The Christmas Party

Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness . . .

It may be that celebration of the Christian Christmas in the U.S. is coming more & more to resemble the pagan behavior that St. Paul warned against in his letter to the Romans. Last week, from pulpits across the nation, came warnings that holiday celebrations--particularly office parties--are getting out of hand.

In Manhattan, Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph F. Flannelly issued an admonition to be read at each of the seven Sunday Masses in St. Patrick's Cathedral: "We note with alarm and regret the growing custom of holding parties in business offices on the days immediately preceding Christmas. We caution the faithful against such parties for the following reasons: 1) these parties ignore the sacred character of Advent, which is a time of becoming preparation for the coming of our divine Savior; 2) the days immediately preceding Christmas are invariably days of fast and abstinence . . .; 3) at many of these parties there is excessive use of intoxicating drinks. These sinful excesses cause untold harm in various ways to the participants and their families. They corrupt the morals and lower the morale of the community and the nation."

In Chicago, Presbyterian Dr. Harrison Ray Anderson appealed to his congregation "to correct an abuse which has developed at Christmas time . . . The Christmas party in offices and homes has in some places developed into a shocking situation ... Is not this year, with its tragic happenings, the time to ... substitute another kind of party more in keeping with the birth of the Savior?" Methodist Pastor Charles Ray Goff, a fellow Chicagoan, condemned what he called "heavy-drinking office parties. Office staff members," he said, "are caught with their guards down; they do not want to take part in the drinking, but are dragged in ... Last Christmas I saw four girls come out of an office building and go reeling down the sidewalk so intoxicated they could hardly stand. None could have been more than 20 years old. It was a shameful sight. I hope employers will look into this practice and try to devise some more appropriate kind of party."

The Ministerial Association of Greater Cincinnati urged employers "to place first in their plans for yuletide parties the rightful emphasis upon the religious significance of the holiday." And the Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph-Register editorialized: "Unfortunately, in too many instances the [Christmas] parties serve only to show that both the boss and his office staff can be somewhat less than human when they let down their hair. Instead of raising office morale, such parties tend to lower office morals."

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