(LifeSiteNews) — For most of the faithful, Advent lacks the same spiritual intensity of Lent. It has no influence on culture whatsoever. This is what I observe in the cultural order of the distant South, far from the centers where Christian culture once flourished. But it cannot be denied that in the Americas Christianity was introduced in such a way that it became ingrained in the customs of the people and the emerging organization of States. What I mean is that the diffusion of the faith was influencing social life; a Christian culture was taking shape. From Europe we received missionary preaching and a Tradition that was an echo of the very long and fruitful history of Christian culture. We could ask ourselves what remains of all that today.
This reflective sketch arises from Advent’s non-existence in the mass media and on social networks. At the height of the second week of this liturgical season, one already sees the usual offers taking advantage of the specter of Christmas to encourage consumption from the final period of the year until the first day of the following year. In the Southern Hemisphere it is hot; this is the indication of summer, with its long vacations. But for us, these are anticipated in the period generally known as “the holidays.” The invitation to consume invariably takes on the expression found in commercial advertisements: “The holidays are here! Let’s celebrate!”
Christmas has all but disappeared; the name itself no longer even resonates. The only symbols that now prevail are the tree and Father Christmas [Papá Noel]. The tree is laden with ornaments, and gifts are placed at its foot; it is an authentic, traditional figure in the countries of Northern Europe. Its presence refers to the Birth of Life (which is, actually, Christmas). “I am the Life” (Jn. 14:6, kai hē zōē), the Lord has said. Father Christmas is Santa Claus – St. Nicholas. This symbol also comes from the Arctic regions, where the month of December brings snow, hence the sturdy character dressed in red usually presented in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. In our summer it is the same disorientation, and there is no trace of St. Nicholas left.
What has almost totally disappeared is the representation of the Manger, the Nativity Scene. In Latin American countries this was the symbol of Christmas par excellence; the plural “Nativity Scenes” was often used. Allow me to share a memory: Five years ago, walking through the center of Naples, I was struck by the fact that in every store there was a rather small Nativity Scene, and they all looked the same. Here in Argentina the Nativity Scene was quite common as well. There were even some large ones in public places. In my childhood an aunt and I were in charge of setting one up at home with tall mountains. The grotto with the Child, Mary, and Joseph was the central focus. Custom had it that the Child was put in place on Christmas Eve.
“Christmas Eve” – yet another name which has disappeared. It’s terrible; “the holidays” have devoured it.
What I have presented shows the substitution of Christianity. The effect of cultural change has been so naturalized that not even the nostalgia of older generations remains. Young people ignore the Christian tradition reflected in those figures. Everything not lived by the newer generations has disappeared like a dream. What I’m referring to is what television, media, and social networks show as the only thing that exists. The Most Sweet Name of Jesus is also something of the past. We can think that the Church has withdrawn into the sphere which no longer has anything of recollection, of the temples. Culture, the common life of men, is a foreign reality. Our episcopate lives in the stratosphere; perhaps the memory of Christmas inspires an exhortation to peace, a peace that does not disturb the world and means nothing to the people who hear it.
The substitution of Christianity challenges the sphere of evangelization. Embellishing this reality by calling it “new” does not change the void that post-Christian culture imposes on the Church. We have to start all over again, as if we were in the first century.
+ Héctor Aguer
Archbishop Emeritus of La Plata