67 days? Yes, Hallmark brought us over 67 days of โChristmasโ from October to early January. By any measure, it was an awful lot of canned cheer. On my satellite dish, it was more like 201 days of Christmas since we have three Hallmark channels. I could also add in the knockoffs at Lifetime and UP channels, but you get the point. We were inundated, saturated, bombarded and bamboozled with 4,824 hours of Christmas!
At first, this really annoyed me. I didnโt recall ever seeing a manger in any Hallmark movie. For this reason, I imagine the season these channels promoted had more to do with cards and ornaments than the one-time historical event of Godโs incarnation to humanity. I really didnโt need the holiday shopping season to co-exist with Halloween and Thanksgiving. With Amazon, shopping is already 24/7 for us anyway. So, in my annoyment, I boldly told my wife that I was not watching TV with her until Advent—except for college football, of course.
Unaware of the financial difficulties my boycott had upon the Hallmark corporation, I held fast.
When Advent officially came, I crossed my self-established picket line. Some would argue that we should not celebrate Christmas during Advent. One does not snack on the meal during its preparation. I canโt really argue against that point other than noting that such discipline is outside American popular culture. There is hope though, how wonderful it was to have many stores and malls not starting โBlack Fridayโ deals during my Thanksgiving dinner. I smiled at the notion that this year, my family was not running out to stores after our meal together. We became a family of โslothsโ as the tryptophan effect hit in full stride โ just as it should on Thanksgiving. So yes, it was not a time to fight for Advent. Iโll chase that windmill another day.
As long as my high school football coach isnโt reading this, I will admit that I again watched a few Hallmark Christmas movies this past season. Noting that most television shows these days are brainless, it bothers me little that Hallmark movies all have the same plot. I smile at the notion when I actually come across an original theme in a Hallmark movie. Perhaps, that is the wrong way of looking at this. Is the problem the reoccurring theme or, is there a message in a reoccurring theme? Hmm. I began to discern this concept. My wife and I joke at the reoccurring plots yet, arenโt the reoccurring plots simply a reoccurring theme in our own lives? I might not be yet another overworked professional being called home to help on the family farm but, I began to see the link.
We all know the plot. Someone is working too hard and has lost sight of their family values. They work too much and care too little about the world around them. Sadly, I identify with these characters most days. These characters then meet someone who helps them get their priories aligned and after a few bumps and detours, it is โhappily ever afterโ or so the abrupt endings imply. Perhaps, the โhappily ever afterโ is a topic for another day. Yet, if โlove trumps all,โ let us simply embrace the point. It is not the โlove trumps allโ that troubles Greg. No, it is getting off the self-imposed merry-go-rounds we let society put us on. It is the โgraduate and go make a name for ourselvesโ that we get into. It is the hoarding of wealth into 401Ks in order to put off enjoying Godโs creation today. It is focusing on a later point in our lives when โwe have time.โ It is in forgetting that this future time is not promised to us nor a bankable commodity. The Gospel doesnโt tell us to put off living until life becomes โconvenient.โ It tells us to embrace today as a gift from God. It reminds us that when we live lives of faith, tomorrow takes care of itself. It reminds us to live in the moment. All concepts that Greg watches on television without living in his own life the past three decades.
As the Christmas season began to close, in January and not December 26th, it began to occur to me how and often Iโve missed the point. Weโve been pelted with a message of getting our priorities in order for the past 67 days. Hello? Did we pay attention or just let ourselves be dulled in another story of a cute girl falling in love?
Upon noticing this message for myself, my Hallmark mood began to change. Perhaps Greg really does need 4,824 hours of repeatedly reminding him that his priorities are out of alignment. Yet, I would still prefer an occasional manger scene in a Christmas movie but, what if Hallmark can accomplish a feat where others have feared to tread? The sad expense of cable and satellite dishes may be worth it if a channel could actually get us to stop caring about our Outlook calendars and simply spend time at home. Even more radically, what if we turned off our cell phones for a day and focusing on having real conversations with people โ would Christmas become magical for us again? Perhaps today, Hallmark can be an updated message of Balaam (Numbers 24:2-17) โ a new path for the Star and the Scepter to lead us back to Godโs plan of salvation.
Maybe in our need of 67 days of Christmas, as well as those showings again in July, there is a modern interpretation reminding us today that the generation who saw His signs and wonders in Egypt did not enter into the rest of the earthly Promised Land. (Numbers 14:22-23) Isnโt it the same message? The โsigns and wondersโ of our day are being missed as we attempt to replace the authority from God in our lives. Weโve given it to social media. Weโve given it to Facebook.
Imagine getting our priorities back into the real issue of life โ living. Living in the blessings God has graced us with in this life. Too many of us have forgotten this and let society lull us into focusing on false truths and meaningless victories. Weโve taken a bite out of the apple again. And again. And again. We have been unfaithful to the creation God meant us to be. The infidelity of Israel is again a model for us today. Just as the Jews rebelled after coming out of Egypt we too, have been rebelling against the Good News in the name of convenience. How many babies will be killed today because their gift of life is inconvenient for someone? How many opportunities did we miss today to acknowledge the Imago Dei in someone who is hurting? Dare I say, when was the last time we went to Mass on Sunday simply in gratitude for blessings weโve received in our lives?
Find the peace that weโve been missing.ย Our 67 days of Christmas movies should remind us how weโve again missed the message.ย Forget the ornaments.ย Rather, let us embrace the message of love in our lives again.ย