What's That Got To Do With Christmas

Verse 1
We’ve got chestnuts on the fire,
Got our gifts around the tree;
Hear the sleigh bells on the radio,
Come watch ‘Strictly’ on TV.
We’ll have grandma round for dinner,
Have the cousins round for tea,
But what’s that got to do with Christmas?

Verse 2
Got our turkey on the table,
But now grandma’s gone to sleep,
So there’s mother in the kitchen
Getting stressed and fit to weep.
Got our sixpence for the pudding,
Got our ginger bread for tea,
But what’s that got to do with Christmas?

Chorus 1
So does it snow in Bethlehem?
Do reindeer really fly?
Was Santa Claus in business then?
It makes you wanna cry!
What’s that got to do with Christmas?

Verse 3
At the concert hall, Tchaikovsky
At the panto, ‘Puss in Boots’
On the streets the sound of carols
All around the neighbourhood,
Like “O Come Let Us Adore Him!”
But have they understood
What that’s got to do with Christmas?

Chorus 2
Does holly grow in Bethlehem?
Does tinsel grow on trees?
Did Mary put a stocking by the manger?  Please!
What’s that got to do with Christmas?

Chorus 3
If wise men once sought Jesus
Shouldn’t wise men seek Him still?
Or was His birth in Bethlehem just seasonal goodwill?
What’s that got to do,
What’s that got to do,
What’s that got to do with Christmas?

The Story

Before you go accusing me of being a ‘Scrooge’, let me say that I love the Christmas trimmings:  The decorations, the festivities and the tradition.  I love the treats and the food, and I love the time with friends and (to an extent!) with family.  

It’s just that the world would have us believe that it is those things – good though they are – that lie at the heart of Christmas.  They would have us believe, as it were, that it is the celebration itself that we are to celebrate. They’re wrong of course. Profoundly wrong.

But when we fall for that lie – when we find ourselves rejoicing in the trimmings more than in the birth of Emmanuel, then we miss true Glory of Christmas.  After all, other than in the most loose sense, what has any of that got to do with Christmas?