Ian Boyne, Contributor

To a country soaked in blood and ripped apart by divisions and strife, the traditional Christmas message of "peace and goodwill toward men" is extremely meaningful and apt. If there is one people who need the respite of Christmas, it is the Jamaican people.

Mark you, Christmas has itself been riddled with controversy and strife, as minority Christians have railed against the appropriateness of using a festival with roots in paganism to celebrate the birth of Christ. Christmas was scorned by even the Puritans who could not be regarded as cultists. And even traditional Christians today have been disturbed by the rampant commercialism, debauchery and secularisation of Christmas. So often we hear the plaintive plea to "put Christ back into Christmas".

The militant secularists and atheists have also dived into the debate, especially in the United States where they have objected to the religious symbolism of Christmas, seeing it as an infringement of the principle of separation of Church and State. So they prefer to wish "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas", and they want to see no imagery of Mary and Baby Jesus in a manager; at least not in public places.

So Christmas is not bereft of its own controversy and strife. But despite this - and the objections of minority religious sects like the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Armstrongites (the Adventists have given up) - as well as the secularists, Christmas remains buoyant and effervescent, showing absolutely no sign of waning in its impact on people all over the world and across cultures.

Brings out the best

There is something about Christmas which the human heart craves. Indeed, there is much about Christmas to which human beings gravitate. In a world where increasingly people feel disconnected from family and neighbours; where greed, selfishness, cruelty and corruption seem so often to overwhelm the positive aspects of human nature; in a world where there are too many instances of neglect, uncaring and human tragedy, it is good to have a season where the best in humans is highlighted.

It is good to have a time when even enemies can find it in their hearts to exchange a smile; where the swords can, however momentarily, be beaten into plowshares, as it were; when hostilities cease while the celebrations go on.

If Christmas did not exist on the scale it does, we would have to invent it. Humans need rituals, celebratory seasons. Throughout history and in all cultures, we have always had them. Man has a need to celebrate, to break with the normal routine and the everyday grind, to take time apart for immersion into something which transcends the ego. We need times of refreshment. (We even need periods to write short columns!)

But the values of the Christmas message - in its pristine form - clashes violently with our Western culture. Sure, the commercialism, grand marketing, hedonistic binges and orgies are well in line with Western nihilistic culture. But I refer to the religious meaning of Christmas - what the church would have us focus on.

For one, the very birth of Christ; the advent of God into the world; God's becoming man through the Incarnation sends a profound message to the world. It is a message of humiliation, of emptying, of condescension. That is at the very opposite pole of the aggrandisement, the exaltation of self, and the primacy of the ego and of individual self-interests which lie at the heart of the Western way of life.Instead of being taught to give up, to honour self-sacrifice, to put the interests of others before our own, we are taught the way of get; the way of acquisitiveness, of rugged and often ruthless competition; of winning at all costs. "Good guys finish last" is the often unexpressed, but underlying philosophy of living which is inculcated.

The message of the Incarnation, as told so beautifully by Paul in Philippians, is that Jesus who was in the form of God and who was equal with God took upon Himself human form and emptied Himself of His divinity to save mankind. He put His enemies ahead of Himself. He died for them. He despised the cross and its shame. A primary reason for his human birth was his ignoble death. The ultimate example of self-sacrifice, the Christian Church tells us.

Yet what does our own culture tell us, apart from this brief interlude where we are permitted to delude ourselves with the Christmas myth of goodwill, good this, good that? Our culture tells us that we should get as much as we can as fast as we can; that morality is expendable and largely a burden and a hindrance; that we should "look out for number one".

We engage in this collective delusion at Christmas, as though we really believe in the values of Christmas. We deride religion for encouraging hypocrisy, yet even secular, non-church-going people immerse themselves into the underlying religious values of Christmas, only to return to "the real world" after that little engagement with illusion.

Ritual hypocrisy

If family and friends are really as important as we mouth at Christmas amidst the drinks, succulent meals, tasty cakes and the camaraderie, why do we spend so little quality time with them throughout the year, and why do we make decisions in day-to-day life which show that our priorities are not really there?

We are not distinguished for our healthy family life patterns in Jamaica, and yet at Christmas, we engage in this myth of family centredness. We betray and sacrifice the interests of our friends throughout the year, only to emerge as "forever-friends" at Christmas. It's ritual hypocrisy.

Why not keep the values of Christmas if they are really important? If we are to honour Christ, who is said to be the reason for the season, why not re-examine His values? He said explicitly that, "A man's life does not consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses." That was an attack on our materialistic obsessions.

We judge people on the basis of what they possess; on what they consume, not what they produce. We judge them on the size of their bank accounts (Or Cash Plus or Olint investments!), not on the content of their character. Jesus said it was better to give than to receive - the exact opposite of our cultural practice (as opposed to what we espouse).

Jesus exalted and centre staged the interests and agenda of the poor and oppressed. He identified with the marginalised and the powerless. We despise them and exploit them.We seek new and creative ways to oppress and disenfranchise them.

Injustice, inequity

Jesus is the promised Messiah who is to bring justice and equity to the world, yet our international economic system is based on injustice and inequity. We sing beautiful carols and express touching sentiments at Christmas, but it's just an empty ritual for in another few days we go back to "the real world" of the dog-eat-dog and survival-of-the-fittest philosophy.

If we could take away the really critical lessons from the Christ Event, we would benefit significantly. And these benefits would apply to even those who are secularists or non-believers in Christianity.

Considering the kinds of challenges we most certainly will face as Jamaicans in 2008, this season should not be wasted in frivolity.

Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist who may be reached at ianboyne1@yahoo.com