Tis' the season. What does that mean though? It means a lot of
things to a lot of people and, to some, it means absolutely nothing.
To others, it means nothing good. Part of me is wondering this
Christmas if the part I always find comfort and value in is really a
part of the season, or the result of me imposing my own worldview on
Christmas. As ought to surprise no one,
nothing religious informs my perspective on Christmas. While I might
want to say that humanism, in fact, is what Christmas is about, that's a
term I've only had a proper understanding of since late 2007. For
better or worse and in any event, the highest concepts of good of which I
am aware are tied into the Christmas holiday as I have always
understood it. There is not a time I can remember, even during
childhood, where it was not about the giving for me. Gift giving is
something I've always seen as a redemptive act, because it says to one's
family or friend, "Goodness knows I can be a pain. I talk too much,
have table manners of infamous lacking, don't like any of the things
that people who grew up around here in Arkansas ought to like, and I
sing at the top of my lungs in less than appropriate circumstances, but
right now I want to show you that I know you and that I love you so I
have given you something that you want, like, and will find useful. All
through the year, I try and get it right, but in this season I shall do
my utmost to show you that I love you and that I recognize I need
forgiveness for all the times I fail you the rest of the year." Giving
gifts is a fine concept, but I am told not everyone views it as an
expression of love and a demonstration of connection. How sad is the
fact.
Christmas is composed of many things, but there are basically four kinds of ingredients. 1). Christian ingredients: Here you've got the birth of Jesus and the surrounding mythology involving the Star In The East, a manger, and three magi. Throw in anything related to the religion itself like angels and, if you wanna stretch it, Santa Claus and associated characters due to St. Nicholas. 2). Pagan ingredients: Here you've got the tree itself, shiny lights, the green and red of holly, ham, and the date of the holiday itself, all of which are pretty much directly descended from the Nordic festival of Yule, which is not an unfamiliar word in Christmas to this day. The festival involved worshipping fir trees decorated with bits of metal that would shine in the glow of the Aurora Borealis, sacrificing a pig, the holly warding off evil, and the date comes from the time frame of the winter solstice, although the exact date of the 25th comes from when the Roman winter solstice was. 3. Entirely secular ingredients: Most of these have to do with snow. Oh do they have to do with snow. Snowflake symbols, Frosty, Jack Frost, Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow, Baby It's Cold Outside, Jingle Bells, and on and on. Other examples are mostly culinary, such as eggnog, Christmas logs, Chex Mix, and so on. 4. Humanism: This is the element I'll be able to enjoy about the season even if I spend the holidays alone one day. Every good story about Christmas, beginning with A Christmas Carol, is about human solidarity, compassion, and forgiveness. Plenty of things divide us as human beings and there is no need to look for more of them. You throw a toy in the Toys For Tots bin, give a gift to someone you know won't give you one in return, and you work very hard on generally behaving as though you are the person you know you can and ought to be.
Writing this article followed a conversation I had with a friend about whether or not Christmas should be in schools. I am on a weird side of this argument, because I'm kind of saying that a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. Take Jesus out of it, take the pagan elements out of it, take out the snow and traditional food, and call it, I don't know, Festivus. Yeah, I remember hearing Festivus somewhere or another, and it seems like a perfectly reasonable replacement. So long as what's left is full of enlightenment values and a sense that redemption, forgiveness, and generosity are to be extolled as virtues during the holiday, what's important to me remains. Maybe's my friend's right though and, for most people it is only about their religion and greed, but I'm a true believer here. Let the world decide whether to prattle on to schoolchildren about virgin births, Nordic tradition, snow and ice, and Black Friday. It can decide what it likes and I care not. Whatever cynicism may be present within Christmas, I reject it. My Christmas is not the time for that kind of petty nonsense. Life is hard and the pain of each and every man woman and child on this Earth matters to me. During this season, I do what I can to show my fellow human beings that I love them and I consider no leap of compassion too grand to make during this time of year. Believe whatever you want to believe but I'll always believe that all people everywhere need to give and receive compassion and that any definition of Christmas that excludes this simple tenet is unworthy of consideration on my part. Bring joy into the lives of all you can during the season and don't worry about the name or the meaning of the holiday because the name never mattered to begin with and if the holiday has any other meaning, I for one, say bah humbug to it.
-Frank
Christmas is composed of many things, but there are basically four kinds of ingredients. 1). Christian ingredients: Here you've got the birth of Jesus and the surrounding mythology involving the Star In The East, a manger, and three magi. Throw in anything related to the religion itself like angels and, if you wanna stretch it, Santa Claus and associated characters due to St. Nicholas. 2). Pagan ingredients: Here you've got the tree itself, shiny lights, the green and red of holly, ham, and the date of the holiday itself, all of which are pretty much directly descended from the Nordic festival of Yule, which is not an unfamiliar word in Christmas to this day. The festival involved worshipping fir trees decorated with bits of metal that would shine in the glow of the Aurora Borealis, sacrificing a pig, the holly warding off evil, and the date comes from the time frame of the winter solstice, although the exact date of the 25th comes from when the Roman winter solstice was. 3. Entirely secular ingredients: Most of these have to do with snow. Oh do they have to do with snow. Snowflake symbols, Frosty, Jack Frost, Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow, Baby It's Cold Outside, Jingle Bells, and on and on. Other examples are mostly culinary, such as eggnog, Christmas logs, Chex Mix, and so on. 4. Humanism: This is the element I'll be able to enjoy about the season even if I spend the holidays alone one day. Every good story about Christmas, beginning with A Christmas Carol, is about human solidarity, compassion, and forgiveness. Plenty of things divide us as human beings and there is no need to look for more of them. You throw a toy in the Toys For Tots bin, give a gift to someone you know won't give you one in return, and you work very hard on generally behaving as though you are the person you know you can and ought to be.
Writing this article followed a conversation I had with a friend about whether or not Christmas should be in schools. I am on a weird side of this argument, because I'm kind of saying that a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. Take Jesus out of it, take the pagan elements out of it, take out the snow and traditional food, and call it, I don't know, Festivus. Yeah, I remember hearing Festivus somewhere or another, and it seems like a perfectly reasonable replacement. So long as what's left is full of enlightenment values and a sense that redemption, forgiveness, and generosity are to be extolled as virtues during the holiday, what's important to me remains. Maybe's my friend's right though and, for most people it is only about their religion and greed, but I'm a true believer here. Let the world decide whether to prattle on to schoolchildren about virgin births, Nordic tradition, snow and ice, and Black Friday. It can decide what it likes and I care not. Whatever cynicism may be present within Christmas, I reject it. My Christmas is not the time for that kind of petty nonsense. Life is hard and the pain of each and every man woman and child on this Earth matters to me. During this season, I do what I can to show my fellow human beings that I love them and I consider no leap of compassion too grand to make during this time of year. Believe whatever you want to believe but I'll always believe that all people everywhere need to give and receive compassion and that any definition of Christmas that excludes this simple tenet is unworthy of consideration on my part. Bring joy into the lives of all you can during the season and don't worry about the name or the meaning of the holiday because the name never mattered to begin with and if the holiday has any other meaning, I for one, say bah humbug to it.
-Frank
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