The Holiday Craze

It's that time of the year when those repeated seasonal refrains about reindeer, mistletoe, holly and little drummer boys bombard us in stores, mall-ways, on radio and TV—along with being hummed, whistled or sung in our ears by just about everyone around us.

One of the favorites, left over from my past life in the frozen wilds of northern Wisconsin goes like this:

Oh, I yust go nuts at Christmas
On that yolly holiday
I'll go in the red like a knucklehead
Cuz I'll squander all my pay.

This little ditty by Yogi Yorgesson (a.k.a. Harry Stewart), goes on in humorous manner to document his Christmas experience, covering the all-too-real traditional American holiday experiences of excessive spending, excessive drinking, excessive eating and the resultant chaos of families attempting to broker peace with one another after feuding during the previous year.

While humorous, it is much more real then most people care to admit. Mental health experts, along with law enforcement and hospital emergency rooms are gearing up for what has become an annual assault associated with the Christmas season: drunkenness, domestic violence, bankruptcy and acute depression.

It isn't just an American malady; this international holiday alarms most mental health workers worldwide. Canadian Psychotherapist Beth Mares, in an Internet article Mental Health and Seasonal Affective Disorder: "Christmas Depression" says:

"Much of my work is with depression, and the Christmas season and the period right after Christmas are when my clients are most likely to need extra appointments. I think of all the other people who get depressed at this time of year. Many of them suffer needlessly, not realizing that something is wrong and that they are not supposed to feel that way. Others are aware that there is a problem, but do not know how to get help or do not believe that anyone can help. This is understandable, because many have had bad experiences in the past, but it is most unfortunate" (http://individual.utoronto.ca/mmares/Christmas_depression.htm).

In the United Kingdom, many officials and leaders are preparing for the holidays, and that doesn't mean they are just decorating their communities:

"A special team is preparing to tackle the worrying seasonal surge in domestic violence during the Christmas period in East Cambridgeshire.

"Binge drinking and frayed tempers often spark trouble and members of the district's Domestic Violence Forum will be setting up stalls in Ely, Littleport and Soham to help combat the problem. … Julie Buck, community safety officer at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "Although Christmas is meant to be the season of peace and goodwill to all, too often it is a time of misery and violence in many homes. Heightened expectations, excess alcohol and the long holiday period can all contribute to increasing friction between family members, which can often erupt into violence" (Cambridge Evening News, November 25, 2005).

Even Africa is not immune:

"The emotional strain of the celebrations, combined with increased drinking and the lack of usual routine such as work, all contribute to a rise in violence.

"In an already abusive relationship, violence in the home may reach a peak during festival times and the world over, acts [of] domestic violence increase during such seasons.

"For the last few years, during Christmas and end of year festivities, the Ugandan press has been awash with stories of domestic violence including extreme cases of women being battered to death" (The New Vision, December 22, 2004, Kampala, Uganda).

How can this be? Isn't Christmas all about Jesus and God, and peace on earth, good will toward men? Why would a "Christian" observance result in such debauchery, drunkenness, violence and even murder? Is there something wrong with the concept, or is it just something wrong with the people—professing to be Christians—who claim they are truly following what the Bible teaches about Christmas?

You need to know what is behind this supposedly Christian holiday, and all the other holidays that claim to honor Jesus Christ. Send for our free article: What Is Hidden by the Holidays? It will set you on a course of discovering the true worship of God and Jesus Christ, outlined in the pages of your Bible.