Frankly speaking, Christmas, even in its celebration, is laden with the trappings of  heathenism and does little to spread true "joy" to the world. The truth is, there is little genuine happiness flowing from emptied gin barrels and toasts to the New Year that arrive with bent spine and graying beards. Over 500,000 Americans will eat Christmas dinners after sleeping on cold sidewalks and wrapped in thin, well-worn blankets. And in the Middle East, violence or the threat of it will cut short the number of pilgrims expected to visit the Holy Land.

Christmas almost missed Black people. The North Pole is far removed from our natural habitat. So Santa Claus doe not relate. The fir tree and mistletoe and the reindeer legend is a European fabrication. Saint Nicholas was a frail Nordic friar. Only Rudolph's red nose would seem to integrate the tale. The commercial rush for the mighty dollar does not work to the good of the chief victims of Reaganomics. Black folk would do well to tune out the sales appeals of the merchants during the holiday weeks or spend the next 11 months regretting it.

but beneath all this, a voice is heard, a story told that gives this holiday awesome significance. It is of a mysterious Baby born in a barn, raised in the ghetto (Nazareth), rejected by His own, captured by a lynch mob, tried and condemned in a Kangaroo court, hung on a tree, buried in a borrowed tomb--but who survived it all to triumph at last. And all of this was truly redemptive. Perhaps, we have stumbled upon the reason for the Black man's attachment to Christmas and Easter.

We see in the life experience of Christ a facsimile of our own. Millions of Blacks world-wide are born in  manger-like circumstances. We grow up stigmatized for reasons that deny reason. "What good thing can come out of Nazareth" (ghetto) is a tune familiar to our ears. The criminal justice system was stacked against Him. He was mercilessly beaten while under detention, and lynched on Mt. Calvary on that far-off Friday afternoon. This story appeals to us for it is so like us. Add a little, "Silent Night" to a bit of "Joy to the World," and you've got a winner in the Black community. To this we add our own, "Poor Little Jesus Boy, they made you be born in a manger. Poor little Holy Child, didn't know who you were." The Black man for reason herein listed is in love with the Christmas story, not the Santa Claus story. Furthermore, Black fold work too hard to earn the money that buys the presents to give the credit to a fat White brother sliding down a soot-lined chimney without turning Black.

But Easter is our day. Bunny rabbits and chocolate eggs notwithstanding, Easter is the Black man's day. For it speaks of resiliency, indestructibility and of resurrection. Ester says, "I'll rise again; ain't no power on earth gonna hold me down!" Today's Black man inherited the Easter view from a long line of forebearers who chanted with David, "Weeping many endure for a night, but joy comeith in the morning." Easter says, "Death can't keep me in the ground." King said it best: "America issued a check on emancipation day, a check that bounced. We will come back again and again to the bank teller until you make it good, or admit to the world that you are a fraud." Easter says, "Because He lives, I, too, shall live.

The Black man's attachment to Easter has little to do with colorful dresses and ridiculous hats. Easter egg hunts and pagan "sunrise" rituals are external trappings. Christ's resurrection story brings hope wherever it is told. Christ with one mighty burst of divine energy rent the shackles of death, His glory piercing the gloom of the tomb, the obstacle stone was brushed aside, and He emerged, clothed in daylight glory. He could not be ignored, forgotten or brushed aside. Nor will we! As long as there is Christmas and Easter, THERE IS US!

Dr. E.E. Cleveland is a published author of over 15 books worldwide. His services as an Evangelist are always in great demand. He can be contacted directly at xxx-xxx-xxxx.