Archbishop of Sydney

His Eminence,
Cardinal George Pell
Cardinal Priest of the Title of S. Maria Domenica Mazzarello

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Home > Our Archbishop > Sunday Telegraph Column 2002 > Article	Printable Version

Christmas 2002

By + George Pell
ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY
22 December 2002

The feast of Christmas is nearly upon us once again. There were plenty of decorations in many suburbs, but in the centre of Sydney a was struck by the number of shops without any type of decoration at all.

Some weeks ago the Prime Minister came to the public defence of Father Christmas and the annual nativity play for the pre-schoolers. He had public opinion strongly on his side.

However very few shop windows had Mary and the Christ child featured, and even Father Christmas seemed to be banished to an inner room in the large stores, where children could confide their wish list for presents on Christmas night. One leading store had a wonderful series of displays on Alfie the Seal, with a single window around the corner featuring an anonymous, parentless child. There were beautiful Christmas trees on display here and there, Advent wreaths too and one report claimed that the sale of Christmas lights doubled this year.

For years now it has been difficult to find Christmas cards with Christian themes, but the traditional Christmas carols are so beautiful that their popularity has not been much dented.

This feast when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable at Bethlehem more than two thousands years ago is the most popular Christian feast, which has been enriched by symbolism from many other cultures and is enjoyed by millions who might have little or no religious enthusiasm.

For those without religious faith it is still a beautiful and consoling myth that God sent his only Son among us as a helpless new born child, to appear, not in a palace, but in a stable. For those of us who do believe, despite our moral weaknesses and our tendency to doubt, the conviction that the Christ child is God's Son, a visible sign of the invisible God's love for us, is the source of our strength and the basis for 2000 years of achievement, of service and worship.

Whatever might be said about the sins of Christians (and these are many, but not the main part of the story), the world is a better place because of the Christmas spirit. The giving of gifts to our loved ones, helping those who are sad and suffering, giving pride of place to children and rejoicing in their happiness all show Christianity at its most attractive. These are aspects of the good life, truly defined.

Santa Claus is one ancient exemplar of this Christmas spirit. A few Christians object to him, claiming that he distracts attention from Christ and his mother, but most religious people do not see this ancient bearer of gifts as any rival to baby Jesus in the crib.

We don't know much about the first Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, the Christian bishop in the third and fourth centuries, of Myra a town in modern Turkey. He was renowned for his generosity. Legend has it that he distributed his rich inheritance among the poor, especially for young women whose family did not have sufficient money for them to marry. Tradition also has it that he was wise, kind and skinny. Santa put on weight in the nineteenth century and especially in the Coca Cola commercials which began in 1931.

Christmas has something for everyone. May we all know the peace which this season of hope can bring, even to those who feel hopeless.