Celebrating Beauty: Christmas
- Claire Anderson
- Dec 24, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 21, 2021
An ongoing series about how to add a little beauty to our favorite feasts and seasons
Christmas is one of the most beloved holidays in the entire western world. What is it that makes Christmas so special? Why are people more kind and generous? Why do we shower our friends and family members with gifts and baked goods and bring trees into our homes? Why do people who do not believe in Christ or at least welcome Him into their daily lives celebrate it? Looking at it from the outside, Christmas seems like a strange holiday. But when you really dig into what it is we celebrate, all this starts to make sense. At Christmas we celebrate God becoming man. The Incarnation is perhaps one of the most radical acts in the history of the world. God Himself was born of an immaculate virgin in a cave in a tiny town in the middle of no where. Christmas marks the definite point in history where we see God keeping His promises. Long ages before, He promised Adam and Eve that He would send a savior, someone to save them from the sting of sin and death.
The world was waiting for so long, and then here He is. In a moment, the world was changed for good. Because of Christmas, we have hope that we do not have to be slaves to our sins forever. Because of Christmas, we have hope for salvation. Because of Christmas, every good thing in the world is possible because the tiny, helpless baby lying in the manger is God. That is where the Christmas magic comes from. When Jesus entered the world, He brought every gift and every grace with Him and through His life, death, and resurrection, made all of them attainable to humanity. We still feel the echoes of this event today. (Think about it, if you were God, wouldn't you want the whole world to be happy on your birthday?) Even in more secular Christmas traditions, we see the reverberations of the Incarnation. Entire movies have been made and songs have been written about believing in what seems impossible (Miracle on 34th Street, anyone?) Virgin births and God becoming man seem impossible, but as the angel St. Gabriel told Mary, "Nothing will be impossible for God."
At Christmas, we embrace this wonder and joy that must have been palpable at that first Christmas. I encourage you to do the same this Christmas. Approach the Nativity scene with childlike wonder and joy. The world needs more wonder and joy and beauty this year and Christmas offers all those things in abundance. Decorate your Christmas tree (an allusion to the tree of life), listen to some beautiful Christmas music, pray for the person who will receive every gift you wrap, make your home ready to welcome family and your heart ready to welcome Jesus. He longs to be born in you and in the world on this day and every day.
Let's Celebrate!
Playlists:
Here are a few of our favorite Christmas playlists:
Christmas! // compiled by Claire Anderson
Classical Christmas // compiled by Spotify
'Tis the Season // compiled by Love Good
Victorian Christmas // compiled by Sara Gettlefinger
And here are a few of our favorite Christmas albums:
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring: Christmas with the Dominican Sisters of Mary // The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist
Noel // The Priests
The Oh Hellos' Family Christmas Album // The Oh Hellos
Catholic Classics, vol. 8: Catholic Christmas Classics // The Cathedral Singers
Handel: Messiah // George Fredric Handel
Christmas with Nat, Dean, and Bing // Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby
The Advent of Christmas // Matt Maher
A Drummer Boy Christmas // For King and Country
Books:
Joy to the World by Scott Hahn
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Blessing of Christmas by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Cradle of Redeeming Love by John Saward
Movies:
The Nativity Story (2006)
The Polar Express (2004)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
A Christmas Carol (pretty much any version!)
Prayer:
Matthew 1:1- 2:23
Luke 2:1- 40
John 1:1-18
The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
Other Feasts During This Season:
Christmas itself is not just a day, but a whole season (That 12 Days of Christmas song is really about the season: Christmas day and onwards). We celebrate Christmas for eight days, just like Easter. On the Sunday after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. On the 26th we celebrate the feast of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. On the 28th we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents (all the babies King Herod murdered in an attempt to kill baby Jesus, this is the event the Coventry Carol talks about). On January 6th, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings came to honor the Christ child. Finally, the season ends with the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, which is the Sunday after Epiphany Sunday, when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist. So friends, embrace the season of Christmas and celebrate the beauty of the Incarnation!
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