What happened to Christmas?

Many of us are nostalgic about Christmas – Christmas-past, perhaps?  

I’m not the only one who thinks of childhood Christmases this time of year. Is it because so much has changed in our lives or because we’re aware of the decades long trend away from the religious holiday toward the secular — dare I say “commercial”? —holiday? Are we willing participants? I would say so.  

I do hope you had a happy and blessed Christmas. There are many of us who cling to the magic of Christmas through family traditions, visits to family and friends, and church. It also is a time of merriment, replete with buying and gift-giving, decorations, the tree, glittering lights and, of course, Santa Claus. But the religious significance – the birth of Christ – in many Christian homes may be less apparent than in years past.            

This trend has been documented by the Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study that found years of religious decline in the Christian share of the population. And the religiously unaffiliated population, after rising rapidly for decades, has leveled off.

The 2024 survey also found we may see further declines in religiousness in America because young adults are far less observant than older adults and the “stickiness” of religious upbringing seems to be declining. Fewer younger adults who had a highly religious rearing are still devout as adults, while the “stickiness” of a non-religious upbringing seems to be rising. 

This is the third time Pew has conducted a Religious Landscape Study. The first RLS was conducted in 2007, the second in 2014. It’s a broad and interesting study that is timed perfectly with this season. 

This week, I thought of a memory of another time with less expectations, less pressure and more acknowledgement of the reason for this season. As a child raised in a Catholic household, Christmas was a holy experience that always included a Nativity scene beside the tree and a beautiful Midnight Mass for the oldest child.

My childhood Christmas was more about the birth of Christ – and we received gifts. This, I realize, diminished within my own family, apparently in line with the trends cited by the Pew study, I’m sorry to say. 

Some traditions remained, however: over-shopping, over-spending, gift wrapping, and baking. At this moment, I’m still wondering how the true meaning of Christmas got away from me and telling myself it’s never too late to reassess what is truly important in our lives.

Thank you to Mom, Dad, and Aunt Margaret for the gift of love and the joyful meaning of Christmas. Rest in peace. 

Pat Wandling hosts Speak Your Piece weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.