washingtonexaminer.com
America is reclaiming Christmas
by Tim Head | December 22, 2019 12:00 AM
4-5 minutes
It feels almost too good to be true, but it’s happening: America is reclaiming Christmas.
This month, President Trump lit the National Christmas Tree on the Mall in Washington. In a certain sense, it’s nothing new. The president has lit the National Christmas tree on the mall virtually every year since 1923. But what makes this year so special is that the president didn’t shy away from the true meaning of the season.
In his remarks, Trump reminded the nation about a piece of the tradition that we often overlook. After President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree, a cross was displayed in bright lights on the Washington Monument — “a powerful reminder,” the president said, “of the meaning of the season.”
Mentioning a cross is bold enough on its own, but the president went even further than that. He named the true meaning of Christmas for all to hear, narrating the biblical story of the wise men’s journey to Bethlehem and their worship of the infant Christ.
“Christians give thanks that the son of God came into the world to save humanity,” the president proclaimed. “Jesus Christ inspires us to love one another with hearts of generosity and grace.”
It’s a poignant witness — and a pointed break with the presidential celebrations of Christmas past. From 2010 to 2016, none of the White House Christmas cards actually used the word “Christmas,” instead opting for variations on “season’s greetings.” President Trump’s decision to name the season is an incredible encouragement to believers far and wide. First lady Melania Trump also encouraged the faithful with her stunning display of Christmas decorations themed around “The Spirit of America.” The green, red, white, and blue decorations reminded Americans that they no longer need to fear about sharing their patriotism or their faith.
This is not to say that there aren’t those who still strive to stifle the message that the president shared last Thursday. Recently, Amazon categorized a children’s book about the Nativity as “holiday fiction” — two words that are the exact opposite of the story the book contains. The American Civil Liberties Union continues to sue schools that bring prayer and religion into the classroom. And on a far more serious and heartbreaking level, Christians around the world continue to face the threat of violence and loss of civil rights because of their beliefs about what happened in Bethlehem two millennia ago.
But the light that shone out from Washington last week marks the turn of a tide — a shift away from the secularism and indifference that has shrouded our country in darkness for far too long. It’s a welcome change and a renewal of the American promise.
As we draw closer to Christmas Day, I urge my fellow believers to live out the president’s words. Let us love our neighbors “with hearts of generosity and grace,” even if they don’t share our political views or if they reject the Gospel and its claim on their lives. If a store clerk, a restaurant server, or a schoolteacher wishes you “happy holidays,” wish them a “Merry Christmas” in return — but do so with a smile on your face and with joy in your heart.
The beauty of Christmas is that it’s the beginning of a story whose ending we already know. Christ took on human form and was born into our world on Christmas Day — and he’ll come back in that very same human form and judge the world in the fullness of time. With that peace and love in our hearts, we can continue to declare the good news of Christmas in the land of the free.
Timothy Head is the executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
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