As this article is my first piece posted in Elephant Journal, I do believe I signed some papers saying they own it now and I need mention that if I post it anywhere else. (There,I hope that does the trick.)
I saw this year’s first signs of it littering my FB in
tandem with the Starbucks snowflake massacre. The imaginary war on Christmas
has become a tradition with origins as muddled as Christmas itself.
up in the Christian religion, circa 1970’s, the hot
topic was Santa versus Jesus. Back then jolly ole Saint Nick was trying to
usurp the Christmas spirit and upstage the nativity scene with a vengeance only
a dead man in a red suit could. It was confusing because not liking Santa was
as un-American as communism.
We sat on Santa’s lap
for pictures. He snuck into our carols and even forged signatures on our
presents. We were taught about God, Jesus (who was God’s son, but also God) the
Holy Spirit (not to be mistaken with the Christmas spirit- although they both
lived in your heart), and Santa Clause. We had to be careful not to like Santa
more, even though Jesus never bribed us with full stockings or candy canes. There
were a lot more proof of Santa as in pictures and movies. He actually appeared
in the flesh each year at the mall, school, and the town parade. Despite all
that evidence, turns out it was a trick. On the fateful day our siblings,
peers, or mean neighbor kid shattered our magical Rudolph the reindeered world,
December was never the same again.
“Wait a minute, so Santa is not real, but everybody else is?
Jesus, God, Mary, Joseph, the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, and Holy Spirit, and
Christmas spirit? WHAAAAAT? No Easter Bunny or tooth fairy either? The Christmas
spirit isn’t a thing, it’s just a feeling?”
I totally confused and utterly devastated.
While secular Christmas songs, decorations, stories, and
characters (my favorite being Frosty the Snowman) were tolerated, they were not
to be celebrated.
From the pulpit I
would hear that Jesus is the only reason for the season, and the Christmas tree
somehow represented the cross he would later die on. The Christmas color red
symbolized the blood He shed (the same blood we would pretend to drink in
remembrance of Him). I learned to never ever write X-mas. Although it may seem
like a short cut, it was just another way they
were X-ing Christ out of Christmas. In my child mind I was sure the menacing they were pointing nuclear weapons straight at us and baby Jesus!
Just shy of a decade later I had recovered from the Santa
scam when another blow rendered me all but faithless. According to every source
I can find Quirinius’
census (the reason Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem in the first
place) happened in late spring, not the winter. WHAAAAAT????? So Jesus could be the reason
for spring, just not this season?
This is the part where I get accused of being a heretic and
a major church party pooper. If you’re hating on me right now please take a
moment to refer back to
Exodus, the ninth commandment: “Thou shalt not lie.” Settle
down I’m only truth telling here, it’s not an attack on anything biblical, only
mythical. Let’s not get the two confused.
I’m not quite in the mood to give you a thorough history
lesson,
so here is the net of it: The pagans celebrated the
Saturnalia on Dec. 25th, think of Carnival happening in Sodom and Gomorrah, and
throw in a healthy dose of anti-Semitism. Over the course of centuries the
church, media, and corporations hijacked, painted over, and sold us the kid
friendly, minty fresh version we’re claiming a war over today. Please explain
to me again how Jesus is the reason for the season…
In recent years the greeting “Happy Holidays” has become
regarded in some circles as an offensive anti-Christian misnomer for “Merry
Christmas”. This boggles my mind for a couple of reasons.
1.) “Happy
Holidays” is a super handy way to bundle up the many holidays taking place from
Thanksgiving through New Years. Why argue with good old-fashioned efficiency?
2.) If
my Jewish friends went around insistently saying “Happy Hanukkah” to absolutely
everyone, mandating that menorahs and dreidels be the exclusive holiday bling,
well that would be just weird. Or what if Happy Kwanzaa became the only
acceptable holiday greeting? Last year a radical explained to me in a very loud
voice the holes in my theory. The difference he stated is that Christmas is an
American holiday so it should be the overarching theme, and other “lesser
holidays” are secondary. WHAAAAAT? Like America came up with Christmas? And
wasn’t your earlier point that Christmas is a Christian holiday and that
secularism has ruined it? So now we’re abolishing division of church and state?
3.) I
have yet to hear anyone of my Jewish or Muslim friends complain about
Christmas, or the words “Merry Christmas” in relation to their own celebratory
preferences. My friends who honor other holidays, or chose to not celebrate at
all during the season aren’t trying to take away my Christmas. The only people
I hear complaining and creating conflict are my Christian friends and family.
In fact it seems they are waging their own imaginary war, getting riled up and
defensive about Christmas as they read one another’s rants and listen to Fox
news commentary as if it were gospel. You’re not being bullied, threatened, or
attacked when I say Happy Holidays, I promise. I’m not saying it instead of
Merry Christmas. I’m including Merry Christmas and the other holidays that you
may observe religiously or otherwise.
What if we let go of the defensive stance
on Christmas? There’s no need to fight about whether or not it’s religious by
nature. If you choose to make it that way, great! Please don’t be a dictator
about it. If someone else wants to make it about Santa and shopping, so be it. Lay
down your Christmas arms and grab libations of cheer!
I choose to make this a time of merriment,
pretty lights, good food and drink, friends, family, Xmas songs, and movies. Oh,
and lots of love! I invite you to do the same if you like. Happy Hanukkah,
Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Years! Enjoy!
