All I Want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas. It’s a phrase that is heard frequently during the Christmas season, and is a seemingly innocuous and humble statement. In fact, it even appears to be a somewhat limiting phrase. Let’s break it down.

            The first word is all. It conveys a sense of humility in that it limits what is desired. That is, it implies a minimal gift, or something minor, in comparison to what is typical or customary. At the same time, it implies a sense of deserving something. In other words, it’s as if one is saying, “I deserve something, but I will demonstrate restraint and humility.” So, out of all the things one should be rewarded with during the Christmas season, humility is feigned, and a degree of restraint shown, or so it would seem.

            Next we come to I. Ah, the ubiquitous pronoun. We’re consumed with ourselves today – I, I, I, me, me, me. As James Boice notes in his comments about humanism, we are preoccupied with ourselves today – our desires, our goals, our intents. Everything revolves around us and getting what we want to fulfill our lives. As we consider this pronoun, it quickly becomes clear that this statement does not involve other people. Just the simple use of that one letter individualizes Christmas and shifts the focus upon us.

            Want.  Again there is the implication that one deserves something. But this goes further by inferring an expectation that is realized in a want.  How many people have been asked, or have asked,  “What do you want for Christmas?” Now there’s nothing wrong with asking this, nor is there any ill intent. One is merely trying to ensure a purchased gift is done with a measure of accuracy. The shopper is merely trying to correlate a gift with a want. Again, there is nothing wrong with this since Christmas involves shopping and exchanging gifts.

This custom, of course, originated when the wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus to celebrate his birth. We carry on this practice each year at Christmas, which can involve a fair amount of shopping. Therefore, it is reasonable for shoppers to ensure their gifts are well received in order to prevent the dreaded exchange and/or return, which is an interesting facet of the Christmas season we’ll get to soon. But back to the want.

Christmas has become the time of year, especially for children, to get some of the things we want, i.e. toys, tools, clothes, a big screen television, etc. We’re human, and there are things that we both want and need. And Christmas is often a time to satisfy both. The Bible tells us not to conform to this world and not to love the things in this world, yet we are, to a lesser or greater extent, filled with want.

In regard to want, let’s consider the gifts. As mentioned previously, some people inquire as to what we want in order to give an acceptable gift, and others give presents out of the goodness of their hearts. They hand it to you and say, “Merry Christmas,” and you open it and say, “Thank you,” even if it’s something you don’t really want or like. Years ago, it was considered good manners if you received something you didn’t want or like, to be polite. Today, though, we’ve become so fixated with materialism and the acquisition of things, the right things, that many retailers provide gift receipts. This is done so that if a gift is the wrong size, color, or just wrong gift, it can be returned or exchanged for something one wants.  No longer does the thought count or matter. Materialism at its finest!

Gift giving used to be a matter of the heart. People gave gifts to show they cared. Thought was required. Today, gift giving has become an institution that requires little thought – just money. In fact, you can find various gift cards at the checkout counter of many grocery and convenient stores. It’s a simple remedy for the ill of shopping. There’s nothing wrong with giving a gift card. I enjoy them myself on occasion.

Let’s look at the last two words, for Christmas. Christmas is not about Santa Claus, and it’s really not about presents. Christmas is the day that Christians celebrate the birth of Christ. The birth of Jesus was unlike any other birth in the history of the world because Jesus was immaculately conceived, born without sin, and was  the Savior of the world. We remember and celebrate his birth every December – with Christmas carols, cookies, candy, shopping, midnight specials, returns the day after and so on. We remember His birthday by descending further into debt to make other people happy by satisfying their wants and gorging their materialism.

For Christmas is really the key to that phrase, for Christ’s mass. That’s what the word Christmas means. So, in considering this phrase, all I want for Christmas, I cant’ help but wonder what Jesus would want for Christmas. Now it’s easy to suppose what Jesus the resurrected man might want. He might say, “I want people to obey my commandments; I want people to follow me; I want people to study my Word; I want people to pray more often: I want people to stop gossiping about their neighbors; I want people to attend church because they really want to worship me, not to make themselves feel good; I want Christians to love their fellow Christians; I want Christians to love their neighbors and to serve me in loving their neighbors.” We can imagine Jesus wanting these things and others that are not mentioned.

But when I think about the phrase all I want for Christmas and I think about Jesus, I think, “What would Jesus the boy want?” You see, I have twin daughters. They don’t really understand the Immaculate Conception, although they know Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. They kind of understand He saved the world, although they don’t understand why He was crucified. They don’t really understand the concepts of sin or death. Everything is very simplistic. In a way, I think they are better off. I think they understand more about the Bible and Jesus than I ever will. Yet I look at them and think about what they want for Christmas. They love Santa Claus, and their imaginations are filled with the idea that this man lives at the North Pole and is able to fly around the world in a single night and deliver presents to children.

            We were all there once and had the ability to believe the familiar Christmas tale about the man in red. It’s a shame that we have to grow up sometimes. Yet as I ponder my daughters, I wonder what was Jesus like as a five-year old. Christmas for Him didn’t involve Santa Claus. In fact, it wasn’t even Christmas to Him; it was His birthday. I have no idea what ancient people did to celebrate birthdays. We can imagine Jesus was somewhat different than other children. However, I suspect that as He grew up, His mental faculties developed in the normal fashion and at five years old He was very much like my daughters – innocent, trusting. Certainly He knew who he was, but it’s hard for me to imagine He circumvented the normal development process and was an adult in a child’s body. He became flesh to be like us and experienced our humanity. That is, he experienced thirst, hunger, fatigue, frustration, sorrow and even death. Therefore, it’s logical to conclude he experienced a typical childhood minus sin.  He was the perfect substitute in every way.

            So what would Jesus the five-year old want for Christmas? What would Jesus the teenager want for Christmas? Well, I really can’t answer that with any degree of accuracy. But by the time Jesus was a teenager, I believe He was fully aware of His fate and destiny. He knew why He came – to be a sacrifice for sinners. He knew He was going to suffer and be crucified. Therefore, what I believe He might have wanted for Christmas, His birthday, was not to endure death, to avoid the cross. In fact, before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to have the cup taken from Him if it was His Father’s will. I don’t believe He prayed this out of fear. Rather, I think it was out of humanity. And we can all relate to that. If we didn’t have to die, why would we want to?

            We must realize that at this time of the year, we attempt to exhibit humility and restraint by making the simple statement, All I want for Christmas. Clearly that statement is an abomination to Christmas. It implies we deserve something; it glorifies individualism; it highlights the fact that we are focused on possessions; and it marginalizes the true meaning of Christmas, which is Christ’s mass. The phrase is a detractor from the Christian holiday, and no Christian should ever use it. For to do so is to succumb to the ways of the world, and as Jesus noted, His kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, Christmas in the secular sense is not either.