Okay.  So there’s a lot of bellyaching and hand wringing going on right now.  Maybe the sky really if falling this time.  I don’t know.  But before we take off in all directions, let’s take a minute to think about why we celebrate Christmas this time of year.  You might say, “We do it this time of year because our ancestors did.”  True.  But no one has a serious argument that December 25 is the actual birth date of Jesus of Nazareth.    We don’t have any record of Christmas being celebrated on this date until the 4th century--336 CE to be exact.  The truth is, we could have picked any day to celebrate Jesus’ birth.  So, seriously, why pick the dead of winter when night time hours outnumber daylight for the season of good cheer.  Why deck the halls with boughs of holly and don gay apparel right now?

The short answer is “grit.”  We do it now because, for hundreds of generations our ancestors had grit.  For countless centuries, this was the most dangerous time of year for everyone living in the northern hemisphere.  Food sources grew scarce.  If supplies ran short, starvation was prowling nearby.  It was in winter that the harsh climate posed the greatest danger to everyone, especially the very young and the very old--say 40 years old and above.  People were driven to find any shelter they could and stay put for long periods of time or risk death from exposure to the elements.

It is no accident that these ancient stalwarts picked this particular time to have themselves a big celebration.  They did it because they refused to let themselves be overwhelmed by darkness and cold.  No matter how rotten things were, they’d go find some evergreen branches and cheer each other by singing together.  They celebrated because they had seen hard times before and they had ironclad confidence that, if they worked together and kept their eyes on the future they’d find a way through the tough times.

There were always hardships and losses in those ancient winters.  But those hardships and losses never stopped them from finding a reason to celebrate together and express to one another their confidence that spring would come again.

Grit.  It’s one of the oldest words in our language and its roots disappear in the darkness of prehistory.  We’re not sure, but in its earliest uses, it may have referred to the smallest particles left after anything has been pounded down as far as it can be pounded.  Our resilient ancestors would only allow themselves to get pounded down so far.  No matter how hard nature pounded them, there was always a remnant left.  And it was a remnant that could stick together and find an occasion to sing. Grit.

Okay.  Maybe we’re in for some tough times.  Maybe the hardships and losses we’re facing will exceed our expectations.  But hey, it’s the Christmas season.

What do you think those hardy old ancestors of ours would say if they could speak to us today?  What advice would those tough minded survivors give us?

I think they would tell every family, every church, every community to take stock.  Take stock of your determination to stick together.  Take stock  of your level of  self-sufficiency.  Don’t sit back and worry about the danger of an approaching storm with the idle hope that some one will surely come along and take care of us.  It’s up to us on the family, church and local level to be ready to look after each other.

Our ancestors might tell us that this may be the most important Christmas season we’ve ever celebrated.  They might tell us to use our family gatherings, our church gatherings and our community gatherings to talk about the future, make plans and cement our commitments that, no matter what happens, we’ll do what’s necessary to see each other through.  Strengthening these ties will make us better people no matter how the future plays out--for better or worse.

If ever there was a time for us to be forward thinking in our Christmas celebrations, it’s now.  I think I know how our ancestors would want me to wind up this column.  “Hink,” they’d say, “tell our kids that anybody can celebrate when things are easy.  But to count your blessings when things start getting rough, now that  takes grit.”  I don’t know about you.  But I’m singing this Christmas. 

I’m Hink and I’ll see ya.

Download this column