The Nativity of Our Lord

….is the canonical name for the feast day popularly known as Christmas. The title of the feast dates from the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. The word “Christmas”, which can be traced back to the twelfth century, is a contraction of “Christ’s mass” and perhaps more appropriately describes the Last Supper than it does Jesus’ birth. As we battle over whether greeters ought to say “merry Christmas” or “happy holidays”, how about “have a neat Nativity”? Not only does it have the advantages of accuracy and alliteration, voicing that greeting is likely to spawn quizzical looks rather than objections.

On Christmas morning the youngster and I served as the one acolyte and usher, respectively, at the local Episcopal church. The Christmas service is lightly attended, because most parishioners turn out for the children’s pageant the previous afternoon or midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Forty souls were in the pews at 10 a.m., lustily belting out O Come, All Ye Faithful and Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. The minister kept his sermon short, because he knew everyone had places to go, people to see, and presents to open.

After the service I helped the Treasurer count the offering, including the one from the day before. The sums aren’t terribly large, but the procedures are highly involved. We have to run adding machine tapes of the checks, the list of the donors, the object of their donations (2005 pledge, 2006 pledge, Christmas fund, etc.), and make sure the sums all match. Once, I was off by $10 and spent over an hour trying to find the error (no, opening my wallet and throwing a sawbuck into the pile wouldn’t have solved the problem---believe me, I did think of that). And because there is loose cash involved, two people have to conduct independent counts and initial the total. Yes, we’re godly people, but sinners, too.

Andy, who runs a local accounting practice and who sometimes helps out, said that using a spreadsheet would be a lot easier. Fine, I thought, you design a system that will keep track of a check that is split between the regular pledge, the altar flowers, and the non-deductible ski trip the youth group takes every winter. But I don’t blame him for feeling frustrated; the name of the feast day isn’t the only thing about the church that dates back to the seventeenth century.

We went home and opened some of our presents. We take several days to unwrap them all, so that we can savor the experience and appreciate the donor’s consideration more fully. The kids gave me an iPod connection to the car radio and a soft warm sweater; both gifts were put to immediate use. When you receive a thoughtful gift, not only does it reflect the donor’s expenditure of time and treasure in the shopping process, but it also shows that he has been observing you and thinking of your needs. And when the gift-givers are the once-little people whom you never thought would consider anyone’s needs but their own, well, the feelings are hard to describe. It did turn out to be a neat Nativity, and I hope you had one, too. © 2005 Stephen Yuen