(16 votes, average: 4.69 out of 5)
Loading...Of all the holidays we celebrate in the U.S., Christmas evokes the most extreme emotional reactions. Where do you line up?
Many of us grew up thinking Christmas was the most sacred time of the year, a time to remember and celebrate the most wonderful, touching, and humbling event in human history, the entrance of God into our world as a little child, come to save us all from our sins.
Even for many of us who no longer celebrate the religious side of the holiday, it can be a time of joy, of appreciating others, of giving, and of reflection.
But Christmas is obviously about a lot more than even that, at least as it has come to be institutionalized in our world. And so many of us growing up absolutely thrived on receiving gifts and having special times with family. And many of us have loved all the accoutrements of the season: snow, Christmas trees, lights, candles, decorations, festivities, carols, the movies (A Christmas Carol! The Christmas Story! It’s a Wonderful Life! White Christmas! Take your pick), Christmas Eve services, the excitement on the morning of the day itself, the fantastic meal.
On the down side, many of us are completely fed with the commercialization of Christmas, the naked and raw materialism, the greed, the selfishness, the desire for more, more, more. Many of us want to yank the plug on store music. It was bad enough when Christmas started being pushed in the stores before Thanksgiving (heresy!); now it’s before Halloween (damnable heresy!). What really is the point? OK, we all know the point, but still.
On the very downside-other-extreme, many people find the season completely awful in every way. The heavy obligation to buy gifts for people who don’t need and often don’t want them but expect to receive them; the enforced family time with family you don’t get along with; that awful hour or so around a table with people you’re not talking with or don’t want to be talking with; the crass materialism; the deeply seated memories of blow-ups going into the day and on the day itself; the misery of estranged parents whether trying to put on a good show or having given up on all that already. The loneliness and sense of having no one. The seasonal depression.
And so the same season/day can be terrific or torturous, even for different people in the same family. And sometimes that itself is a source of tension, irritation, and stress.
So, that’s what I’ve observed. Sometimes it’s cathartic to say what you really think at times of joy and / or stress. If you’re inclined, tell us your personal experience of the season, in a comment here on this post. I won’t be replying to comments: this is your moment if you want it. What do you think and feel?
We don’t really do much presents in our family. It’s more about getting together and eating a large dinner together. Although my mother has begun giving out the inheritance – she’s nearly 80 and says she prefer to give with a warm hand rather than with a cold.
At times it seems there have been enough Christmases. Then, caught up in the holiday rush to make everything special, the wish is that it could last all year long!
Bart,
Is there anything approaching an orthodox view of what NT Jesus’s spirit his essence was doing for the 3 days his body was in the tomb? I’ve read some on this and talked to some Christians and there appear to be a variety of opinions and even a little confusion.
Thank You & Happy Holidays,
SC
The view that became standard was the “harrowing of hell” — Christ went to Hades to preach the salvation he brought to the saints who died before him. The first full surivivng narrative of it is terrific, The Gospel of Nicodemus.
THanks. I felt bad later for flying off the handle, but simplistic religious explanations of why people genuinely suffer get under my skinn…
Bart, which interpretation do you prefer?
Jesus sends the legion of demons out of a man into pigs who drowned in the sea.
Roman Interpretation:
Those who rebelled against Rome had a wicked spirit of militancy that led to death (they attacked the Roman legion Fulminata XII, they acted as if they had won independence from Rome, they fell into civil war (Jewish Civil War), they cut off food supplies throwing many in Jerusalem into starvation, they backed themselves into the Temple, at the Temple, they killed the high priests Jesus of Gamala and Ananus, …
The Sicarii were attacked with darts by Roman soldiers and trying to get away, they ran into the River Jordan and drowned.
The demons: the wicked Sicarii rebels against Rome (Josephus said demons are the spirits of the wicked.)
Jesus: General Titus
The Jewish Interpretation:
The man was possessed by a [Roman] legion of demons.
Jesus, with spiritual authority, defeats Roman domination enforced by its military. It is Rome that drowns itself in the Mediterranean Sea, not pigs rushing into a sea drowning themselves. Mark’s gospel is war/post-war literature, recounting the Roman attack on the Sicarii.
Steve Campbell, author of Historical Accuracy
I’ve thought about the passage for many years and am still not sure what to make of it. The demons are the “legion” and so represent Roman forces; the make life miserable for this man, presumably a Jew. But Jesus has power over them and can drive them out from the man (representing Jews)? They enter swine (non-Jewish, since precisely not culture, therefore presumably pagan) and kill them (the non-Jews, the pagans). All sorts of intriguing issues here. Where are there herds of swine in Jewish territory? Why would demons want to kill their hosts? Is it that Jesus will save the Jews but destoy the pagans, or at least the demons that control the empire? I really don’t know.
Joel Marcus taught at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of the commentary Mark 1-8 (Yale Univ. Press 2002)
= = =
Marcus says there is a Markan concept of the Messiah as God’s holy warrior.
I say, the Jewish Interpretation does make Jesus more dangerous (a stance against Rome)
[God’s holy warrior].
= = =
Marcus, in his commentary, also has the same sentiment that you have: the story has loose ends.
On p. 347, he says, “It is possible that the story or parts of it originally had nothing to do with Jesus.” He references the commentary: Saint Mark by D. E. Nineham without giving a reason. On p. 348, he wrote, “There is probably some sort of historical event at the root of this story,” without bringing up historical events in the Works of Josephus.
Problem: this removes the exorcism of legion out of Oral Tradition making it only a creation (with loose ends) of the gospel writer because 1) possibly the story or parts of it had nothing to do with Jesus and 2) there is a historical event at the root of this story [I’d say from the Jewish Revolt, not from the days of Pilate].
Thank you, Bart.
Thanks. Yup, JOel has been a good friend — since he started teaching at Princeton Seminary! (He started teaching the year after I graduated)
For me, Christmas is a blip on the calendar. I accrue gifts for loved ones throughout the year, and I usually buy online, so no shopping frenzy for me. As a pastor, I enjoy Advent season at church – the folks seem to be glowing a little as Christmas approaches. I have a difficult time preaching about Christmas though. The patent scriptures for Christmas are difficult for me to use, knowing what I do about them. I have to get extra creative in order to form a compelling sermon while staying true to what I believe.
I love Christmas. Sure, I roll my eyes a bit when I see a Christmas card with a Nativity scene that ignores what the Gospels actually say. I like the idea that a divine being would want to become human and experience what that is like. But I try to ignore all the theological and philosophical problems with Jesus being born as an eventual human sacrifice – to appease himself? However, I do wish that year-round those who say Jesus is the reason for the season would remember what he actually taught.
It bothers me when a religious holiday is heavily commercialized by society, especially with phony references to “the true meaning of Christmas.” But my personal conflict is with the religious aspects of the holiday. I believe that the Biblical birth stories are entirely mythic and fictional. But the Christmas Eve service at my large urban church is a highlight of my year — with i’s packed sanctuary joining organ and brass in the familiar hymns, in its merger of a simple mystical event with a profound religious claim, and the spreading of candlelight throughout the darkened room as the choir, dispersed among the congregation, sings “Silent Night.” What does it mean that I am so moved by this religious ceremony that I know is based on a factual falsehood?
I love the music, too. Grew up with it. – – FWIW I think it means we are human and thus social animals. We should enjoy it, get lost in, and moved in the moment. Then get back to being good humans (sans myths and lies) for the other 364 days. As I said, FWIW, just my thoughts.
I usually get a bit depressed around Christmas, especially when out shopping. It is always wonderful to see as much of the family as possible during the season, but the mostly off-theme commercialization is a real downer for me.
I think what I love most about Christmas is the movies, especially “Scrooged”, “Home Alone” and “Die Hard 2”! Besides that, I love the cold (optimally, snowy) weather and staying indoors, reading great books (like “Lost Christianities”, or “How Jesus Became God”[unbelievably amazing], or “The Hidden Reality” [it’s about parallel universes] etc.). I like the shiny decorations. And I like the fact that it’s my mother’s name day – her name is “Χριστίνα” (and I love her very much too, more than Christmas)!
P.S.: I also loved the Christmas lectures, by the way (not unexpected at all)!
I almost hate to say it but now that my parents’ generation is all gone and I’m retired, Christmas has never been less stressful. The obligatory gift-giving is nearly nonexistent and my (religious) siblings are far away or understanding that my wife and I can’t be exposed to covid by traveling. The possibility of just being alone, snug in our house and letting Christmas go by is fabulous! We donate to charity, stay out of the stores and put up a few nostalgic decorations and that’s it. I love the childhood memories of unwrapping gifts, the rest of it is pleasantly in the past. Ironic that the exclusion of this holiday makes life so much better!
I still celebrate Christmas in the same manner and tradition as I did before I exited the Christian faith. Lights on the house, decorated Christmas tree and all types of Christmas/holiday music. The only difference would be a tad more rum in the eggnog.
Worst holiday ever!
Celebrating the founder of a religion that oppresses, traduces, deceives, manipulates, and betrays its millions of brain-dead followers into thinking they, and only they, have the ability to understand the universe we all live in, and that they must dominate the non-Christians and that they must yearn for the end of all our days. Yay, extinction!!
A ceaseless horror, from beginning to end, from brainwashed baby to deluded dying person.
Jedem das Seine (to each his/her own). Just get it–and all religion/religious symbolism–out of government.
Too late.
My family was not overtly religious, taking Christianity for granted. We never went to a Xmas church service, treating the season mostly as a time of decoration and gift-giving. I loved sitting with my mother and observing our handiwork after decorating the tree. It was fun to believe in Santa for a while, but that didn’t translate into believing in an omnipotent friend in Jesus. I was a little heathen. Grown now, I see Christmas as an unavoidable part of Western culture. I’ve had Hindu friends who went all out for Christmas because they didn’t want their kids to miss out. The Christmas story is heart-warming, if mythical. Kids can be educated to understand that as they age. The holiday will never go away as the nation becomes less religious, or less Christian. Unpleasantness at family gatherings, irrational expenditures on gifts, all that Bart cites, will likely self-modulate over time as people get sick of the commercialism. People will get fed up enough at some point. And, with pandemics and inflation, traveling, gathering, running up credit, may become less a part of the season.
Jesus was never the reason for the season. As a kid it was circling the pictures of toys I wanted from the Sears Toy Catalog. It was also listening to my mother complain bitterly about my dad working 2 jobs to pay for it as she slammed scrambled eggs on all our plates Christmas morning. No joy whatsoever.
Christmas as an adult was great when my kids were little. Then my divorce happened and shared custody over the holidays caused so much hurt and anger that my children grew to hate the holiday. We all did.
I used to love the season and tolerate Christmas Day, but this is my second Covid Christmas and I’m quite over it.
I love the Xmas season because most people you encounter seem happy and share their good feelings. A holiday greeting brings out smiles of complete strangers.
On the other hand, I use Xmas because it irritates A LOT of people, especially those who expound on the sanctity of the holiday but never go to church. 😻
Bart, you are an astute writer. This is one of the best posts i’ve read from you. The story scratches the surfaces of many,many people who feel all the angles you covered. I would never think your an atheist,because you include everyone,believers and non believers alike. For me, that is what Christmas is all about. A celebration of life, no matter what you believe. It is a time where, I find, the happiest moments are cherished,even when you sit in the same room with someone you rather not see. Magically,most times, the tension is erased by the laughter and joy that permeates the home.. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Even in hardships,people find a way to celebrate Christmas.For a day, everything is forgotten. Experience tells me you need not be a believer to celebrate Christmas,just as much you need not be a pilgrim or indigenous person to reflect on Thanksgiving. I often wondered, why is it important for someone to disprove someone else’s belief ? What does it matter. We all come from different cultures/backgrounds and beliefs, thus our goal is to live peacefully and united. Christmas is an origin of that goal.
i love Christmas as well but mostly Advent. I’m one of those obnoxious liturgists who doesn’t believe that Christmas music should be played before Christmas, and then should be fully enjoyed from Christmas to Epiphany. That makes me out of sync with just about everyone else, except other obnoxious liturgists.
To me, historical details are missing the point. The idea behind it is that we celebrate the idea that we humans have God/the Divine/a Higher Power/Love/Light (an entity we theological lumpers might call GDHRPLL) inside us, within us, and humans have that (not just baby Jesus). The way the story is told, the most unlikely people can kindle and nurture the Spirit within us. And we all should be listening to what our better angels tell us and warn us about, and our dreams and visions, as conduits to Spirit.
Music helps us get in touch with Spirit so no surprises there; that music often means more to me than any particular preaching. This is not to diss the preachers on this blog, but perhaps to take some of the responsibility off their shoulders.
To me Advent and Christmas are and always have been a fundamentally religious holiday,.. with gifts and family thrown in. Commercialization is easy to stay away from, but then I live a semi-monk-like life anyway.
For me Christmas is for the kids and the grandkids primarily. Let them enjoy their childhood fantasies.
I junked the religious fantasies associated with Christmas more than 60 years ago.
LIGHTS! That visceral primal howl of defiance against the darkness–something we share across so many ages and cultures. How can I not love it?
I love this. The lights are one of my favorite things, too.
I certainly support and endorse the giving , the caring and of course the sheer joy experienced by the children. The idea of the incarnation I find ludicrous, the concept of needing to be saved because of our sinful nature even more laughable- what hubris to think that whatever the life force of this universe might be found it necessary to save us ———please spare me.
In the Middle Ages and later, counting Sundays, Feast Days and High Holidays, people had almost as many days off as we do. One of a few liberal acts by the Church? Even older and almost every culture has some. Interesting that Christmas is big in places like Japan.
Sorry to disagree, but Christmas is nothing in Japan. Just another day, because about 1% of Japanese are Christian. There is a well-known story (don’t know if it’s true) that one year a department store in Japan put up a window display featuring a Santa on a cross because they didn’t understand this whole Christian thing.
When I was a kid, my mother, who went to a Quaker church (in the Midwest we called them churches), did the honors (a manger scene on the fireplace mantle), and we had a tree with presents under it, and that was about it. These days, since my wife and her family are Jewish, we make a lot more about Hanukkah. Since I know that the whole “Christmas story” is nonsense and Christmas music drives me up the wall (except Bach), I’m afraid I’m pretty immune to the Christmas spirit. But happy holidays to everyone, anyway!
Christmas is a difficult holiday for me—I’d say even that it encapsulates a lot of my feelings about Jesus & Christianity as a former believer. In many ways it invokes feelings & ideals of hope, love, and companionship. However, that all is simultaneously accompanied by the reality of both my suffering (having come from an abusive family…and having worked retail during the holidays) and the suffering of others. Especially in 2021, I can’t help but feel sad that the promise of a good world here on Earth seems farther away now than it did 2000 years ago (as a transgender woman, this past year in America has felt particularly painful & hopeless).
I’m happy for the people (Christians and non-Christians alike) who find hope and inspiration to work for good, who are inspired to embody the Spirit of love and justice in this time. But personally, I can’t help but mourn for what feels like an increasingly unlikely hope in Jesus, or God, or humans to fulfill the promise of a just and peaceful world.
Much like the Church itself, Christmas has become a cultural institution that seems too big to fail for all the reasons mentioned in the post and comments.
To expand upon a Simpsons quote, “Christmas is the time of year when people from all different religions, [cultures and backgrounds] come together to worship Jesus Christ.”
I hate Christmas, but in general I hate holidays. I like everyday, I don’t need a holiday to be happy. I think Christmas is the worst because of people’s expectations being so high and often the expectations are not met. It is a time you are supposed to enjoy and people get upset if you don’t like it.
It was a time when the family was closer. Happier. I’m not sure why but the holiday season was great.
Great for sports too. The holiday basketball tournaments and later for years I organized free running races on thanksgiving and “ The Christmas Eve Cross Country Classic”
I would get waste wood from a blocking and bracing shop and I’d make home made trophies for the age groups.
It was funny, I’d take all the expended batteries we’d use and just anything and glue them on the wood.. anything I had that was junk or broken for the trophies
The kids went wild for them.
My late wife at the appointed time would drive out to the cross country course with two crock pots of home made potato soup.. wed plug them in at the timers shack…
That what I remember about Christmas
When I gave up on Christianity and became a heathen, I couldn’t believe how great it was not to experience the stress and drama of Christmas. Now, if I could just ignore the incessant music playing in the stores while everyone else runs around spending money like madmen, I’d be happy. Whew!
christmas-time can be a nice family and community tradition, but it’s hard to see how inflatable reindeer and gastronomic excess promote the original message! I do have fond childhood memories of the holiday season, but christmas is no longer important to me in any way. I’m (mostly) retired, so it’s not even a ‘holiday’ so to speak. This year, it’s just another Saturday! That said, please allow me to wish all of you *happy holidays* as we negotiate these strange times, very strange indeed.
Mixed feelings. Love the music and lights as well as giving gifts. Much of the details of the Christmas story fall in line with the credibility of Santa living at the North Pole. Warmth around the fire, the smell of the tree, family gathering and grandchildren laughing, all good things. Amazon makes shopping easy.
By the way, I would love to hear you comment on Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, where Kirk Cameron uses Insane Troll Logic to justify all the commercialism of Christmas by “linking” it to the Bible.
I’m afraid I haven’t seen it.
Humans have just created an idea to celebrate. It is a commercialized event whereby people spend their money on gifts and food. It’s just another social event.
People celebrating Christmas don’t know the truth.
When I was growing up Jewish in New Jersey, my parents told me there was nothing wrong with Christians celebrating Christmas, but that it wasn’t our holiday. So, in fourth grade (in public school), when all the other kids were cutting Christmas trees out of green paper, I declined. The teacher sent me to the principal’s office, and the principal called my mother in, asking her in honest puzzlement what was wrong with me.
Mom straightened him out.
Ouch.
Whether Christmas is what you celebrate,
Or Winter Solstice is your date.
Perhaps you prefer Hanukkah,
Or love to celebrate Kwanzaa.
Or – just good times are a big plus.
And there’s Festivus for the rest of us.
But whatever sets your heart ablaze –
We wish you Happy Holidays!
– Doug Long
To my mother’s horror, it was my 3rd grade teacher, a Catholic nun, who broke the news to me that there was no Santa Claus. I wish she were still alive today so I could break the news to her that there is no god. 🙂
But I still love all the traditions of Christmas – Santa *and* Jesus – that I grew up with.
Christmas is what you make it. I don’t care about the commercialism or the “true meaning” — I don’t have an axe to grind on either side of the fence.
I’m a fundamentalist-turned-atheist, and ironically, Christmas has become my favourite time of the year since deconverting. I love it. Many people are a bit nicer this time of year, a little more relaxed, they’re winding down and taking holidays, etc.
I love the little Christmas traditions that have evolved over time, and it fascinates me to hear about Christmas traditions that have become mainstays in other cultures. Heck, prior to the 1800s, there was no Christmas tree tradition in America and Jingle Bells wasn’t even written yet. Christmas as we know it today was totally different only 200 years ago.
Two Haiku
snow on the church steps
— the camel watches over
the stack of wise men
deep winter…
all my neighbors’ voices
“Wonderful!” “Counselor!”
I was raised unchurched to secular Christian & Jewish parents and today I’m a Unitarian Universalist by choice. We celebrated the holidays to celebrate kindness—Xmas is very much about the Golden Rule, as Unitarian Charles Dickens showed us when he erased the need for Christianity from the narrative in “A Christmas Carol” and slyly replaced it with equally absurd superstition in the ghosts of Marley and Christmas.
I also like the Santa of “Miracle on 34th Street because he never actually delivers gifts, but rather inspires others to believe in the miracle of human goodness and to give from the heart. At the end he doesn’t buy a house, he only gives directions to its location.
Worst Xmas: my father died of heart failure in a blizzard on 12/21 as I was returning home from college.
Best Xmas: we chose to decline Christmas Day with toxic family members and instead celebrated with our best friends. And to take the pressure off of perfection and family tradition we called it “The First Oh Well.”
As a Christian, I greatly enjoy celebrating the Incarnation (the preexistent Christ becoming human while remaining divine) and worshiping by singing various Christmas carols. I also learned about being sensitive to people who lost loved ones and feel depressed around the holidays.
This year, I face an interesting situation. My faith has often reconstructed since converting to Christianity in 1984, and my most recent reconstruction involves my focus on allegorical interpretation of Scripture. Specifically, I never thought that the doctrine of the Incarnation or the Trinity depended on the doctrine of the virgin birth, and now the nativity narratives in Matthew and Luke look clearly figurative to me. Therefore, I believe the virgin birth stories are allegories while I still enjoy traditional Christmas carols.
I wish I could get there… I wish I could embrace the joy of the story and let go of the historicity of the narrative. I might still get there by tomorrow… but I don’t think I can tell my mother. Thank you for sharing.
It’s silly , just love the story of the visiting preacher to a church in the south , wondering what made their nativity scene have the Magi with Fireman’s hats – and being told it straight from the good book – that the wise men came from afar —
Like the fine folks from that church , I too was raised in beliefs , and it’s the warmth of singing ‘Silent Night ‘ at family reunions over the years that continues a tradition , that brings the warmth , when I force myself to stop and feel it .
In Sweden, our Christmas traditions are partly similar to and partly different from the Anglo-Saxon traditions. Family festivities, Christmas tree, Santa Claus, presents, Christmas carols, candles, preferred snow, and commercialization are essentially the same, but different in details. A major difference is that the main day of celebration is Sweden is not Christmas Day, but Christmas Eve. Santa visits the families in the evening of Christmas Eve, and the presents are distributed and opened by then (so, no stockings). They main dish on the Christmas table is “Christmas ham”.
There is about a month of preparation for Christmas, during Advent, when electric candlesticks and star-shaped lamps lit up many windows. This is appreciated because of the December darkness: In central Sweden, there is only six hours daylight at Christmas, even less up north. This means that stars are associated with Christmas, and several Swedish Christmas Carols mention the Star of Betlehem. For a Swede, it’s almost impossible to read the about this star and the birth stories in the gospels, without associating to winter and December darkness.
I’m an atheist and I don’t believe in the biblical stories, but despite that, I appreciate Christmas traditions very much.
Christmas was magical to me as a child til my older brother burst my bubble: “You know there’s no Santa Claus! It’s mom & dad.” Mom confirmed this heresy. The magic of Christmas was gone! Me, mulling this over: “If there’s no Santa, then is there no God & no Jesus?” Mom, shocked: “Oh, no, God & Jesus are real!” Me: “But they do good things for you & you don’t see any of them!” How could this be?! Moving into adulthood, Christmas seemed more commercial & aimed at children & lovers. If not in those categories, it was more mundane, but still fun to put up the tree, eat favorite Christmas foods, etc. As Tevye would say, it was TRADITION. As we lost family members thru the years, the holiday evolved. It’s just my daughter & I now. We watch favorite holiday movies, enjoy the music, do a tree & eat mostly non-traditional Christmas fare. I see it as just a great national holiday with a religious heritage. I hope everyone finds a wonderful way to celebrate the season! Make your own traditions. On that note & as a simple message of good cheer, have a Merry Christmas!
I loved Christmas as a child because it meant presents, good food, and my father being nice for a change. I loved Christmas as a very devout teenager because the nativity story was moving to me (and I still loved the presents, good food, and my dad’s good mood). I loved Christmas when my son was little because it was so much fun to give him presents, and to make the season as enjoyable as possible without invoking Jesus. I still love Christmas now that I’m approaching sixty (!!!), even though I’m disabled and chronically ill. One of my most important ways of expressing love is giving presents, things that I made where possible, or at least purchased after careful thought. I’m fortunate in that my family seems happy with the gifts I make for them, and it’s fun and meaningful to me to work on those handmade things all year, and to do whatever shopping is necessary gradually throughout the year. Spending time with family is the most important part of Christmas for me, however. We like to play games, usually Rummikub and Bananagrams, as well as eating together and exchanging gifts.
Love getting together with family, but lots of anxiety shoveling out the house & cooking. We give donations in one another’s name for adults, but I worry about finding something good for the little ones.
I dislike the Christmas stories, since it’s been so hard over a lifetime to disentangle from the literalistic Southern Presbyterianism I grew up in. I try to think of the hope & love of the birth of a child — go Jungian — but am exasperated hearing the stories told as at least mostly literally true in church, particularly because it’s tied to the substitutionary atonement framework. As a retired chaplain attending my home congregation, I hide my feelings (I’m pretty sure!!) and if I need to say something, I draw on Borg, Crossan, Jung, etc. Thank you for the chance to say this!!!!!!!
Before covid, being part of the community choir was wonderful, literalistic or symbolic! Music a wonderful healer : )
I like the festivities and seeing Christmas lights up. On the other hand I find the fact that the celebration of Jesus has mostly turned into a giant materialistic orgy to be rather sad and repulsive. It’s the exact opposite of everything Jesus taught and believed in. I imagine if he was here to see this, he would go to the mall and flip some tables and drive out all of the holiday shoppers!
In my area I see a lot of really crazy driving and some road rage. I’ve avoided stores as much as I can but most of the folks I encounter seem somewhat irritable. I wear a mask, even though I’m fully vaccinated and have had my booster, and get a few smirks or outright dirty looks. Xmas is certainly not what it used to be. I’m not sure what to blame, except possibly Covid stress and an Us vs Them mentality. Stood in line in a pharmacy for a prescription re-fill recently and the woman and daughter ahead of me laughed and joked about vaccinations turning your brain to jelly, and so on. The new normal? I wore a mask, they didn’t.
It is the definitive proof of the solstice. Even the best naked eye observer worked to confirm the solstice by the 25th of the last month of the year. Certainly a great time to celebrate as the seasons would only warm from here on out. Though in the best of the twisted humor of the orbit, the coldest days lie ahead.
For some who have legitimate reservations about Christmas, the Winter Solstice (Tuesday, December 21 2021, at 10:58 a.m, in the Northern Hemisphere) has come to be the focal point of the winter holiday season. This day has become important to reconstructionist pagans but also secular humanists, who can find common ground in celebrating this occasion. Themes can include light amid darkness; the death of nature and the cycle of life; the darkness just before the dawn; the miracle of every birth.
I’ve often thought that having the federal government declare the spring equinox (March 20), the summer solstice (June 21), the autumnal equinox (September 23) and the winter solstice (December 21) as new statutory holidays, under the pretext of giving workers and families more downtime, could spark the creation of new individual and collective traditions focused on reconnecting with Nature.
Very appealing! Thanks for the idea!
Although I am an atheist, I love Christmas. I like the mythology undergirding it: of God taking on human form in humble circumstances. To use a term by Tillich, I like the idea of the realm of ultimate concern becoming incarnate and knowing and experiencing what we face in life. It’s a tale that stresses the importance of being present and involved in the affairs of humanity. It’s fiction at its best.
I have thought for some time that there are really three “festivals” being celebrated by our society at the same time: (1) The religious festival of the nativity – what takes place in (and related to) our churches;
(2) The family festival – our own traditions of gathering and meals and gift-giving; and
(3) The national commercial festival (buy all you can, etc.)
I think we are better off to the extent we can align our family festivals more with no. 1 (if we are Christian), and less with no. 3.
Christmas here is usually sweltering hot. The connection of Christmas to snow and winter always amuses me; it is as if Christmas belongs to North America! (Our shops do sell cards with the winter theme too. Go figure!)
Times like Christmas are hard to celebrate when you have lost a loved one in tragic circumstances. It is our third Christmas without our daughter but still we couldn’t bring out the decorations. We’ll have a quiet meal together and visit her grave with some flowers.
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss of your daughter. Please accept my condolences, these years later. It must be terribly fresh still, and always will be. I am sending many happy thoughts your way for this difficult season.
Thank you so much.
Having lost a family member, especially a child, as you say a loved one, makes celebrating muted….as with a quiet meal. And then visiting her grave with flowers, so meaningful on Christmas. My heart goes with you. I think the winter theme of “cold and ice” comes from the North winds that blow down over Anatolia where St. Nicholas lived on the Turkish seashore in the 4th century. Storms rise up from the Taurus Mts. and blow like tornados in a SW direction over the plains. Nicholas and his brother lost their parents in a pandemic of some sort when he was 12. He was adopted by his uncle, a bishop, and his brother by another uncle, who became mayor of the coastal town. Nicholas became bishop after his uncle passed on and helped all the local families in need. One man asked for a dowry for his unwed daughter, so Nicholas told him to leave their house trap door, also a chimney, open on Christmas Eve. And to hang his daughter’s stockings over the fire embers to dry….into which St. Nicholas quietly before dawn dropped gold coins.
As a child I was regularly sent to spend winter breaks with a devout Russian Orthodox family. It was early 1980s in the Soviet Union. I have memories of everything being complicated. For example, because of the church calendar difference Christmas comes after the New Year. It means that the Nativity Fast lasts through a major and beloved secular holiday. So no kids’ parties (lots of them in school and in the city), no festive food, no gifts on the New Year, but also you have to keep it a secret and practically lie about celebrations (lack of them), because church going was extremely ill approved and could bear substantial consequences if someone decided to report it to the authorities. Christmas Eve fasting is strict, and church service is long and runs very late for young children, so they returned home exhausted and drained. And the morning of the feast called for a another church service. Only after that we were allowed to see the presents and eat something substantial. In the end I don’t have a single bright or pleasant memory from quite a few Christmas seasons.
Wow. Thanks! I hope itt’s better now!
Covid hermit lifestyle: CHL – 2! We stopped having mass in the Newman parking lot last month, all indoor worship again, but masks and distanced still. So services are guaranteed, you don’t have to bring up the weather in one box, while you check mass times. It can snow! Plus we have YouTube live of one mass. People can zoom in from the kitchen table or from a picnic table, or (as if miraculously) actually attend the real live event. Some of the lyrical music is even written here in Chapel Hill by our music director @. youtube.com/c/newmancommunity and look for live, or the recording is about 45 or 50 minutes. I even saw a comment once from a friend watching from Atlanta! The feeling of expectation of the “birth of the Divine Child” once again is my favorite season all year, the color blue, light fasting, wreaths, candles and tales of a new generation divinely beginning. Originally in England, the old winter solstice (12/25, now 12/21) was “Midwife – Grandmother’s Day.” A woman’s day, but for all to feast, enjoying table before food supplies ran low.
Kathleen M. You bring up something that resonates with me about women… forgive me if I don’t know which gospel offhand (does this blog have virtual flagellation?) but the 4th Sunday readings this year focused on Mary at our church. Now I know that Mary is not a favorite of all Protestant Christians, but for 2000 years a humble girl has been a hero. Sine qua non of the Christmas story. As a girl growing up in a much more gender=biased society than today, Mary, and female saints gave me encouragement that I could be a fully capable human/spiritual being. At the time, the outside world, not so much! For those to whom both the concept of Mary and alcohol is OK, let’s life a glass to Mary at this season!
I love the story of the Grinch except at the end of the movie he changes his colors. I am the grinchiest of grinches. I’ve been pressured to buy thoughtful gifts all my life to celebrate a made-up birthday date for a religion I don’t believe in. When January finally rolls around I am always so relieved.
I can’t wait for it to be over since it’s a phony Holiday. All the religious mumblings leading up to Christmas are a waste of time. Hey preacher, when do we get a 6 week course on the Historic Jesus? Can’t wait for January 1…
It used to be terrific for all the reasons you mentioned (except you forgot “A Charlie Brown Christmas!”) But now, since the kids, grandkids, and now great-grandkids either eschewed the religious aspect or are not exposed to it, the only “meaning” is “stuff, stuff, and more stuff.” So, what I used to look forward to right after Thanksgiving I now dread.
Bart
I have enjoyed buying your many books and reading them. This Christmas I am publishing a book in Spanish (Mexico): the Origins of Christianity, abailable in Amazon.com. Your book How Jesus Became God, inspierd me to write my book for sapnish speaking people. I don´t know if I will end on a burning stick with my books as a fuel, Mexico society is very religious. But seems that my friends and the open new minded society are interested in it. And this is a good time to read, isn´t it. hope you will come to México one day, I will be introducing my book to an auditorim on February. Keep on!!
Fantastic! Good luck with it!
UPs, the Spanish title of my book is “Orígenes del Cristianismo” it is not an engish title (Origins of Cristianity). just to clear out.
I’ve got to admit, now that the basis for understanding & relying upon the biblical record – especially the gospels – has been overhauled in my mind via Prof Ehrman’s work I can only see Christmas as a cultural artefact. It’s not malicious or mendacious, it surely is laced with constructive sentiments & a call to beneficial action. BUT once the Bible changed (for me) then that changed everything. And hearing from Prof Ehrman just how much of this scholarship has been known by so many & for so long I feel so profoundly disappointed (even hoodwinked?) by the organised church.
I’m sure there IS a baby in there somewhere but I’m only too happy to throw out all the church-bathwater that has been getting in the way. Sure – have a happy Christmas but have the courage to focus on things that matter most for the flourishing life with all you meet 365 days a year.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve really come to enjoy Tim Minchin’s sentimental and aggressively secular Christmas song, “White Wine in the Sun.” It leans heavily into the idea that spending time with family at this time of year is a pleasant experience, and for me, that’s been true. For those who don’t share that experience, you may not have the same reaction to the song.
Thankyou for that reminder – another vote from me re the words, wisdom & music of Tim Minchin!
More ups from me for the wisdom and – especially – courage, of Tim Minchin.
I’ve always despised Christmas even when I was a Christian, especially working in retail as both an employee and business owner. The pressure brings out the worst in people. I especially disliked the competition between mother and mother in law over who we visited on December 25th, not the 24 or 26th!
Jesus, as a Jew, would have celebrated Hanukkah, right? But surely it wasn’t done the way Jewish people do now, with the dreidels and gifts, would it be? How was Hanukkah observed back then? Would Jesus light a menorah?
I’m not sure it was widely celebrated then; it certainly comes to be discussed hundreds of years later in the Talmud. But maybe I”m wrong.
Christmas was usually a dismal day of visiting people and gross overeating until 4 years ago. I was able to assist my oldest daughter deliver my first Grandson on that morning! Now …….it has become a day full of joy for me! No overeating required, and I can spend my day being a grandpa to an energetic boy!
I’ve loved Christmas since childhood (I’m now 60). Lights, family, good food, Christmas Mass (grew up Catholic). My parents divorced when I was in college, and since then, we’ve all quit the gift-giving. We just get together for each other’s company. Thank goodness we don’t have the stress of shopping/buying/returning gifts — I worked at a department store in high school and college, and the madness back then has put me off shopping malls permanently! 🙂
Learning that my parents were Santa, realizing that a virgin birth is not possible, etc. etc. never really put me off. However, I read the book “Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul” in my early 20s and consider myself more of a New Ager (for what that’s worth!) than a Christian.
Still love the lights, the family time — we studiously avoid politics and Covid-19 discussions, ha-ha — and the music, but don’t care for the commercialization that begins before Halloween. And I go to Midnight Mass when I can find a church that actually celebrates that Mass at midnight instead of 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve!
Happy Holidays, everyone, and Happy New Year!
My happy memories of Christmas are from when my two children were growing up. It was quite traditional and had all the aspects of a lovely holiday. Decorations, cutting down the tree, singing, anticipation, holiday gatherings, family together, etc. Perhaps it would be the same if my grandchildren were local, but today I mostly see the downside of Christmas. I’m happy when it’s over.
Christmas Eve as a day has been painful for me at least 15 years. Even two major deaths in the family didn’t change the family’s annual Christmas traditions. We still had to make food, sing around the tree and open presents and go to church… even though our hearts had been ripped from our chests. With my attendance at Christmas Eve being sporadic already, It didn’t take much to call it quits after Christmas 2017. (Try singing and crying at the same time.) My husband and I left with unopened presents… and didn’t return.
Now even with those wounds healed… there is definitely no way I can return… I am agnostic and the narrative that my family still embraces is a ancient myth to me. How can I be with them now? So much loss… And they don’t even know about the most painful loss.. Jesus. Sorry Mom… that’s one birthday party I can’t be at any more.
Christmas for me is a month long season now. More time to hang out with people, to eat, enjoy the festivities, listen to music and embrace some joy.
The Christmas narrative in the Bible is a great story. Beautiful hymns and carols have been composed about it. Fun traditions and beautiful light displays have become part of the celebration. Don’t concentrate too much on the theology. Just let it all flow and enjoy it.