Why We Need a Level 3 Christmas All Year

2020 began with people alive with anticipation of the new decade and ended with people worldwide exhausted and anxious for change and relief. 2021, at least in the United States, didn’t start out with the calm most people hoped for; political unrest and the Capitol riot were capstones to the chaos that left so many people on edge, wondering what the next thing would be.

For many people in “developed” nations, the worldwide pandemic, race riots, and political and civil unrest are the most traumatic things they’ve ever experienced. They hit over and over again with unrelenting force. And, of course, the news media just couldn’t help itself.

Businesses failed. Unemployment numbers skyrocketed. Consumerism in the United States alone fell by $583 billion. Tempers flared even as we were indoctrinated with the ideas of acceptance and tolerance.

The pandemic will end. Certain aspects of life will return to normal. People will stop wearing masks in groups. As a global society, we’ll breathe a collective sigh of relief. There will be hugs. Lots and lots of awkward hugs.

For a while, our love of others and self will be top-of-mind. We’ll be more willing to serve each other; to set aside our own needs to meet the needs of someone else. And, did I mention the awkward hugs?

But, how long will it last?

If the tragedy in the United States of September 11, 2001 taught us anything, it’s that the post-trauma reverence for life and love for strangers doesn’t last long. After the United States collectively endured the greatest single act of homicide ever committed on US soil, there were prayer meetings (even a national day of prayer), support groups, people reaching out to strangers in need, unprecedented charitable giving; the list goes on.

It lasted six months.

By April 2002, much of society had reverted to pre-9/11 behavior. The 24/7 news cycle was no longer filled with images of buildings in New York City collapsing. People, as a whole, were no longer going out of their way to help each other. Simply put: we forgot about each other.

So, how do we make it last?

One NOT official poll estimates the percent of people worldwide who celebrate Christmas at around 32%. According to the World Population Clock, the total population is around 7.85 billion which means roughly 2.5 billion people celebrate Christmas in some form each year. That’s a lot of Elmo dolls!

You might thing it odd — an article about Christmas when it’s not Christmastime (unless you happen to be reading this in December). It’ll make sense in a moment. Let’s talk about the 3 levels of Christmas*.

Level 1: Lights, Gifts, and Treats

Whether you’re celebrating the Ligligan Parul (Giant Lantern) Festival in the Philippines, the Cavalcade of Lights in Toronto, or Dia de Velitas (Day of the Little Candles) in Colombia, level 1 Christmas is the level where we eat too much, often spend too much (especially in Western culture), and pretty much love all of it. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the level 1 Christmas. I’ve allowed the over-commercialization of Christmas to dampen my spirits for a lot of years.

Level 2: Music, Friends, and Family

If Christmas is celebrated where you live, there’s a very good chance a playlist of inescapable Christmas music exists and probably dominates the airwaves. Some songs, for me anyway, drive the spirit of Christmas away faster than Kevin Harvick in the 3rd turn at the Nascar All-Star Open. But there are other pieces of music that I can listen to on repeat without tiring.

I find this level of Christmas important because music has a certain power to draw people closer together than just about anything else. Don’t believe me? Try watching your favorite movie without the soundtrack and see what the impact is (unless Castaway is your favorite movie then I can’t help you).

Levels 1 and 2: A Problem

Levels 1 and 2 are not bad; they just don’t last. Sometimes, you receive a gift that affects you so deeply that you remember who gave it to you and when every time you use it. But for most of us, the novelty of the gift wears off. We forget who gave it to us, it may fall into disuse (Remember the Elmo doll?), or get broken and discarded. The music ends and the airwaves are filled back up with the same noise, noise, noise, noise, noise that was replaced by Christmas music before the holidays. (Usually a relief for most people who are, by then, over-saturated with Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano or its equivalent sister-songs in other countries.)

Eventually the decorations will come down, all the wrappings and trimmings tossed out, and the nativity put carefully in its place to emerge again in another 11 months or so.

The problem is, as one unknown author put it, “The [person] who keeps Christ in the manger will, in the end, be disappointed and empty.”

Enter the Level 3 Christmas

The glimmer of Christmas levels 1 and 2 and the Christ child in the manger will never be enough. They will never be enough to give lasting peace or joy. They’ll never be adequate to help us move through years like 2020 with confidence in a better world.

Level 3 Christmas is about the adult, resurrected, and glorified Christ being ever-present in our lives. Level 3 Christmas is about accepting Jesus Christ as a very personal Savior and Redeemer.

In October 2020, Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, asked a question with life-changing implications: “Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life?” While God and Jesus Christ are distinct individuals, their overall purpose is always the same. So, let’s individualize and paraphrase President Nelson’s question: Am I willing to let Jesus Christ be the most important influence in my life? Am I?

Your ability to answer that question presupposes your belief in Jesus Christ and all that He and others have proclaimed Him to be. You may have to take some time to consider whether you really believe in Him and whether you really believe Him. Some other questions may arise:

What does it really mean to believe in Jesus Christ?
Who is He to me, personally?
If I am willing to let Him be the most important influence in my life, what do I need to stop doing? What do I need to start doing? What do I need to keep doing?

Jesus Christ persistently and quietly asks us to look at Him. We look at Him because of the life He lived, gave, and took up again. We look at Him because of what He did; what He sacrificed; and because of what He has asked us to do.

Love God. Love ourselves. Love everyone else. No matter what. That is the meaning of Christmas, no matter what the time of year.

*Attribution is important. “The Three Levels of Christmas” was written by William B. Smart on December 15, 1985 and was published in his 1989 book “Messages for a Happier Life.” Honestly, though, I’ve never read the article.