On the Contrary

Who is stealing Christmas?  The Christians are stealing it.  They are trying to take the joy and merriment out of Christmas.  Wait a minute.  Isn’t Christmas a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ?  Not really.

For many others and myself, it is a season where we really stop and think about what we have, gather loved ones around us, and celebrate life.  When I was a child it was a magical time when anything was possible and Christmas morning was the epitome of hope and wonder.  It was always a new beginning. I still love this season where we gather at each other’s homes and enjoy food and beverage and the excuse to have a good time together, to stop for a moment and appreciate our friendship.  I love the Christmas lights and decorations that make this world a brighter place.  I love the way it makes me stop and think about those less fortunate and what I can do in this little moment to make their days a little easier.  Peace and good will is really what this season is all about.

Why is it not really a Christian holiday?  Well consider this: Some think the date, December 25, was appropriated from a festival for a Roman solar god.  Some also say that many Christmas icons like the decorated tree, the Yule log, mistletoe, were originally sacred to Celtic and Northern European pagans.  The Puritans thought so little of the holiday that they outlawed its celebration in new America (See “It’s a Narina Christmas” by Laura Miller).

Okay, there is some contention on these points (except the Puritan thing of outlawing anything fun, a penchant of most religions), but some of its greatest stories are very non-religions.  The Three Kings thing is kind of boring, but a “Wonderful Life”, “Miracle on 34th  Street”, “A Christmas Story”, and Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol”, have little to do with bringing gifts to a messiah we are suppose to worship, but redemption, hope, friendship, family, and love.   They are about stopping to smell the coffee, to believe in miracles, and take in the joys and pleasures that are all around us.

Meanwhile we have the wars of Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays.  People who care about these things have lost the Christmas spirit.  They are trying to stake out who owns Christmas.  Christians of all people should understand that Christmas is a gift to all of us.  If you take the Christian out of Christmas, then it becomes a holiday for everyone which for a few fleeting moments lets us celebrate all life, not just Christian life.  Christmas should be a holiday for all of us.  Whether we are Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, witch, or atheist.  Christmas should be the time we throw away the categories and just celebrate the human condition.  And that is what it is for me.

I just received an email from a Muslim friend in Kuwait that I have been working with who wished me a Merry Christmas.  This can be a time for peace and good will among all men.  One last thought I would like to leave you with for Christmas:  A friend of mine is valiantly fighting terminal cancer and he always makes the same toast when we are together and I will share it with you:  “It is a good day to be alive.”  Yes it is.

Merry Christmas