In The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992), the Ghost of Christmas-Present sings to Scrooge that Christmas is filled with “the music of the Spirit / the message if you hear it / is make it last all year…” —that is Christmas is filled with the music of the Spirit of Christmas, who comes to do something in us that transforms and redeems us. In movies, books, songs, we hear a lot of talk about this “Spirit of Christmas” …but who is that Spirit, exactly?
It’s the Holy Spirit, of course.
The Spirit of Christmas is the answer to the riddle given to Adam and Eve at the Fall: that a Seed would rise from the woman and crush the head of the Serpent (Gen. 3:15). The Spirit of Christmas is the Holy Spirit who overshadowed the virgin Mary and filled her womb with the body of Jesus (Lk. 1:35), fulfilling the promise given to Eve. The Spirit of Christmas fulfills promises.
It is the Spirit of Christmas who works in Oholiab and Bezalel to furnish the Tabernacle (Ex. 31:1-11). The Spirit of Christmas decorates and furnishes and makes a dwelling place among us.
Through angels and stars, the Spirit of Christmas leads shepherds and magi to adore the Infant Messiah (Matt. 2:1-12, Lk. 2:8-20). The Spirit of Christmas sits us among stars and angels in festal brightness and fills our mouths with songs.
Jesus tells us that the promised Spirit comes to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (Jn. 16:8). The Spirit of Christmas convicts us of our greed, and replaces our “Humbug!” with “Hallelujah"!”
When that Spirit falls on Pentecost it falls with flames of fire and the disciples begin speaking in foreign tongues (Acts 2:3-5). The Spirit of Christmas finds us with candles glowing in our hands, and our mouths filled with strange speech —like “Noel” and “Hosanna in excelsis” and “haste, haste to bring him laud”— words we don’t normally sing.
The Spirit leads Christ to the Cross. The same Spirit leads Paul to Rome (Acts 19:21). The Spirit leads us to give ourselves away for the life of the world.
The wind of the Spirit blows where it will (Jn. 3:8). Though all year we struggle with worry and workaholism and self-entitlement and selfishness, when the wind of the Spirit of Christmas begins blowing we find ourselves mysteriously caught-up in the joy of self-giving; we find ourselves like the holy men of old who were “carried along by the Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21).
Come, Holy Spirit of Christmas, mentes tuorum visita…