Nothing brings people together like good food and conflict. As the holiday season approaches, the media is showing their appetite for both with early talk of the "War On Christmas." Now don't get me wrong: I love the Christmas spirit. As a young girl, my family would collect gifts for the needy, deck the halls and throw a mean Holiday party. But I don't know why an inclusive celebration negates the "meaning" of Christmas. If we're honest, Christmas' origins are inclusionary, incorporating many different cultural and -- dare I say -- pagan traditions.
The Day of Christ's Birth? Really?
I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble, but there is no scriptural or historical basis for December 25th actually being the day that Jesus was born. The earliest recorded celebrations of a nativity come from Christians in Egypt who celebrated around the 20th of May. This doesn't mean that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th, but unlike many traditional Jewish holidays, we don't seem to be quite as strict with our dates in the Christian tradition. Our celebrations were institutionally implemented outside of doctrine and have been rather fluid. The celebration of Yule was a Norse winter holiday. The Roman celebration of Saturnalia, which took place the week before December 25th, included gift giving, decorations in greenery, lights, feasts and markets. Sol Invictus celebrated the birth of the sun around Winter Solstice.
It has been suggested that Christmas was, in fact, a strategic act of tolerance, allowing harmless traditions to take on religious meaning and enable the conversion of Northern Europe to Christianity.
What Would a Real Christian Do?
I am not recommending you dumb down your celebration, but Jesus' whole thing was to love your neighbor as yourself. He didn't say to love your Christian neighbor as yourself. He said to love whatever neighbor you have. And I don't know where you live, but I have neighbors who celebrate all sorts of different things. And if they don't celebrate Christmas, it doesn't hurt my Christianity to wish them a happy holiday or a joyful season. Going to their iftar doesn't encroach on my Christmas bash and spinning a dradle doesn't dim the lights of my Christmas tree. Call me crazy, but I don't think Jesus really cares about us celebrating His birthday. He cares about us following him every day through our thoughts and through our actions; he cares about us feeding the hungry; he cares about us tending to the sick; he cares about us doing good to those who don't seem to deserve it; he cares about us helping the poor, the depressed, the downtrodden and the weak.
As Christmas helps us to accomplish those goals, more power to it. But literally, for Christ's sake (or whoever else you may or may not be celebrating), let's make this holiday season about love and food, not war and conflict.
Follow Charity Sunshine Tillemann Dick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@Charitytd
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I must say after reading the comments on this article that I checked and the Judeo-Christian Bible does not have a specific requirement for celebrating Christ's birth on any given day of the year or with any particular ritual or set of rituals.
I also think it is quite obvious that many of our Christian celebrations and observances actually correlate with much older and "non-Christian" observances and celebrations based on seasonal changes, as well as earth cycles for sowing, planting, harvesting, etc.
Really, is it necessary to take all the natural joy and spirit out of Christmas, Giftmas, Yule, and Solstice, when loving, giving, and sharing hope for warmer days, good planting, healthy crops and all other things we may be hoping for when the “dark days of winter are through?”
A great many Christians feel that there is a "war on Christmas" because the divide between government and religion is being more strictly followed. When the US was a much more homogeneous culture, government observances of the holidays was natural and expected. But today there are many more religions clamouring for attention, each one wanting equal rights. And any government nod to any religious observance in the Christian faith makes other faiths nervous. Even so, if the noisemakers at Fox News don't mention it, most Christians do not feel as if there is a "war on Christmas."
So there really isn't a war on Christmas. It is just a realignment of who, what, where, and how Christmas is celebrated. It shocks some people that there are those who do not wish to celebrate Christmas. Atheists can thank Charles Dickens for the bah-humbuggian labels placed upon them for vocalizing their anti-Christmas viewpoints.
And yes, many Christians do spend their holidays in service to the homeless and in giving gifts to the needy. Nor are celebrations which are inclusive of everyone considered unChristian. But Christians do consider the birth of Christ central to the celebratory theme.
Other than that, all we have is myth and superstition.
I will quibble a bit on the idea that it's not really 'tolerance' to 'strategically convert' other peoples, ...ie try and obliterate our ancestral cultures and faiths.
its' our Christian duty to do so.. a lot of people have payed with their lives for doing it so we who follow after their example should never turn back from it..of course I agree, with you, we are not tolerant of another's culture..but that's the whole idea..Our Father in heaven wants to destroy all human traditions , wants us to abandon our lives and this world for that which lasts forever..to them that believe..
You get points for admitting what most of us agnostics / atheists have maintained all along.
As Ms. Dick points out, it doesn't matter. I told our kids that since we didn't know when Jesus was born, needed some kind of mid-winter festival for our sanity, and could serve Him by being nice to other, I was sure that Jesus did not mind us having a birthday party for him in December. We always sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and gave gifts to the needy as well as each other. We also wished neighbors and friends Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Happy Holidays, or just Good Day, depending on what they were happy with.
Mutual kindness and respect, which we renew each Yuletide and try (imperfectly, I admit) to maintain year-round are the real gifts we can offer Christ.
Your position about the relative unimportance of the accuracy of traditionally accepted festivals versus the importance of the spiritually core Christian message is spot on!
Keep writing, singing, and sharing!