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Guest Column

Spirit of giving lost as we shop

By JACK BRAY
Published December 20, 2006

Deck the halls!

It is Christmas shopping season. Crowds of people are pouring into the stores from morning till night, for soon it will be Christmas Day.

When did all this madness begin?

Historical accounts vary, but the custom of giving gifts to loved ones on a special day in winter may have begun in ancient Rome, where people gave these gifts as part of their year-end celebration to honor Saturn, the god of harvest. The festivities began in the middle of December and continued until Jan. 1.

Saturnalia was considered a festive time for Romans, but Christians believed it an abomination to honor such a pagan god. Eventually, the church was successful in removing the merriment, lights and gifts from Saturnalia and transferring them to the celebration of a Christian Christmas.

It was in 350 A.D. that Pope Julius I declared Dec. 25 as the official date for celebrating the birth of Christ.

Buying gifts for those we love should be a heartwarming experience. Unfortunately, for many, it is a chore, an obligation and, at some stores, a heart-pounding experience of pushing, shoving and, ye gads, fistfights.

It saddens me that the Advent season, the time when we should joyfully await the birth of Christ, has become a time that is too often spent in crowded stores with harried shoppers in a frenzy to buy gifts.

We often hear, "Put Christ back in Christmas." He is in Christmas. It seems, however, he's not in the preparation for the celebration of his birth.

The ancient Romans celebrated to honor their god of harvest. Christians celebrate to honor their god of love.

We should not worry about what to buy. For, in the end, the gifts we exchange do not matter. It is the love they represent that does.

Jack Bray is a retired broadcasting executive who lives in Dunedin.

[Last modified December 20, 2006, 01:37:19]