Stille Nacht

Note: You may want to read the related blog entry found here first. This was also posted at GIGO-Soapbox.org.

Stille Nacht

Over at National Review's weblog, The Corner, denizen Stanley Kurtz is lamenting that in certain parts of America, the festivities, the holiday decorations in quantity and intensity are... well, they're lame. I understand how a Jew like Mr. Kurtz might lament that Christians dully observe Christmas, because in turn I've often been saddened by Jews who lack Jewishness. Those who deny their faith shine forth like dim candles; it's a sad state of men who could be much, much more.

Of course, in unscientific polling, Mr. Kurtz has determined that this lameness predominates in the blue (liberal) parts of the country, while the red (conservative) parts of the country still manage to celebrate Christmas. Perhaps everyone but a liberal understands that to rob something of meaning is a sure way to kill it. Or perhaps (to satisfy my more cynical readers) this is all part of a liberal conspiracy to kill Christmas. Without arguing the liberals' intention (which we can never be certain of), I state that I favor the former.

It is far better to analyze the avenues of attack. These are multiculturalism, secularism, and commercialism. Multiculturalism posits that there are no objective measures between cultures; there are no certain truths; that each culture should have an equal share of the national conscience. Secularism demands that Christianity be removed from the public square. Commercialism perverts the meaning of Christmas to one of material gain. But each avenue of attack has its weaknesses. I don't mean to suggest any blueprint for a counterattack; for to restore the meaning of Christmas, it is simply necessary to restore the understanding about what Christmas is all about. Once that's taken care of, the candles shining out from our souls will shine brightly of their own accord.

I remember that my third grade teacher taught my class the song "Silent Night." Such an event is less likely thirty years later. Today, children are more likely to learn about Kwanza or fast for Ramadan under the rubric of multiculturalism. Yet, we need not confine ourselves to the occidental to teach about the birth of Jesus. In the Koran, in the Sura of the House of Imran and the Sura of Mary, there is the story leading to the Nativity that Christians would be familiar with. Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, is made mute. And even though Muslims are not Trinitarians, they admit that the Holy Spirit is involved in the incarnation of Christ. And from Mary, Jesus the Messiah is born.

Closer to home, in fact probably in your pocket, is another story about the virgin birth. Take out a one-dollar bill. On the back of that bill, there is much more than the phrase "In God We Trust." Also on the back of the bill is pictured both sides of the Great Seal of the United States. On the left below the pyramid is the Latin phrase "Novus Ordo Seclorum" -- a new order of the ages. This phrase is a reference to the pagan/secular poem, Virgil's Fourth Eclogue, also known as the Messianic Eclogue (see the links below for amplifying information):

A new cycle among the ages comes to birth;
The virgin Astraea returns;
the Saturnian age of peace is renewed,
For a new order of generation is sent down
from the high heavens!

There is always the danger that syncretism with Muslim and pagan/secular sources will water down the story of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, but here also lies the opportunity taken by St. Paul in Athens when he focused on the unknown God: "Him I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:23). Reaching into the cauldron of Myth, we find the Truth.

Of course it is better to go directly to the source, and in this case, a commercial venture -- rather than perverting the truth -- was able to proclaim the truth. In "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Charles M. Shultz quotes directly from Gospel of St. Luke (Luke 2:1-14). In the story, Charlie Brown is confused by the rampant selfishness and commercialism and asks about the meaning of Christmas. Linus answers on stage.

Linus: Lights, please.
Linus: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

In 1818, an Austrian priest, Joseph Mohr, asks a friend to put a poem of his to music. This song is first sung on Christmas Eve of that year. Nearly a century later, during the First World War, spontaneous pockets of peace broke out. A miracle in the modern age of a story that takes on mythic qualities as if ladled from the cauldron of Myth itself. For a day, the British and Germans were not enemies but part of the Brotherhood of Man. In the trenches, British soldiers had noticed across no man's land that the Germans were lighting the candles on their Christmas trees and the Brits heard familiar hymn in foreign words, "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, Alles schläft, einsam wacht."

The English translation is a succinct summary of the story of the Nativity in St. Luke's Gospel:

Silent night Holy night
All is calm all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;
Christ the Savior is born;
Christ the Savior is born.

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth;
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

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