It’s a lamentation. NCCS has made that clear.
Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian (of NCCS) said that although Christmas is “celebrated by non-Christians and is seen as a time of feasting and gift-giving,” but (he) lamented that its treatment in Singapore has increasingly become secular and commercialised.”
What’s the commotion (or lamentation) about?
Well, it’s the Christmas light-up at Orchard Road.
If you take a drive down, you will notice that this year’s central theme revolves around Disney characters. More than 20 Disney characters are featured including “Snow White and Cinderella, as well as the Toy Story characters Woody and Rex.”
Dr Ngoei said: “Christmas, at its heart, is a festival in the Christian calendar which commemorates the incarnation and birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
But he lamented that in “the first of a three-year collaboration between Disney and the STB,” the original meaning of Christmas has been “buried under the thick layer of this extensive and sophisticated brand promotion exercise.”
In a letter written to STB chief executive, Dr Ngoei called the move “particularly disappointing” and “its exclusive focus on Disney characters has no meaningful connection to the season of Christmas.”
This is the message from the organisers. “This year’s family-friendly, Disney-themed light-up follows the same approach, and is intended to complement the spirit of friendship and conviviality that we hope visitors will experience as they travel down Orchard Road. Together, these offerings provide a range of experiences for different groups of visitors, both Christians and non-Christians.”
The good news is that STB and Orchard Road Business Association want to “initiate a conversation for (all parties) to better understand each other’s views and perspectives.”
Lesson? Just one. Actually, the conversation to understand each other’s views and perspectives is rather obvious.
Everybody knows that Christmas is for the Christians. It centres around a Savior, a Cross and the promise of an overcoming life.
But nevertheless, this has to be said: if Jesus would have his way, I do not think he would want it to be commemorated on a day sometime at the end of the year, or for that matter, any other day in any month of the year.
For that, we have the communion to remember him by. We have the Bible that details and chronicles his life. And we also have church services to renew our faith and hope in Him.
In fact, truth be told, Christmas was a borrowed holiday originated from a paganistic celebration and adopted for expediency reasons. As such, the object that Dr Ngoei had in mind (that is “at its heart, (Christmas) is a festival which commemorates the incarnation and birth of our Lord an Saviour Jesus Christ”) was not its original intention. Of course, I am merely calling a spade a spade.
But over the centuries, we Christians (or the Catholics) had appropriated that day, the 25th day of December, to be our very own and it has been so ever since.
Nevertheless, the evolution of Christmas is about the significance we bring onto that day and we have given it meaning through our celebration, personal devotion and family gathering in remembrance.
The truth is, the heart of Christmas is not in a day, in a place or in a particular manner we decorate a stretch of road swarmed by unsuspecting tourists and opportunistic commercial interests.
Now, I have nothing against Orchard Road, and I enjoy going there for my book purchases. But whether we like it or not, Orchard Road will always be Orchard Road. At the risk of stating the obvious, it is not a place of worship (or commemoration), but a place where you shop to get the best discounts for branded goods.
And let me say that even if we had kept the focus on the true meaning of Christmas at Orchard Road (where we have done for the last decades), its underlying consumerist culture would still overpower the message of the Cross.
Let me end with the words of Senate’s Chaplain Richard Halverson: -
“In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next, it moves to Europe, where it became a culture. And finally, it moved to America, where it became an enterprise.”
...and then, it moved to Orchard Road, where it became a brand. Alas, a brand that turns Calvary into no more than a tourist attraction. Cheerz.
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