Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/909943
DECEMBER 22 17 Christkind or Christ Child? "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." —Luke 2:11 "For to us a child is born …" —Isaiah 9:6 W e recently brought out an old box of memories from our kids' childhood days. One of our daughters, on seeing an old craft project, exclaimed, "I remember making this at the Vienna Christkindlmarkt! " This large Christmas market in front of Vienna's old town hall is named after the Christkind—literally, the "Christ Child." In our early days in Austria, we were impressed by the emphasis on Jesus, the Christ Child, in the Christmas celebrations of the city. Only as we came to understand the true identity of the Christkind did we understand how wrong we were. The Christkind, rather than representing the baby Jesus, is a blond, winged, female angel/fairy who delivers the decorated Christmas tree and the gifts on Christmas Eve. She is the Central European equivalent to Santa Claus. Just as children write letters to Santa Claus in other countries, so children write letters to the Christkind, which are delivered to the Austrian town of Christkindl. The Christkind was probably invented by Martin Luther to replace the Roman Catholic reverence for Saint Nicholas with Jesus, the true Christ Child. But over the years, she was changed in popular imagination into the current fairy, who is intended to represent peace, harmony, and tranquility—which should characterize the Christmas season. For those of us who have grown up with Jesus, it's easy to forget how challenging it is to believe that a human child could be born of a virgin and be, in fact, almighty God, creator and sustainer of the universe. Many people prefer to place the story of Christ's birth in the same category as the legend of the Christkind: both the Christ Child and the Christkind are nice folk tales which symbolize the desire of people to live in a world where peace, prosperity, and beauty reign. Through eyes of faith—God's gift to us—we see that Jesus' birth isn't a fairy tale in the same category as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Christkind, but true history. God chose to humble Himself and become human to save the world. The true Christ Child—"God in diapers," in Luther's memorable phrase—is eternally present. Although we celebrate His birth at Christmas, He is always there. As evocative as the image of the sweet baby is, He is not just the true Christkind, forever stuck in a manger; He is Immanuel, God with us. Scott Klingsmith, PhD Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies