Caught in a Flash Mob

Today, while shopping on Black Friday at my local mall, I was caught in the food court by a performance art piece known as a flash mob. A flash mob is designed around a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, and perform an unusual and sometimes a pointless act for a brief time, then disperse. Today, however, over 200 people performed a flash mob for a cause that is anything but pointless.  It was designed to challenge spectators to redefine Christmas as a kick off to the national movement.

Redefine Christmas is a movement that re-imagines the way we look at gift giving during the holidays. In addition to the things we enjoy shopping for and giving every year, we often feel compelled to spend money and time on gifts with little meaning. These are often gifts which are soon forgotten. Rather than giving in to the convention of giving, we can give out – by redirecting some of that money to charity.

At the end of the flash mob, a girl handed me a white gift box, smiled and said pass this gift on. I opened the gift box and found that I was given a “Give Now” card so that I could give the $25.00 amount to a charity of my choice. Statistics show that the average American family gives only 3.2% of their income to charity. The consumer driven pressure we feel to spend more than we have needs to be tamed by increasing our giving in more intentional ways. Giving to charities that work hard to care for those caught in the margins is one way to redefine Christmas and restore its real meaning.

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most. As we redefine Christmas, my family is going to give one less gift this Christmas, and instead give that amount we would have spent to join with others in giving to provide for those who need our help the most.

In my city of New Haven, we helped open a storefront downtown during the Holiday season. We invited over 30 local charities to display information about their charity as a way to help daily shoppers realize the work being done by so many non-profits in our city. We call our store front the “I Love Greater New Haven Nonprofits” Boutique. At this boutique you can review and select from the work of dozens of local non-profits to which you can make a donation in appreciation of your special someone. This is but another way I am trying to redefine Christmas this year. I encourage you to join us and give to a local charity through www.redefinechristmas.org , and if you live in New Haven, stop in and visit our boutique at 71 Orange St, New Haven, Ct 06510.

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