... As far as I’m concerned, shopping malls can call this time of year whatever they want. Just leave Christ out of it. I don’t really want to see Jesus as the unpaid celebrity endorser for Walmart. And while we’re on the subject, no, Jesus isn’t entirely the “reason for the season.” Roman winter solstice festivals in late December predate the observation of Christmas. Historians argue about whether the church chose December 25 for Jesus’ birth in order to coincide with those festivals or whether it was for other, more theological reasons, but it seems certain that many elements of today’s Christmas celebrations (like that Christmas tree) actually come from pagan celebrations, not Christian ones. And let’s be honest here. From a theological standpoint, Easter is the more significant holiday, because that’s when Jesus rose again, conquering death once and for all and bringing us all delicious marshmallow Peeps—argh! No, that’s wrong. See what happens when you don’t distinguish the sacred from the secular? ... So go ahead, wish me “happy holidays.” Or “merry Christmas.” (Or “happy Christmas” if you’re British.) As for me, I’m celebrating two holidays on December 25. One of them is a religious reflection on the goodness of God and the birth of my Savior. The other is a loud, showy secular holiday with Santa Claus, wasteful spending, and too much food. They’re both called Christmas, but hey, if you wanted to call that second one something else with no relation to Jesus, I wouldn’t mind that one bit.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Dec 2013 03:55:13 +0000
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