The Truth About Christmas Carols
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we’re starting to hear Christmas carols everywhere. Radio stations have them on 24/7, we hear them in movies and on TV; it’s getting harder and harder to find some sort of media that doesn’t have Christmas carols on at some point. Some of these carols have an obvious message that pertains to the Christmas season -- songs like Away in a Manger, Silent Night, and O Holy Night all proclaim proudly the true reason for the season. But what about other songs that we all enjoy singing at this time of year? What about the songs that have no obvious spiritual meaning?
There are a lot of these, aren’t there? It seems like there are more and more every year, too. These aren’t necessarily bad songs, and there’s nothing wrong with singing them -- they just don’t proclaim the glory of Christ like the others do, right? Songs like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman just don’t have the same scriptural base as Angels We Have Heard on High.
Or do they?
What if I told you that God cannot be limited by the words of a song we sing? What if I told you that even these so-called “secular” or “commercial” songs proclaim the glory of God, reference the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and even talk about Christ’s return at the end of the world? Would you be interested in hearing about something like that?
I thought you might.
One of the words we use to describe God is “omnipresent”, which is just a $20 word that means “always there”. God is everywhere, always. Jeremiah 23:24 says, “‘Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” Filling heaven makes sense; after all, heaven is perfect, right? But filling earth means that God is present even in situations and areas where it’s not obvious that He’s there -- otherwise, He wouldn’t be filling it, would He?
With that being said, let’s look at our first Christmas carol -- Frosty the Snowman. There are several lyrics here that reference Christ and His life. Let’s start with the second verse:
Frosty the Snowman is a fairytale they say
He was made of snow but the children know
That he came to life one day
Let’s replace “Frosty the Snowman” with “Jesus Christ” and see what happens. First, we see “Jesus Christ is a fairytale they say”. With as much disbelief that we see in the world today that’s not hard to believe that people see Him as a fairytale. But there is actual scriptural basis behind this as well -- Matthew 28:12-15 discusses a conversation between the chief priests and Roman guards concerning Jesus’ resurrection.
“12When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.” 14If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ 15So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.”
So, according to the Bible, Jesus’ resurrection has been spread as a story by people who don’t believe. Sounds like a fairytale to me!
The next line also references Jesus’ resurrection: “He was made of snow but the children know that he came to life one day”. This pulls in two pieces of scripture and ties them together very nicely. First, the snow. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Jesus was made of snow, right? It says that He will wash our sins white as snow, but that’s not really the same thing. But look in the book of Revelation. Chapter 1:13-14 says, “13and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.” Jesus repeatedly referred to Himself as the Son of Man; so it’s obvious that John saw Jesus during this vision into heaven. John’s description of Jesus is white like wool, as white as snow.
The second part says “but the children know that he came to life one day”. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus is preaching and answers the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Starting with verse 3, “And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” He repeats this again in Matthew 19:14, “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
The song says that the children know in order to emphasize that the adults don’t believe them. But Jesus says that we should all be like little children. Now, I seriously doubt that Jesus is saying that we need to be immature, but we need to have a childlike faith. Ellie is only 4, she’s definitely a child. But when she hurts herself she comes to us and says, “Can you pray for Jesus to heal my booboo?” That’s childlike faith. She doesn’t care about medicine; all she knows is that Jesus heals, and that’s all she needs.
There’s one more verse in the song that I’d like to go over before we move on to another song -- the very last verse.
For Frosty the Snowman had to hurry on his way
But he waved goodbye, saying, “Don’t you cry,
I’ll be back again some day”
Again, let’s replace “Frosty the Snowman” with “Jesus Christ”. “For Jesus Christ had to hurry on his way, but he waved goodbye, saying ‘Don’t you cry, I’ll be back again some day’”. This final verse of the song refers to John chapter 16. Let’s start with verse 5. This is Jesus speaking: “‘Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” 6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.’” Skip ahead to verse 16, “‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.’” Finally, look at verse 20, “‘I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.’”
So, in other words, Jesus said that He is going away. Then He said that the people around Him should not be sad, because it’s really a good thing. He said that their sadness would turn to joy, and that he will be back again in a little while.
Sounds just like that verse to me. Frosty the Snowman is a song about a snowman, yes. But it is also a metaphor for the death and resurrection of Christ! Frosty the Snowman comes to life, only the children believe, and then promises that he’ll be back before he goes away. Jesus returned to life from death, said that we should all be like children, and promised that He’d be back right before He went away.
So Frosty the Snowman has a Christian meaning. Who knew? But that’s just one example. If you’re like me, you’ll want several different examples in order to truly believe a point. That’s fine, I have several more right here! How does “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” sound as our next song? Here are the lyrics:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight
Then all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history
Here, Rudolph doesn’t represent Jesus, that role belongs to Santa Claus. Here, Rudolph represents all of us. The song starts by describing his shiny nose. This sets Rudolph apart from the rest of his world -- the other reindeer. He’s different. The Bible speaks to this in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” In other words, be different from the world. Rudolph is certainly different. But being different isn’t enough -- you can be different, and still be full of sin. The next part of the song goes into a bit more detail -- Rudolph’s nose glows.
It glows -- essentially, it is a source of light. Being different isn’t enough, we must be different in a way that shows the light of Christ. II Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” I John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
So Rudolph, so far, is 2 for 2 -- he’s different, and he’s different in a way that shows light. But how does the world react to this (remember, Rudolph’s world is the other reindeer)? They laugh, call him names, and won’t let him play with them. They hate him for being different! Those of you in the school system -- whether public or private -- understand that being different isn’t exactly the most popular choice to make, right? After all, who are the people who are made fun of the most at your school? The “weirdos”, right? But what does the Bible say about this part of it?
Matthew 10:22, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” And Matthew 5:10-12, “‘Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11‘Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12‘Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’” Jesus Himself says that you will be hated because of your belief in Him. However, He also says that those who are hated, insulted, made fun of, or otherwise persecuted will be blessed, for their reward will be great.
OK, fair enough, but what is Rudolph’s reward? Santa needs the specific talent that only Rudolph has for Santa’s purpose. Because Rudolph was different, because Rudolph showed the light; Santa used him when none of the other, “normal” reindeer would do.
Likewise, Christ uses us when we show the light; He uses us for His purpose because we’re different. That is part of the blessing He refers to in scripture. But this doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect; on the contrary. God has a history of using people who aren’t perfect! Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Jeremiah was depressed, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Balaam’s donkey wasn’t even human, Miriam was a gossip, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sarah was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Abraham was old, and Lazarus was dead. There are countless other examples as well. If God can use these people, who were different, despite their sin, then of course he can use us! Let’s not forget that most, if not all, of these people were made fun of because of their difference. And this is how the end of the song comes in -- the other reindeer say that Rudolph will go down in history. All of these people are known to us from history -- not because of what they did, but because of how God used them to fulfill his purpose.
We’re running out of time, so I can’t go into specifics with other songs, but listen next time you hear a Christmas carol and see if you can find the scriptural meaning behind the lyrics. I’ll give you a few more examples:
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas refers to the very first Christmas, when Christ was born. On that night the process that will allow us to be washed as white as snow and spend eternity in heaven was finally started.
In Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Santa Claus is a metaphor for Jesus Christ. We need to be ready, because He’s on His way.
Whenever Christmas comes around, you always hear people saying things like, “Keep Christ in Christmas!” and “Jesus is the reason for the season!”. They’re right! But telling someone “Happy Holidays” doesn’t take Jesus out of Christmas -- nothing can do that! Jesus is God, and God is everywhere -- including in phrases like “Happy Holidays” and secular Christmas songs like Frosty the Snowman. Jesus is the reason for the season, and because of that everything about this season can point back to Him in some way. Once we realize that, the Christmas season can bring much, much more joy. Merry Christmas, everyone!
