In our politically correct society one could be offended by a cheerful greeting of "Merry Christmas" without any real knowledge of how the individual in question meant it.
Regardless of what one chooses to commemorate in this season of holidays, be it Christmas, Epiphany, Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanza, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, or Black Friday, this festive season in our culture is still dominated by Dec. 25.
Ironically, the definition of Christmas really depends on whom you ask.
Is Christmas a pagan ritual? Is it a vital cog in our economic system? Or is it a religious holiday? If you responded to my series of questions with "all the above," you probably gave the best answer.
We actually get our Christmas tradition from several sources. The history of Christmas dates back more than 4,000 years. Many of the Christmas traditions that we celebrate today can be traced back centuries before the birth of Jesus.
Our contemporary traditions of bright lights, the yule log, the giving of gifts, parades, carolers who sing while going from house to house, and the holiday feasts can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamian culture.
While there are other influences such as the early Europeans celebration of the winter solstice, Christmas is obviously connected to the birth of Jesus. For many Christians, Dec. 25 is one of the holiest days of the year.
Christmas is indeed a religious holiday for some, but many atheists freely participate in Christmas without the slightest hint of contradiction.
But no one can actually pinpoint the exact date of Jesus' birth. Most likely, it was not Dec. 25. In 350 AD the Bishop of Rome, Julius I, chose Dec. 25 as the observance of Christmas, in part to coincide with the pagan tradition of Winter Solstice (Yule).
And let us not forget Black Friday, which has become an American tradition on par with "Opening Day" in baseball. If Congress introduced legislation to do away Christmas, the most ardent opposition would most likely come from the retail industry.
Part of the Christmas definition includes a neo-pagan tradition that worships at the altar of consumerism. But it is that consumerism between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve that account for roughly one-third of the annual retail spending in this country.
Moreover, of the primary definitions of Christmas in our society, many of us, including yours truly, freely participate in aspects of all the above.
However one defines Christmas, the definitions that I've offered tend to fall short because they are based on external expressions. But our current holiday season is unique because it is unquestionably the longest sustained time period that appeals to the better angels of our nature.
Each year, the church where I serve as pastor puts together packages for the homeless that include socks, sweaters, water, gloves, non perishable food and blankets. One of the church members was standing in line recently with roughly 30 blankets as part of her contribution to the project; several people in line with her inquired why she had so many blankets.
After she informed them of the purpose, several individuals volunteered to pay for some of the blankets as a small way of contributing toward peace on Earth and goodwill to all.
Mere strangers connected only by standing in the same retail line to pay for their items realized an internal definition of the holiday season.
They did not stop to debate whether they had a shared definition of Christmas. Nor did they know if they possessed a similar political philosophy. Those who gave did so based on an intrinsic feeling that too often lies dormant in the soul.
The result of that kind gesture is the gift of memory that reminds all involved though they may be bombarded by the cacophony of war, global warming, the economy, or Tiger Woods' marital status, there is indeed good in the world.
My neo-pagan ritual, consumer-driven, quasi-religious external definition of Christmas notwithstanding, my internal definition is one of hope, peace, joy, and love. It is in the spirit the latter definition that I offer a Merry Christmas to all. I hope I didn't offend anyone.
Byron Williams is an Oakland pastor, a syndicated columnist and blog-talk radio host. He is the author of Strip Mall Patriotism: Moral Reflections of the Iraq War. E-mail him byron@byronspeaks.com or visit his Web site: byronspeaks.com.
Follow Byron Williams on Twitter: www.twitter.com/byronspeaks
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I've grown immune to the start of the seasonal commercials urging us to buy, buy buy beginning in September. I'm past worrying if the decorations will all look nice. I'm waaaaaay past carying if I get out my holiday newsletter before the imposed deadline of December 25th. (I haven't sent one out yet this year). I don't care if the "real" date is December 25th. It's become nothing more than a traditional secular holiday in my home.
Now, if only we could just notch it down fifty steps, and I could slow down on the day just enough to enjoy being with my family, rather than worrying about putting out a huge feast and keeping everything organized.
My holiday wish for next year? No presents. And lots and lots and lots of spiked egg nog.
Plus your kids won't t love you anymore if you don't buy them some very much fun video games!
It meant one thing to me as a child (a time of magic), another thing to me as an adolescent & young adult who'd rejected religion (a happy freedom from superstition tempered by nostalgia), & then something else years later after I'd come to a very different understanding of Christianity from the one I'd rejected (a meaningful religious holiday to keep on my own terms).
When I was an atheist, I remember relating to the Emerson, Lake & Palmer song that ends:
"They said there'd be snow on Christmas,
They said there'd be peace on Earth --
'Hallelujah!' 'Noel!'
(Be it Heaven or Hell),
The Christmas we get we deserve."
What I love is the spiritual message and celebrating Christ's birth...no matter what, this has meaning and power for me. I love the Advent and observing rituals around it as we approach Christmas. I read passages that bring me closer to my faith; and it also makes me think of Easter which I love even MORE with the warmth of Spring and call to new life.
Most Americans under 15 and over 30 need more parties, not fewer.
Secular Christmas, despite its excesses, is one big (mostly) happy party.
Spiritual Christmas is a different story.
Spiritual Christmas should be a war on the sappiness that currently passes for Spiritual Christmas.
Jesus was not a sweet soul. He commanded love but the love he advocated (e.g., for the unclean and for enemies) was painful and unnatural. He was not a domesticated family man. He was not a patriot. He did not value physical or economic security. Or self-sufficiency. Or piety.
Jesus was dispossessed. He was scandalous. He was seditious. He was executed because of the foregoing.
If Spiritual Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, let it honor what Jesus was about: convoluting the world. Turn off Faith Hill's Christmas special. Turn off the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Turn off all the shiny people. Honor, instead, the spirit of discontent that impregnates our souls with truth and defiance. Praise the angry. Praise the impatient. Praise the alienated. Praise the cynics.
And if you love Jesus with abandon, perhaps even give your heart utterly and completely (as I have) to an atheist.
Christianity 'won' because it offered fewer rules.
That trajectory continues to this day in the form of our PC movement (burn all the rule books).
So, Jesus cast a very, very long shadow into the future.
Merry Christmas!
We do not know exactly when Jesus was born. Because we do not know, our choice of date to celebrate is subjective, and since people need a mid-winter festival, we chose to use this time as Jesus's birthday party.
Jesus is not handy to give presents to, so, remembering that what we do to others, we do to Jesus, we give presents to friends, family, and the needy. Thus Jesus lets us use His birthday to lift our spirits as well as other people's spirits, and everyone is happy.
It wasn't until later under Constantine, after the first Council of Nicaea in 325, that the birth of Jesus became associated with the festival.
And no, that's not outdated information.
The council of Nicaea merely confirmed the date that had already been observed.
In the Dominican Republic we didn't receive gifts from SC on Dec. 25th but rather from the Three Wise Men on January 6th (the Epiphany) . It's called DÃa de los Reyes Magos or DÃa de los Santos Reyes.
As children we left hay for the camels (yeah camels in the Caribbean, go figure) ,cigars and rum for the Three Wise Men (my Dad) and in the morning we would open the gifts left by the nativity scene.
Seriously never warmed up to that whole Santa story when we moved here. Too weird.lol