I. Christmas past
B. Immigrants to influence America's holiday traditions
I. CHRISTMAS PAST
A. CONFLICT GAVE BIRTH TO FIRST CELEBRATIONS OF CHRISTMAS
The Rev. Ed Foley is chair of the department of word and worship at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and co-author of "Mighty Stories: Dangerous Rituals" with 13 other book concerning ritual. He says the feast we celebrate as Christmas first emerged at the end of the second century A.D. However, at that time, it was not the birth of Christ that was emphasized. Instead, it was Jesus' baptism as an adult. The first evidence for a celebration emphasizing Jesus' birth came in the year 336 A.D. in a milieu of conflict. "During the third and fourth centuries, there were arguments about who Jesus is. Is Jesus fully human and fully God? The Council of Nicene in 325 A.D. said, 'Yes.' Shortly, thereafter, we have the first 'Christmas' celebration in the West emphasizing that from birth, Jesus was fully human and fully God." If the argument had been about something else, we might emphasize and celebrate a different aspect of Jesus' human existence today.
Contact: 773-753-5333
B. ANGELS NOW AND THEN
John Brolley, UC academic area coordinator of religious studies has researched and taught courses on angels and Satan. He explains that the angels of antiquity were not associated with any particular holy day. They were a "fearsome bunch...and while they were essentially good, they weren't always nice," adding that they swung swords and appeared amidst flames. As Christianity spread, emphasizing mercy and forgiveness over vengeful judgement, angels served as messengers of good news (the Christian Gospel) in terms of Jesus' conception, birth and resurrection; however, the final book in the New Testament (Revelations) again shows angels as warriors. Today's "cute, accessible" pop culture angels reflect the comfort that people desire in their everyday lives, according to Brolley. However, a more literal reading of 'Revelations' expresses a view that the evil forces that corrupt the world are supernatural "so they will have to be destroyed by supernatural powers...That's where the warrior-angels come in."
Contact: 513-727-8301
II. CHRISTMAS (AND SPIRITUALITY) PRESENT
A. TOO MUCH FOCUS ON PRESENTS OVER PRESENCE
Author Barbara Hansen, UC professor of English, was left paralyzed by a car wreck at the age of 19. That experience and her 35 years of teaching and helping students led to her recent book, "The Strength Within" with its message that self-help books and self-esteem efforts are no answer for individuals and a society in spiritual crisis. "Uur time and our attention is not on our spirituality, our inner self. We're focusing on doing, acquiring and possessing."
She added that what we have matters less than what we are and that the self-help binge of past decades has been no bromide. "Listening to self-affirmation tapes and reading books to bolster self-esteem leave us empty and unfulfilled. Although people often fail to distinguish between these words, self-esteem is not a synonym for self-worth...We'll have self-worth if we make a positive difference in the lives of people around us."
Contact: 513-793-8719
B. SPIRITUALITY, IT'S A PRIVATE THING
UC professor emeritus of philosophy Thomas Long notes that Americans today talk about "spirituality" rather than religion. "People used to find spirituality - the true self - by converting to a religion or entering a monastery." Now, they look elsewhere, perhaps to nontraditional forms of religion. With our society's emphasis on the body, it make take the form of exercise, or for middle and upper-class Americans, spirituality is connected to medicine and alternative forms and practices of medicine. "So many people talk about spirituality today, I am not sure they mean the same thing. I think they have private definitions." One common thread, he notes, is that people expect religious practice to be easy, convenient and to make them feel good about themselves. "I don't think any of the major religious figures in the Judeo-Christian tradition would have embraced that way of looking at religion."
Contact: 513-751-3210
C. MAINSTREAM RELIGIONS HOLDING GROUND
Author Robert Wuthnow, director of Princeton University's Center for the Study of Religion, said that while U.S. church attendance might not be as high as it was in the 1950s or before, it has held fairly constant for the last 30 years. "I think that for the foreseeable future, religion in America will be one of our most important social institutions. It is being altered by new immigration, new forms of spirituality, the decline of small churches and the growth of large churches, but we are also seeing religion playing a larger role in politics and other parts of our society." Wuthnow has written over 20 books, including "After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s" and "Growing Up Religious."
Contact: 609-258-4742
D. CHRISTMAS TENSION BETWEEN THE SACRED AND THE SECULAR
Philip Horrigan, director of the Department of Environment and Art in the Office of Divine Worship, Archdiocese of Chicago, says churches are experiencing more tension between sacred and secular decorations. "Does Santa belong at the crib? Do we have a birthday cake for Jesus? In the old days, the secular would never have poked its head in the door this way. Now, there's conflict, and this will likely grow. There's the view that it's too treacly, definitely not part of the traditional aesthetic, while others say, 'But the kids love it.'"
Environmental concerns will also shape holiday decorations in new ways: "Do we use real trees or fake trees? Environmentalism wasn't a consideration years ago, but now people have questions about the trees, evergreens and plants. The thinking goes, 'God make the trees, but God didn't make them to be cut down needlessly or wantonly. Let's honor the trees that exist by valuing them where they are.'"
Contact: 773-486-5153, ext. 266
III. SPIRITUALITY 101: RELIGION ON CAMPUS
A. STUDENTS MORE INTERESTED IN LEARNING LIFE'S MEANING
Rabbi Abie Ingber, executive director of UC's Hillel Jewish Student Center, claims students today are more spiritually focused. For instance, he plans to take 40 students with him to spend Hanukkah in Israel. "We had one-on-one interviews with the students and asked...what they hoped to gain from the trip. About 70 percent...said they wanted a spiritual experience. I don't think ten percent...would have said that ten years ago."
"More people are making the assumption their lives will have economic
strength...I don't think the students are as worried about getting a
well-paying job...Instead, they're concerned about how much of their life they've already wasted without knowing what it's about." Ingber predicts Jewish and other religious and cultural rituals will remain strong in the future. "You...remember lighting the Sabbath candle with children standing around you, or hosting a Passover meal with friends and relatives bringing their favorite foods. Rituals infused with an element of spiritual development will never be forgotten. People will always remember Thanksgiving. It may not be their best meal of the year, but they'll remember the loved ones who
sat with them around the table..."
Contact: 513-221-6728
B. MINISTERING TO STUDENTS LIKE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
Sharon Kugler, president of the National Association of College and University Chaplains and chaplain at Johns Hopkins University, says that campuses are much more religiously diverse than in years past. "It does not look the way it used to 25 or 30 years ago, when you had Christians, and you had Jews...you're looking at a veritable smorgasbord of paths people are taking. Sometimes, I feel like an air traffic controller at a big airport....there's a great potential to deepen understanding among people and inform ourselves about the differences we have. Students continue to do a lot of searching about who they are as intellectual and spiritual beings."
Contact: 410-261-1880
C. SPIRITUALITY TRANSLATES INTO SERVICE
Sharon Kugler, president of the National Association of College and University Chaplains and chaplain at Johns Hopkins University, recently visited the University of Southern California for a meeting of the Association of College and University Religious Affairs, another group of which she is president. There, she found that 10,000 students out of a total enrollment of 15,000 have been active in community service. "It's not a generation of kids doing it to have people pay attention to them -- to them, it's a real calling. One thing I'm seeing, and there's a spiritual component in this for sure, is a real call to service, students being committed to give service to others."
Contact: 410-261-1880
IV. CHRISTMAS FUTURE
A. HOLIDAYS TO HAVE A MULTICULTURAL HUE
The Rev. Ed Foley, co-author of "Mighty Stories: Dangerous Rituals" and 13 other books on ritual, said that rituals, like those surrounding Christmas, are fundamental ways to define identity, and they change in tandem with society. As we become more multicultural, more attentive to the plurality of beliefs, our holiday activities will change. For example, we say, 'Happy Holidays,' rather than 'Merry Christmas,' because we're more aware that the end of Ramadan coincides with the beginning of Advent, and that Hanukkah and Kwanza are also celebrated at this time of year. "Look at how multicultural cards are. You can buy Santa Claus holding a menorah or kneeling before a creche. As the American identity expands so do the symbols and rituals of the holidays," said Foley.
He added that with the economy driving so many holiday rituals, shopping online is the newest twist to our commercially oriented "season" which has already advanced so that the "traditional" post-Thanksgiving start to shopping actually begins much earlier now. (And should the economy turn sour, Foley predicts it will start even earlier as retailers strive to compete.) "Now, with online shopping, the ritual is waiting for the UPS truck to bring a gift that was not personally touched or wrapped, with an electronic card accompanying it."
Contact: 773-753-5333
B. IMMIGRANTS TO INFLUENCE AMERICA'S HOLIDAY TRADITIONS
Philip Horrigan, director of the Department for Environment and Art in the Office of Divine Worship, Archdiocese of Chicago, says churches, especially large, urban ones, will be integrating the traditions of America's immigrants into holiday decorations. "It hasn't always been a concern. But Hispanics, Asians and others will be seeking to have decorations become part of the mix in communal places of worship." For example, that might mean incorporating a painting, sculpture or carving of Our Lady of Guadalupe (whose feast is celebrated Dec. 12) and more flamboyant color into churches with Hispanic members.
Contact: 773-486-5153, ext. 266
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