Using Christmas Symbols to Share the Meaning of Christmas in Japan

Have you ever found a long lost file or box in your house that took you on a nostalgic journey to the past?

That happened to me recently.  As we unpacked our decorations this year, I came across an old bag stuffed full of Christmas symbols, advent books and carols translated into Japanese. I had gathered all these things to teach a Christmas Class when I lived in Japan 21 years ago.  Flipping through the contents brought back floods of memories.

In the days long before google and instant information it was a treasure trove of information so I guess I chose to hold on to it just in case I forgot it when it came time to teach my own children one day.

I debated whether or not to share it with you.  The meanings behind the Christmas symbols are pretty easy to find these days but I thought this might get our wheels turning about different ways that we could use them to open conversations about Christ.

Take mistle toe, for example.   Did you know that it has a long history associated with healing?  So it is a reminder of the healing power of Christ and the ultimate healing He offers to us through the Cross. 

I recently found another interesting thing mistle toe represents on this Christmas Symbols website.

"MISTLETOE: Mistletoe is an aerial parasite that has no roots of its own. It lives off the tree to which it attaches itself and, without that tree, it would die. Mistletoe is a Christmas symbol of our love which derives from and exists only because God loves us. God, Who is Love, created us in love and caused us to be able to love. Christians are humbled before these words of St. John the Evangelist: “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him” (1 Jn. 4:16). Just as mistletoe may not acknowledge the tree which sustains it, so people may not acknowledge that the love of God sustains them. But if mistletoe were taken from the tree and any person removed from God’s love, both would die. (From penitents.org)"

That thought made me also think of John 15:5 and how dependent we are on Christ for anything eternal. (That could open all kinds of good conversations)

Then of course, there is the most familar modern day custom of Mistletoe - which I purposely omitted while living in Japan as a single:)

You'd be surprised at how sharing some of these meanings can open the way to some conversations about Christ and what He offers us.

And the way seems all the more open when its done gently and winsomely.  I have seen some well meaning believers sabotage their message by their means of delivery. We can scream and yell at people to keep 'Christ in Christmas' and give them the evil eye when they start to deviate, but lets face it, if they don’t know Him, why would they care if they kept Him central to the season? Wouldn’t it be more effective to come alongside someone and unveil the treasure we have in Him so they can see His worth with their own eyes?

That is really what inspired me to start a Christmas Class all those years ago in Japan. There were so many people celebrating Christmas without really knowing why. If you are wondering why a predominantly Buddhist country would even bother to celebrate Christmas,  the answer is quite simply that it was a huge money maker. The majority of Japanese didn’t have a clue about the meaning of Christmas, but boy did it bring in the yen.

Sad, because that path leads to such emptiness.

I wanted to do something about it but honestly, the task seemed overwhelming.   I felt so small in the sea of Japanese people and the lie sprouting in my brain was that I had nothing significant to offer.

If it were just me offering empty philosophies that would be true. BUT a person in partnership with the Lord does have something significant to offer, because of Him.  It doesn’t have to be big. He doesn’t need our ‘bigness’; He is big enough.  But His eyes do search for those willing to join Him in what He is already up to. Whether that's in Japan or North Carolina.

For me, one of the small things He invited me to do in Japan was to put together this Christmas class where I shared everything I knew  about the meaning of Christmas and its symbols to anyone who wanted to come and learn.

I started to post it all here but then I realized that it is all available on the internet now.  If you google "Christian meaning of Christmas symbols" you will have enough information at your fingertips to become an expert on the season.  (Where oh where was google back when I was digging up all this stuff the old fashioned way?)

My first group was just a small one,  like this, (first picture below) gathered around my table.  (and side note...boy did the Japanese have some great tables. The underside was heated so everyone stuck their feet under the cloth to warm them up) Then another group that wanted to learn. (middle photo). Then they asked if I would teach it to some of their friends. (bottom photo)

Which of course I was delighted to do. 

It amazed me how open the Japanese were to learning about Christmas.  They would come in  droves to hear about this holiday they were already celebrating but didn't know why.  It was like a wide open door to a normally closed audience. I felt a little like the Apostle Paul at Mars Hill explaining that Christ was the "unknown God" they were already worshipping. 

And they drank it in.

Then I taught it to these sweet young middle school girls. (Top photo) And then the next group (middle photo), and even my littlest students.

(That adorable 6 year old girl was my youngest student. I was thinking today how she is probably in her late 20's and possibly even married with her own family. I wondered if she remembered anything about the Christmas Class and if so, if she is passing it on to her own family)

Only God knows if anything lasting ever came of it and I know I have to be content to leave such things in His hands.  But I can say this,  I had a blast participating with God in this venture and whenever I talk to my own kids about the symbolism behind the Christmas decorations I can't help but see some sweet Japanese faces in the background of my mind.

Finding this Christmas bag has sort of reissued an old challenge in my life to get outside my comfort zone and love on some people who don’t know Him and to share some things about Him and Christmas that maybe they just plain don’t know. Not shout at them, just share.

What has He invited you to particpate with Him in this season? 

Nothing is too small or too insignificant if He has put it in your heart to do.  Who knows what a difference it might make in someone's life. 

(If you are interested in hearing more of the story of what led me to start this Christmas class in Japan I have included an article I wrote about the experience while living there. I was trying to motivate some of my expatriate friends to join me in doing  something)

                        
                     Glitter and Gold

   (Reflections on Christmas in Tokyo Dec. 90)

It was a warm December afternoon and I was walking the crowded streets of Tokyo with my Japanese friend. We were window shopping as our pockets could only afford, and admiring the Christmas decorations

I was amazed at how the Japanese had caught on to this phenomenon of decorating for Christmas, and like most things done in Japan, the decorations were rich. There were large Christmas trees, wreaths, elegant lights strung up and an oversized inflated Santa Claus suspended from the top of a train station. There was even a Christmas tree made of diamonds displayed prominently in a store known for its jewels.

A large poster in a department store window caught my eye. From a distance it looked like a nativity scene. My friend and I squeezed through the crowd for a better look. The picture was of a magnificently decorated cathedral with a spotlight on the front platform. The stage had small figurines that looked like shepherds and wisemen standing on it. I stood staring at the picture, sifting through the colors in search of the substance. In the top corners of the picture were angels making an announcement which was written in Japanese. I wondered what kind of message would be displayed on a picture that resembled a nativity scene. Intrigued, I asked my friend to translate. Squinching her eyes, she searched for the English words to communicate that the angels were announcing the dates for the Grand Finale Christmas Sale.

Disappointed, I stared again at the picture. The bright colors that had initially caught my attention seemed dimmer now. In fact, the picture looked empty, there was no manger, no baby Jesus, just a lot of glitter without any gold. "Where...." I mumbled as I looked for the missing parts. My friend quietly pressed my question, "Where’s what?" she asked. "Is something missing from the picture?"

Christmas in Tokyo is much like this picture. On the outside, rich and elaborate. On the inside, empty. Stop someone on the street and ask the reason for Christmas. The response could be anything from attending elegant Christmas dinner shows to exchanging Christmas cakes.

As I (and later my friend) observed, Jesus, or any evidence of Him, has been thoroughly removed from the picture. The gold of the celebration goes widely undetected. Only the glitter can be seen.

How is it that the glamour of the season has been passed to Japan unaccompanied by the message that on this day a baby was born to redeem the nations?

One cannot blame the Japanese for their portrayal of Christmas. It is quite likely those who have traveled abroad and observed Christmas have brought it back exactly as they saw and experienced it. Empty materialistic Christmas’ abound in the United States. But haven’t they transgressed that way gradually from a once Christ centered Christmas? It seems that in Japan, Christ has been removed from the start. Perhaps this is because the customs are passed by those who intentionally eliminate Jesus from the picture. Or perhaps some of us who know the message have chosen a silent complacency over sharing the treasure we hold.

For a Christian, the season is rich because Christ remains central in the celebration. Thus the decorations, the symbols and even the word "Christ-mas" signify a deeper meaning.

For the overwhelmingly majority of Japan, the depth of Christmas lies in the copiously decorated shopping districts, ritsy dinner shows and diamond Christmas trees. A facade, lacking substance because its significance of the symbols and the Truth they represent is unknown.

As believers in country with 99% non-believers, we have a tremendous opportunity this season to offer something substantial to replace the emptiness, to put Jesus back into the center of the Christmas picture. We have the chance to make plain that which has been hidden, to share our knowledge of the unsearchable riches of Christ. To not do so would be to hoard a treasure that was meant to be given away.

It is a jewel that we have to offer Japan...a jewel far more precious than diamond Christmas Trees. 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:15