…on holy ground
Regular readers of this blog (or at least those who regularly read it in December) will know that I am a big fan of Christmas ads. I have commented on their cleverness and used them in carol services on more than one occasion. I have to say that I shall not be doing the same with this year’s offering by Sainsbury’s. Their beautifully crafted depiction of the December 1914 Christmas truce seems to me a bridge too far. No matter that they will be donating to the Royal British Legion, it still seems like a shameless commercialisation of a moment and a place once covered in the blood of the fallen.
For that reason, I shall not be using any of the Christian campaigns making use of the story either. The story should be told, by all means, but not pressed into anybody’s service. If I were to tell the story and sing the specially commissioned 100-year-anniversary version of Silent Night, what do I say about the fact that the harmony only lasted until dawn? If I use this as a cipher for the power of the Christmas message, am I not suggesting that such power may last only for a moment?
Would love to know what others think…
Image: BBC
