There is an entire academic discipline focused on signs. This field of study is known as SEMIOTICS. It is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. There are three primary areas of semiotics. Cognitive Semiotics involves efforts to understand how individuals derive meaning using signs and symbols. Cultural Semiotics deals with the way signs develop and are used in particular cultures. And, Visual Semiotics focuses on visual signs in art and design.
Everywhere we look we see images and items that communicate deep and often ancient truths to us without using words.
Whether we realize it or not, all of us become semioticians during the Christmas season. Everywhere we look we see images and items that communicate deep and often ancient truths to us without using words. These signs and symbols have come to us from a variety of cultures across time and space, and many of them have developed to a point where they transcend any one culture and are shared by many. Almost all of the decorations we encounter this time of year are intended to communicate something special to us. I’d like to consider a few.
Christmas Tree – Our modern conception of the Christmas tree developed in Germany in the 16th century. Evergreen trees have long served as a symbol of life and vitality across many cultures and religious traditions. In a rather ironic twist, the vast majority of us now use fake trees that were never alive in the first place as a symbol of eternal life. At the same time, those fake trees do, in fact, stay green forever, while it’s a guessing game as to when a “live” tree will fade to brown and drop all of its needles. All the same, in the Christian tradition, Christmas trees serve as a symbol of the eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ. John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world that He GAVE His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is also significant that a whole tree is used and not just a branch. The pointy top of the tree is intended to serve as an arrow to heaven, reminding us that our eternal hope is in Almighty God.
The signs of God’s efforts to be with and for us are everywhere. Can you see the signs?
Christmas Lights – Christmas lights are one of the most prevalent, but easily ignored symbols or signs of the season. They are often seen as little more than pretty accessories to go with the more substantive decorations. But, Christmas lights carry their own meaning. They are the one decoration that reminds us that John 1 is a telling of the Christmas story. John 1:4-5 reads, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus is the light of the Life, sent into the darkness of the world to shine the light of God’s love and to illuminate the path of repentance for all of humanity. The lights hanging on our trees and houses are meant to remind us of this important truth.
Gifts – Even the gifts we give communicate incredible meaning. First, they serve as symbols and signs of our love, appreciation, and connection to one another. As is stated early and often every Christmas, it is the thought that counts. Christmas gifts communicate the love and appreciation we hold in our hearts for one another. But, even more than that, the gifts we give are intended to serve as reminders of the greatest of all Christmas gifts: Jesus the Christ of Christmas. God gave us the gift of His own Son and the gift of God’s presence “with us.” As the angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:22-23, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).”
I encourage you to make an effort to see and understand the signs that are all around you this Christmas season. Allow the messages of hope, peace, joy, and love to resonate in your souls. Darkness may surround us, but the light of life has come through the birth of a baby boy who was wrapped in cloths placed in a manger (more signs). He is God’s gift to you. He offers all people the gift of eternal life, by grace through faith. The signs of God’s efforts to be with and for us are everywhere. Can you see the signs?
