This is an odd song to be a Christmas favourite because is really an anti-Christmas song. The singer recalls he was told the dream of Christmas and then remembers his disappointment and disillusionment when he finds that Christmas is not what he was promised. And perhaps this is why this song is so popular, because it mirrors our own experiences of Christmas. Everywhere we look we seem images of the perfect Christmas: perfectly white snow, perfectly cooked food, perfectly behaved family, perfectly chosen presents, but the reality is usually not quite so perfect! The post-Christmas blues are not just caused by exhaustion and over-indulgence, but also by a sense of sadness that yet again Christmas didn't live up to the dream we'd been sold.
The song ends on a very chilling note: “the Christmas we get we deserve”. In some ways this is obvious; if we want the world to be a better place we have to try our hardest to make it better. But it also taps into a modern idea of 'karma', i.e. that if you do something bad then something bad will happen to you. We sometimes see on social media a sort of glee as people look forward to karma getting revenge on someone who's harmed them. But we know this isn't the way the world works. We know that bad things happen to 'good' people and that good things happen to 'bad' people. One biblical writer puts it this way: “it made me jealous to see proud and evil people and to watch them prosper...all goes well for them, and they live in peace. What good did it do me to keep my thoughts pure and refuse to do wrong? I am sick all day, and I am punished each morning” (Psalm 73:3,12-14 CEV).
Ironically, the modern concept of karma neither reflects reality nor does it correspond to the traditional understanding of karma. In Hindu philosophy all karma is bad, it is like a debt that we all have. Life is about doing good things to work off that debt and if we have worked off more karma than we accrue, when we die we are reincarnated as a better form of life. (Conversely if we increase our karma by doing bad we are reincarnated as a lower form of life). The aim is to work off all our karma until we reach a state of nirvana, or non-existence.
It is the 'Israelite' of Lake's song that instead of being a fairy story is actually the answer to this problem, but first we need to recognise that actually all of us are 'bad' people. Jesus said “No-one is good, except God alone” (Mark 10:18). The Bible agrees that our badness or sin is like a debt, but it acknowledges that we cannot pay this debt off ourselves because we will always sin. It also tells us that “We die only once, and then we are judged. So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people. But when he comes again, it will not be to take away sin. He will come to save everyone who is waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28 CEV). Sin and evil will be judged and punished when Jesus comes again, but those who ask God to forgive their sins and then seek to live his way will be saved.
And what is the biblical picture of salvation? “On this mountain the Lord All-Powerful will prepare for all nations a feast of the finest foods. Choice wines and the best meats will be served” (Isaiah 25:6 CEV). “God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever” (Revelation 21:3-4 CEV). Sounds like the perfect Christmas to me!
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