Christmas – some reminiscences

by Dr. V.J.M. de Silva

Introduction – As one who is celebrating his 92^nd Christmas, it is with a profound sense of nostalgia that I pen these thoughts. Memories of days gone by, those near and dear, and friends long gone, come crowding in. I feel it all the more, as one who lost his wife and a daughter within a period of one. This year, one can hardly talk of Christmas as a ‘celebration’. The Covid 19 virus disease is certainly playing havoc world-wide. The USA has had 17,000,000 cases and 306,000 deaths; India 10,000,000 cases and 145,000 deaths. Sri Lanka however has had only 34,000 cases and 154 deaths

So, what is Christmas all about? Christmas is thought by most to be a wonderful time, focusing the participants on giving, family togetherness, beautiful music and decorations, feasting on special foods and singing Christmas carols. Though every generation keeps on saying it, Christmas has lost its real meaning. However, it can truly be said that:

“CHRISTmas” minus Christ = X’MAS,

the highly commercialized Christmas we are seeing these days. Secular society sees Christmas as a shopping holiday, and society is only too happy to keep it that way, and big business booming.

Who celebrates Christmas today?

As Philip Jenkins says, the typical Christian today is no longer the white man; he is brown, black or yellow. In 1900, 80% of Christians lived in Europe and North America. Even today the USA remains comparatively more Christian than Europe. Today, 60% live in the developing world. There are 480 million in South America, 360 million in Africa, and 313 in Asia. The majority in these countries are practicing Christians. He defines a Christian as anyone who self-proclaims to be one. Oddly enough, this Christian growth occurred after the period of European conquest and colonialism – (Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom)

A century ago, less than 10% of Africa was Christian. Today, it is nearly 50%. David Aikman (former Time magazine correspondent in Beijing), observes in his book, Jesus in Beijing, there are now about 100 million Christians in China, who worship in underground evangelical and Catholic churches.

Religious significance of Christmas – One thing that is specific to Christianity is its belief in miracles. The incarnation of Jesus Christ, God appearing on earth in human form, Jesus Christ being one person but two in nature, is one of the central mysteries of the Christian faith. This, together with the Resurrection, Christian apologist C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963), professor of English Literature at Cambridge University, a former atheist, refers to as ‘The Grand Miracle’ – (God in the Dock), a collection of Lewis’ essays. It is not surprising that finite minds cannot comprehend it. However, I do not propose to deal with theological aspects in this article.

Christmas in Colonial Ceylon

– My earliest recollections of Christmas is of the early 1930s, a few years before World War II. Living, born and bred in Moratuwa, which still has a higher percentage of Christians than the national average, Christmas was celebrated on big scale. Most Christian homes had ‘bucket’ lantern decorations; Christmas trees, cribs which children made themselves. The public holiday period extended for several days (up to New Year, if I remember right), and most of the post – Christmas holidays were spent visiting relatives. There were hardly any cars in that era. A common mode of transport then was ‘buggy cart’. Our family of five (my siblings were two younger sisters), would leave home in the morning, and after five or six visits, we would be back in the evening. By then we had a few balloons, crackers (Chinese), bon-bons, and sparklers – all presents given to us, which we lit at night. There was plenty of Christmas cake, cheese (Swiss and Cheddar), biscuits (Huntly and Palmers, Peak Freans cream crackers) – all imported, (no local Maliban then!), home-made ‘Puhuldosi’, march mellows.

Moratuwa, (apart from carpentry, is a city of musicians), was famous for its Carol parties. There were “Carol carts”, converted and decorated bullock carts, complete with angel, shepherds, and wise-men. The carols, sung by the actors (all in Sinhalese), composed by local dramatists, were haunting melodies. These have all died down with the passing years and the coming of the ÍT era.

A little girl’s letter-

Christmas is associated with Santa Claus, whose origin can be traced to St. Nicholas (AD 270 – 343), a Greek bishop of Myra, present day Turkey, patron saint of children. In 1897, Dr. Philip O’Hanlon, a coroner’s assistant in Manhattan, was asked by his eight year old daughter, Virginia (1889 – 1971) whether Santa Claus really existed. Dr. O’Hanlon suggested she write The Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper at that time, assuring her that – “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so”.

She did as her father suggested. The letter was as follows:

Dear Mr. Editor, I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say that there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, if you see it in The Sun, its so. Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O’Hanlon

In doing so, Dr. O’Hanlon had unwittingly given the newspaper’s editor, an opportunity to rise above the simple question and address the philosophical issues behind it. It has since become the most reprinted editorial in the English language . One can get it from the Internet. I can only give a few excerpts from the Editor’s reply:

“Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. . . . . . In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him . . . . Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary the world would be if there were no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither men nor children can see . . . . . No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. . . . . He will continue to gladden the heart of childhood.”

Charles Dickens

(1812 – 1870) published A Christmas Carol in 1843, introducing to the world Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim. It remains perhaps the most popular Christmas fiction of our time. The conversion of Scrooge from the grumpy miser to a genial benefactor, tells us what Christmas is all about. Christmas time means contemplating another passing year, bringing in the New Year, and expressing hope for the future. We can count our blessings and hope for another year of relative happiness and good physical and mental health. At my age, I can’t wish for more. There are not many left anyway! Whatever one may wish, one has to remember that everything that one hopes for, is of course Deo volente (God willing)!

A few weeks ago, I received an E-mailed video from a relative in Canada. Perhaps he sent it because he knew my age. It is of Dr John Grossman who is 96 years old. He is a  world famous plastic and breast surgeon with a wide experience, though he lost two daughters due to cancer.

He spoke of his spiritual journey through life. He ended the 15 minute talk with a prayer. He was recently interviewed in Channel 2 of Denver, Colorado. Having seen the video, I can say the way he spoke is amazing. A person half his age wouldn’t have been able to speak like that! He is also a committed Christian who has done a lot to help his church (a Presbyterian).

(Some of the facts mentioned in this article are from religious journals available on the Internet).