Stop the “War on Christmas” Before It Starts
Every year for the past few years a bunch of people get their panties in a bunch over the alleged war on Christmas. So once again, in my efforts to save a lot of people a bunch of unnecessary grief and hassle, allow me to re-post my original essay on how silly the whole thing is.
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I know we’re just a couple days into the holiday season, but it’s never too late to start talking about the “War on Christmas”. You know the time when people get upset because someone wished them “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. They then go on ad nauseum to say America is continuing to slide away from it’s Judeo-Christian foundation. Well, being the agnostic-Muslim that I am, I decided to remind folks that a lot of the things rooted in Christmas tradition (courtesy of The History Channel) have nothing to with Jesus.
December 25
First of all Jesus was not “born” in December. Most scholars believe he was born in the Spring, likely March by our calender. December 25 was chosen by Pope Julius I to coincide with the Saturnalia, a pagan winter festival to mark the Solstice. Julius believed Christianity would be a lot more accepting if Christmas was held at the same time as the winter event. If you can’t beat them, co-op them. And just so you know, early Christmas celebrations were more like Mardi Gras parties.
Early America
In the early days of America, Christmas wasn’t even a holiday. The Puritans banned it. And Congress was even in session that day. It was illegal in Boston from 1659-1681 because people would get so out of control. Christmas didn’t become a federal holiday until 1870. So much for our “long standing tradition.”
The Tree
Early pagan cultures believed the evergreen tree would keep away witches, spirits and other evil items.
Santa Claus
He is actually closer to the religious meaning of Christmas than the tree and the date. St. Nick is based on the monk St. Nicholas who was born near Turkey in the 4th century.
Blatant Commercialization
Go to the mall in mid-October and look at the Christmas decorations for sale. Nuff said!
Now does any of this take away from the meaning of Christmas, not really. Messages of hope are always welcome, but I figured sometimes it’s best to nip this nonsense in the bud before it gets started, even if I have to do it at the same time each year.
