’ Christmas albums I have ever heard, and two of the most inspiring Christmas projects I’ve ever heard. It’s be wrong to speak about these albums over such a short time because these albums are so rich that talking about them would go for pages and pages, and no one with a tight schedule (everyone) has enough time in one sitting for reading that- so I’ll just point you to reviews we’ve posted here and here. But let me tell you- listen to these songs this Christmas (or now…) because they will change your life. Michael W. Smith singing orchestral covers of Christmas favourites with his friends (and there are a lot of guest vocalists here!) and Jason Gray singing original Christmas songs (yep- it’s an entire album of around 90% all original material!); what more could you want?
What are the traditions you follow around Christmas time? When do you put up your tree, and when do you listen to Christmas music? Are you a believer of Jesus coming to earth as a baby in a manger, or do you only celebrate Christmas for the commercial and/or the family aspect? Let us know in the comments below!
Enjoy your week guys, until next time!