Christmas or Xmas

The Prime Minister, John Howard, has entered the Christmas / Xmas debate suggesting that shopping centres would do well to include a nativity in their decorations.

He is quoted in this article as saying “I hope some department stores have the courage to bring back nativity scenes. When I was a kid you’d go in and see the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, but there’d also be nativity scenes in department stores. They seem to have disappeared and you hear, ‘Oh, we don’t want to offend anybody’.”

“Actually you’re offending a lot of people who think it’s a great pity they’ve disappeared. Even if they’re not especially religious themselves, they like the association. It’s part of the culture and the history and the nature of this country.”

The political correctness crowd seems to have stripped a lot of the traditional Christmas decorations from our shopping centres but I have noticed a return to the nativity this year. In our local shopping centre, which was one of the first to try and take Christ out of Christmas, there is a nativity scene in a glass case not far from Santa’s chair.

I dropped in at another shopping centre last week and noticed another representation of the baby Jesus with all the shepherds and animals crowding around.

None of us want to offend anyone else if we can help it, but when we keep giving up parts of who we are to accommodate others we very quickly lose our own identity.

At least on this issue, I’m with the Prime Minister. Christmas has attracted a great deal of added baggage over the years but at its heart is a celebration of the baby Jesus. I don’t know about you, but this Christmas, and every Christmas, that’s who I intend celebrating.

Posted by Rodney Olsen



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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