The Church celebrated this past year the lowest attending Sunday of all: Christmas.
It’s common to hear laments of how few church goers attend on Christmas Day, but even more so when it lands on a Sunday as it did in 2022.
Social Media was full of warning posts to Christians the week before. “Christians ought to be in Church on Christmas! Especially on Sunday!” “You can’t keep Christ in Christmas when you don’t even go that day!”
All of these were no doubt well intended. I’m not sure the accusatory language brought much repentance. As we often do with accusations, we become defensive, and dig our heels deep into the mounding piles of spite towards our accusers.
The frustration over Christmas Sunday may just be the chief evidence of a bigger problem: The Church has handed over her calendar to Society.
Society and the Church Calendar
The way Christianity has influenced our society comes with pros and cons. Sunday had long been set aside as a holy day, freeing most Christians to worship. But it seems more Christians are starting to work on Sundays, or attend NFL games, and we say plenty enough about youth sports dominating weekends. Christian Holidays likewise were traditionally set apart, but they also are fading away.
If we are going to rely on society to make and keep our Church Calendar sacred, then we can’t be upset with the results. The Church handed over our Calendar to Society, which then took what it wanted and tossed the rest.
Consider some examples of what’s left of our Church Calendar in Society, and what sort of meaning has been attached to it: Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras, All Saints’ Day Eve (Halloween). Not much has been left sacred on that list. But It’s easy for the Church to lament about where Society is at. We should lament and examine ourselves.
It’s disappointing that Christmas has less sacred and more societal significance for many Christians. No doubt, Christmas is one of our chief days in the Church Calendar. But it’s not the only day that should have heavy significance.
Christmas vs. Easter….And what about the rest?
A homebound member recently commented how we seem to put more effort into Christmas than we do Easter. “Isn’t Easter more important!?” she asked. Now we don’t have to rank our Lord’s incarnation against his resurrection. It’s sufficient to note that Easter in general receives less attention, but that has a lot to do with society around us!
Society has Easter Eggs and rabbits, but they will never match up to Christmas. If Easter is to be as significant, it’s up to the Church to make it so. Thankfully, I do believe a majority of Churches give it significant attention. So much so that you still hear about “C&E” Christians, only appearing on these days
What if, instead of wrestling with Society over its view of Christmas, we go about this problem in a more positive and productive way? Society took what it wanted from our calendar and trashed the rest…So let’s pick through what’s been discarded and reclaim it!
Let’s take back Advent from being a calendar for chocolate or alcohol, or being an early Christmas, and embrace this holy season of preparation!
And Why would we let Christmas end early? There’s still 12 days of it to rescue from the silly secular song. And when January 6th comes along, let’s flick back on the light of Epiphany in our churches, this continued celebration of our revealed Lord.
This will take study and teaching, not just for lay people, but for pastors and teachers. We need more than just information, but to reshape how we think and practice our calendar planning.
We do alright during Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. Let’s keep it up! But what about Ascension? What about Pentecost? Do we give these days what they are worth? We should not be so tired from Easter that we can’t give these special days what they are worth.
Do we even need Holy Days?
Romans 14 may come to mind in all of this. As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions… One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.
Certainly the Church Calendar is not a Law we must follow. Some Christians, you might think of Amish or Mennonites, who make a point of following no holidays, avoiding the hypocrisy of following them for the wrong reasons.
The Calendar is good, not as a law, but as a teaching and devotional guide. We are guided yearly through Jesus and the life of his church. It is good then not to devote attention only to Christ and Easter, but to value and embrace the whole Church Calendar, celebrating each day according to its place. In doing so, we’ll strengthen our anticipation of the biggest days.
Let’s not be content to just argue over the true meaning of Christmas. We can work to reclaim and give more significance to the rest of the year. It will only lead to a renewed vigor for Christmas in our churches.
Let’s reclaim and embrace our Whole Church Calendar.