The War on Christmas Is Real, But Jesus Won’t Bow

Changing Lives Through Christmas 

Standing up for Christmas makes a difference—even in a deeply religious area like Lancaster County, Pa., home of the renowned Sight & Sound Theatre. Founded in 1976, it expanded to Branson in 2008. After a break in 2012, the theatre’s long-running Miracle of Christmas recently returned to the Pennsylvania stage and runs through Dec. 30. (Branson’s production ends Dec. 28.)

Though based on the Gospels, the play takes some creative license to dramatize the relationships between Mary, Joseph, their parents and Elizabeth. It depicts the turmoil Mary felt when she approached Joseph with the news of her pregnancy and the harsh reactions that greeted her in her hometown.

Many don’t ponder such realities in the Christmas story, says co-president and former creative director Josh Enck. He thinks the production illustrates the faithfulness of God and the unlikely people He chooses for extraordinary experiences. Even though Sight & Sound is clear about its Christian roots, key leaders recently reflected on whether to soften its language so more non-Christians would come and find a place of healing.

“We spent some time talking about how to do that and be more seeker-friendly as a ministry, but we came down to the fact that we’re not going to hide who we are,” Enck says. “We bring the Bible to life in this way—on stage—and we’re Christ-followers. People don’t have to believe it, but we’re going to present it in a way that entertains them and inspires them.”

Such conviction is also important to Steve Green, president of the Hobby Lobby chain of retail craft stores. Although the nationwide chain stocks a wide assortment of general merchandise throughout the year, store clerks are encouraged to offer “Merry Christmas” greetings during the Christmas season. Christmas carols and a wide selection of Christian music play overhead year-round in the chain’s 569 stores in 45 states. Stores remain closed on Sundays so employees can attend church.

After failing to persuade a supplier to remove objectionable material from its greeting card selection, five years ago Hobby Lobby began phasing out its line of general-market cards to rely solely on a Christian distributor.

However, Hobby Lobby’s highest-profile step on behalf of Christmas is the newspaper advertisements it runs in all of its markets on Christmas Day (or close to the date for papers that don’t publish Dec. 25) expressing the meaning of the season. The placements originated in 1995 with a quarter-page ad, then expanded to a full page a year later.

Green says his father, David, got the idea after reviewing multiple newspaper ads and getting frustrated that nobody recognized the holiday’s true meaning in their advertisements.

“Then he felt like God convicted him, saying, ‘Neither are you,’” Green says. “Since we do sell a lot of Santa Clauses and are criticized for commercializing the season, he felt that he wanted to let people know what the season was all about.”

The chain’s stand has made a difference. Green says he’s received letters from other merchants who decided to stay closed on Sundays or have placed their own Christmas ads because of Hobby Lobby’s example.

And a veteran cast member of A Christmas Carol at Silver Dollar City has seen the impact the park’s twist on the long-running play makes on sell-out crowds that attend the show, which is produced up to four times daily.  

The Branson production draws a clear connection between the change in Scrooge and his spiritual redemption. Using a split stage, after Ebenezer Scrooge catches a glimpse of his tombstone, he sings to an altar boy (late for the church service occurring downstage) about his need for prayer, followed by the classic hymn “Ave Maria.”

“That’s when you see the change in Scrooge,” says Rachel Wallace, who portrays the Ghost of Christmas Present. “He realizes you’ve got to have Jesus.

“[At that moment] you can sense a reaction from the audience. You can feel it more than you can hear it. I definitely feel that people have left the Christmas festival with a change in their heart.”

So go ahead and say “Merry Christmas” during this season. You never know who might be listening—and be changed by that choice that you make.

A freelance writer in Huntington, W. Va., Ken Walker has been writing regularly for Charisma for nearly 20 years.