| Source: JayGary.com http://www.jaygary.com/x2spirit.shtml AD 2000 It is the original Christmas event, the birth of the Christ Child, that lies at the heart of all millennium celebrations. Instead of the Christmas season in 1999 lasting for 12 days, it will likely continue for 12 months, leading up to Christmas Day 2000, December 25, 2000. And preparations for Christmas 2000 are well underway. One artist is painting 2,000 angels for 2000. Travel agencies have begun to promote Holy Land 2000 Tours to Manger Square as the birthplace of the first millennium. And various entreprenuers are promoting global commemorative events such as A Child is Born or Walk for the Messiah. Even so, Christmas maintains its role as the leading universal holiday. All this without having a world headquarters. Penne Restad writes in Christmas in America (Oxford, 1995) that this season, with its fluid boundaries between reality and illusion, is actually a metaphor for a more perfect world. Christmas is a time when "Peace on Earth" is expected to reign, bringing goodness, kindness, hope and social tranquility. Restad concludes, "At Christmastide, we must, directly or even by omission, set our priorities, establish our tolerances and square our hopes with reality." Despite the transforming role of Christmas, it remains one of the least studied elements of modern culture. If you are seeking a deeper meaning of Christmas by 2000 than may be found in shopping malls, I would suggest this enchanting little classic by John Shea. It's subtitle is "Beholding the Christmas Miracle All Year Long." |
Up until now, we may have only seen the year 2000 as the biggest New Year's Eve in a 1,000 years. I believe soon we will see A.D. 2000 as the most meaningful Christmas in 2,000 years. When that starts to happen, the whole world could experience a new awakening in light of the new millennium. Future generations could look back and marvel at the impact of "The Spirit of 2000."
Nevertheless, there is a certain ambivalence about the millennial Christmas season. This is due in part to the annual commercialization of Advent, which only serves to bring out cynicism about whether Macy's or the Manger is the real shrine of Christmas.