Merry Christmas, Part Deux
by tgirschDecember 25th, 2006
I know I’m not the first to observe this, but Christmas isn’t really one holiday. It’s more like two. There’s the religious holiday, which celebrates the purported birth of the savior of mankind, thus enabling the eventual sacrifice to nullify human sin. And then there’s the secular holiday, much of it born of pagan traditions, that involves the winter solstice, trees, lights, the exchange of gifts, and most importantly, gathering with one’s family, friends, and loved ones. Almost from the beginning, these two holidays have been intertwined, with the early Christian church borrowing the date from pagan solstice tradition, and maintaining trappings inherited from Mithraism.
While I have no quarrel with the religious holiday, it should come as no surprise that I strongly prefer the secular one. Because Christmas has become so secularized that I don’t have a problem with the government making it an official holiday (despite my otherwise extremely strict church/state policy). And I argue that it is precisely because it is so secularized that Christmas has become as popular as it is today. It’s by far the most popular holiday, despite the fact that it isn’t even the most important Christian holiday (a distinction which belongs to Easter).
For all my griping about family, the friends and family are by far the most important part of the holiday. I very enjoyed the chance to relax and catch up with family. With people moving around the country, it’s about the only chance I get to do so. It’s worth taking a moment to think about those who, for whatever reason, cannot do so, and offer whatever support you can.
But no matter why you celebrate Christmas, and even for those of you who don’t, I hope the holiday season has been good to you, and that you’ve had an opportunity to reconnect and recharge. And for those who can’t be with family, I hope that reunion can happen soon.
Categories: Holiday |
>gathering with ones family, friends
Yes, it’s a little known fact that early Christian church struggled for several centuries without any friends or families until they copted the idea from Germanic pagans. Indeed, the primary cause of the fall of the Roman empire was the fact that the Roman christians refused to even talk to each other.
Nice try at snark, Stormy, but you’re accusing me of claiming something I never claimed. The “getting together with family and friends” part, especially family and friends you don’t often otherwise see in the way we commonly do it today, is of almost completely secular origin, born of neither the pagan traditions nor the Christian traditions. Gathering with family and friends isn’t an inherent part of the Christian celebration of Christmas. Going to church is. Easter is by far the holiest of Christian holidays, and you don’t hear about the “Easter travel rush,” or songs singing “I’ll be home for Easter, if only in my dreams!” The few family activities that are associated with Easter, not surprisingly, are also of secular and pagan origin (egg hunts, bunnies, ham for dinner, etc.). In neither case is there any requirement to get together with family and friends. In the case of Christmas, the holiday is primarily used as an excuse to do so, implying that such get-togethers are things people want to do anyway, absent any religious admonition for them to do so.
The celebration of the birth of Christ is not a pagan secular idea although the time of a pagan holiday became the time of celebration of the birth of Christ. Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ and is not the celebration of a pagan secular holiday even though the time of a pagan holiday became the time of the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
Why are heathens always trying to minimize the meanings of celebrations of Christians? No matter what the timing of the celebrations, the meaning is what is important.
Fred:
No one disputes that the “true” Christian meanings of Christian holidays are important to Christians. I certainly don’t. Nor did I say (nor tend to imply) that the non-Christian origins of some aspects of these holidays make such aspects less important to Christians.
Frankly, I think you’re being hypersensitive here. I have said nothing here, in the post or in the comments, to disparage Christmas; not even the purest Christian celebrations of Christmas.
My only intention in pointing out the holiday’s non-Christian aspects was to explain why it remains important and cherished even to many non-Christians (”heathens,” as you put it) like me.
In the end, I agree that the meaning is what important. I simply recognize that the meaning isn’t the same for everyone.
“I simply recognize that the meaning isn’t the same for everyone.”
Yes, it’s terrible how people try to say that Christmas should be a celebration of the birth of Christ. Some people try to insert religion into everything.
You know, Fred, I’m sure you have a point here, but I’m just not getting it. Now it seems like you’re suggesting that anyone who celebrates at Christmastime for other than Christian reasons ought to stop doing so; in other words, that non-Christians are not welcome. I guess that’s more of that Christian love and understanding you’re always so good at displaying. Maybe you would have preferred a post like this.
What would Jesus do? Jesus would puke.
You can celebrate anything you want at anytime. Just don’t pretend that you are celebrating Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Christ.
Sigh…
Would that you really were such a purist, Fred. But you’re not, or you’d be complaining about all the retailers “pretending that they are celebrating Christmas” by offering sales on material goods and exploiting the season for profit. But that doesn’t seem to bother you. No, you’re more worried about the fact that I use the word “Christmas” with a meaning you don’t approve of.
And I suppose every September, you make it a point to tell anybody that even though you’re taking the day off, you’re not celebrating labor day, given that you’re an opponent of organized labor and all…
Maybe your posts will make more sense in the new year. We can all hope.
BTW, I don’t get an extra day off for Labor Day. I’m always off on Mondays.