The Formality of Christmas

It was cold in Atlanta this morning, 18 degrees F, which was about the same temperature that it was when we left Strongsville, OH, yesterday morning. As a result most folks dressed warmly for church today, although some teenagers remained obstinate and still showed up without a warm coat or wearing flip-flops since being cool was clearly more important to them than being warm. I am sure they were very cool indeed! Nonetheless, their overly-casual attire as well as some of the folks in my generation who showed up in jeans and sweatshirts reminded me of how very few formal events remain in our culture.



In one of his writings C. S. Lewis talks about the occasions in which formality is a good thing, though I don't recall where he says this at the moment. I agree with him that there is a proper place for formality, and I think our culture has lost track of that. Lewis pointed out that one of the functions of formality is to cause us to pay heed to the importance of the event or the vows or the issues at stake. It used to be that folks wore suits to conduct business, attend a conference, to attend church and take communion, to graduate from school, even to attend school. These were in addition to weddings, funerals, and events of state like inaugurations and coronations. In each case the intention seems to have been to make an issue of the importance of the commitments and decisions being made. It was felt that formality in both dress and behavior reinforced the need for seriousness, honesty, fair dealing, and the keeping of commitments whether in business, school, government, or interpersonal affairs. Now we more and more dress down for school, business, church and many other places that were once more formal. I wonder sometimes at the size and overblown expense of weddings these days which runs counter to this overall trend. It is as if all the weight of the need for fomality in our culture has fallen solely onto weddings, as we have abandoned it in so many other places. Yet even there the solemnity has started to fall away as some folks dance down the aisle or stand barefoot on a beach despite the extravagant expense for clothes and receptions. I do not think weddings will be able to bear this weight without a better understanding of why formality is in fact appropriate at times, and those times need to be more frequent than weddings.



I am not of the opinion that dressing more formally for church creates a more penitent heart or a more sincere worship. Nor do I think that anyone lacking money for nice clothes should be left out. I do think it better reflects the importance of the occasion, however, and most folks dressing down these days pay more for their jeans with holes in them than they would need to pay for more formal attire. I do think that attire contributes to setting a tone for an activity and reinforces expectations for behavior. Even kids at school are less likely to roll in the mud when they are wearing a tie.



All of which reminds me of Christmas. While I can get tired of dragging out the decorations and setting up the tree, I do think it sets a tone and an expectation. Special musical events with choirs and orchestras in formal dress focusing on Christmas are events I love. While I am often already tired by the time we leave to attend church on Christmas Eve, the candlelight service with its entirely predictable yet solemn candlelighting and Lord's Supper service sets a tone for the day that is formal yet right. This can be overdone, especially the decorations, yet the idea of special, formal events, special clothing, special decorations remind us of the importance of the event and cause us to pause and remind ourselves why we are celebrating. And that is a good thing.