8 December 2024
It's still almost three weeks until Christmas, but it seems like we've been "celebrating" it for months. I guess that's what happens when the advertisements for Christmas shopping begin in earnest about Halloween, and by Thanksgiving we've had more TV Christmas "specials" - hip hop, Country, religious - than you can shake a holly branch at.
And that's kind of the "up side." The downside is that the wars over the "meaning" of Christmas are well underway, again. Secular and commercial interests have "stolen" Christmas. The REAL MEANING of Christmas (i.e., the birth of Jesus) has been taken away. Do you realize that Jesus was actually being removed from the word Christmas by the commercial use of the word "Xmas!" Isn't Christmas supposed to be a religious holiday?
I can answer that, but probably not to everyone's satisfaction, since anybody who really cared could - and should - have known it years and years ago, even before the Internet. First, if you're talking about the Federal "holiday" made a law by the Congress of the United States in 1870 then, no, it is definitely not an official religious holiday. Under our Constitution, it would be unconstitutional for Congress to pass any law favoring a particular religious group. Maybe that's why, on the very same day in the same legislation, Congress declared that New Year's Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving Day were also Federal holidays. None of those three are generally considered "religious," and Congress didn't give any descriptions of why each was selected.
To add a little more clarity or confusion, none of those are actually holidays - take off work, with pay - for anybody but Federal employees. For most Americans, they were just days to be inconvenienced because no Federal offices were open, and there was no mail delivery. States and various businesses have come up with their own takes on what "holiday" means, but those are all separate from the intent of Federal designation.
Well, leaving the Law aside, who came first, Santa Claus or Jesus? Actually, Santa - or, at least, the "Santa side" of the holiday, by many centuries B. C. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a real let-your-hair-down period to mark the midwinter lengthening of days. Work was suspended, and schools and courts were closed. People decorated with wreaths and trees, donned colorful clothing, and spent much of their time visiting, eating, singing, playing music, and giving each other gifts. Sound familiar?
So, how did Saturnalia become Christmas? That was the Roman emperor Constantine's doing, and it was pretty recent - less than twenty centuries ago, 336 A. D. to be precise. Constantine had just declared Christianity the official national religion (so much for the separation of Church and State!), and some think he may have had a political motive, hoping to take some steam out of the pagan Saturnalia festivities. I guess he wasn't too successful, and Christmas didn't really catch on for another six centuries (just before some of us were born).
What about that attempt by the Santa-lovers to "X" Jesus right out of Christmas? I guess that was a "commercial" decision, in a way. All books and other writings were done by hand, a long process, and good parchment apparently wasn't cheap. Back about the 10th Century, scribes started abbreviating Christos - "Christ" - with the Greek letter "chi," which looks very much like the English "X." To the folks at that time, chi-mas still said "Christ's mass," and saved a lot of time, ink, and paper. How about that? Nothing changed.
So, sacred holiday, or secular holiday? Yes! Both have long traditions, who cares which is longest? That should be amazingly freeing to everybody. With that understanding:
You don't have to believe in Santa Claus.
You don't have to pretend to believe in Santa, even for your kids.
You don't have to believe in Jesus, either the baby or the savior.
You don't have to like Christmas carols?
You don't have to like popular Christmas music.
You don't have to sing any kind of Christmas music.
You don't have to decorate a Christmas tree, or put a wreath on you door.
You don't have to put a nativity scene on your lawn, with or without wise men.
You don't have to read "The Night Before Christmas."
You don't have to read the Bible.
You don't have to go to church.
You don't have to go to Grandma's house.
You don't have to give presents.
You don't have to send Christmas cards.
You don't have to send Internet greetings.
You don't have to spend Christmas with friends.
If there are football games on tv, you don't have to watch.
You don't have to like White Christmases
You don't have to cruise to the Bahamas to escape the snow.
You don't even have to recognize the day as anything special.
BUT HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS.
If you want to do any of the things listed above - if you want to do them all -
YOU CAN.
Make Christmas your own blend.
Let others do the same.
Secular, Sacred, or Both:
Embrace the Spirit!
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