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A baby's birth 1,996 years Jesus of Nazareth is responsible for a lot more than just founding a major world religion. With the approach of Christmas and a tiny sense of love, comradeship and well-being seeping through the armor of confrontation and greed we usually hide within, this seems an appropriate time to consider the matter. Ever stop to think what art, music, writing, theater, architecture and a host of other areas of human accomplishment might be like today if Jesus had never been born? Consider how different every element of our world today might be if a certain little baby boy hadn't been born 1,996 years ago in the city of Bethlehem. For the record: No one's sure what month Christ was born. Although there seems to be a good case for August in some scholarly quarters, our December commemoration of the event is really the result of an early case of if-you-can’t-beat-'em-join-'em. Once upon a time in late December, there was a big Roman festival known as the Saturnalia, something of a year-end blow-out with wine, food, gifts and all the rest: part Christmas, part New Year’s Eve, part Chanukah, part bachelor party and part evening with the Chippendales. How were those early Christian movers and shakers going to stamp out this established pagan celebration and perhaps win a few converts at the same time with the least possible pain for all concerned? Why, take it over, keep as much of it as they could and make it their own, of course. In light of the ongoing effect of the happening, however, the hour, day and month of Jesus' birth lose all relative importance. We’re left with the immense lexicon of activities, values and qualities yea, the very ones that still define the parameters of Western Civilization that could have been vastly different had Jesus never lived. It’s safe to say, without the advent of Christianity in Western Civilization, none of the arts would have developed as they did, hence none of the great artistic celebrations we look forward to surrounding the annual celebration of the birth of Christ would be could never have been what they are. So along with being jolly, eating and drinking too much and perhaps making moves at the office party we’ll later wish we hadn't, let's consider some of the things we wouldn't have but for that simple, all too human occurrence almost 2,000 years ago. If that baby had not been born in that stable, we would not have what is arguably the greatest oratorio ever composed: George Fridrick(cq) Handel's "Messiah." (Those opting for Haydn's "The Creation" as number one will be tolerated.) No "Hallelujah Chorus," no "O Thou, Who bringest good tidings to Zion," no "Why do the nations rage so furiously together." As it is, this and every holiday season, there will be plenty of performances of everything from "Messiah" complete to a few selections from "Messiah" by everything from the San Diego Master Chorale to the local church choristers. Then there's "The Nutcracker." If there hadn't been a Christmas, there wouldn't have been this ballet. Every year in late December, Tchaikovsky's magnificent music, whether emerging from CDs or symphony orchestras, accompanies Clara, the Nutcracker, aka the prince, and all the denizens of the Kingdom of Sweets as they beguile us with their spun sugar dreams and return us, however briefly, to happier, more magical times. Theaters across the land delight us with the blusterings of Scrooge, the plaints of Tiny Tim and the wonderful hauntings of Christmases Past, Present and Future. Would Charles Dickens, not to mention the authors of everything from Virginia's letter to Santa to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," have been inspired as they were had it not been for the birth of Jesus? Didn’t our theater itself begin in Medieval Europe as plays staged on the steps of cathedrals by traveling troupes? They told the stories of the Bible to an illiterate public, imparting Christian morality in the simplest terms. We’re often taken to task about "putting the Christ back into Christmas." Perhaps we need to take a little different slant on this behest. How about, "We need to get all the Christ out of Christmas we can, no matter the manifestation and no matter who we are." Perhaps we should see Christmas as something more than the birth of salvation for Christians. Perhaps all of us, no matter what we may believe, should revel in the riches provided by the finest gifts any man or woman can give: the products of his talents to illumine the lives of his fellows for all time. Thanks to Jesus, there are more than enough of these rewards to go around. Give the San Diego Performing Arts League a call at 238-0700; ask for their excellent guide to the artistic riches of the season. Capture your share of holiday magic. An author, lecturer and consultant, John Willett has critiqued music, dance and the arts for more than 16 years. |
