I don’t remember how old I was when I learned that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. Certainly I was an adult, and most likely I still thought of myself as a Christian. That discovery, though, went a very long way toward unraveling the ties and bonds of my childhood views of religion.
It wasn’t learning the truth about Santa and the chimney that undermined my faith. It was finding the clear hand of man in religious doctrine.
Over many centuries, deft ecclesiastic manipulation of biblical stories, the Solstice, Saturnalia, and ancient pagan traditions created our current mid-winter celebrations — a series of events that are clearly documented.
I know quite a few people who, having rejected the trappings and tales, tossed the baby out with the bathwater. They no longer send cards, or exchange gifts, or decorate their homes. Yet I still celebrate Christmas — an apparent contradiction that confounds (and even angers) my mother.
Unfortunately, there are many people who feel that way. Apparently this holiday season should all be about Jesus — and furthermore, those who do not place him in a manger (mentally or symbolically) are somehow defiling things. Since I was taught that Jesus is essentially synonymous with Love, I find this narrow focus on the tangible extremely frustrating.
Folks… the true spirit of Christmas is love, and the whole point of the exercise is to experience and celebrate it.
The very acts of selfless giving and receiving — whether of gifts, time, or just hugs — create the Joy everyone seeks. One can be Christian, or Jewish, or Humanist, or Buddhist, or Atheist — anything, or even nothing — yet still share this profoundly uplifting and exceedingly human emotional bond.
Superficially, there are a number of differences between how I and my mother — and millions of others — see this season, but there are no spiritual contradictions unless we insist upon them.
It really doesn’t have to be this complicated.
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So funny we were thinking the same thing at the same time. I just came down here to the computer to send a message to someone that means so much to me that I neglect to express how deep my bond and love is. All the people we know are a part of who we are.
Life is to short to miss this opportunity to tell people we love them. We may be gone tomorrow ….
Grace….to you …
I was wondering what photo you had to illustrate your theme. However, sometimes a thousand words (or even a hundred) are worth a picture 🙂
Merry Xmas.
~EdT.
U-Know…. you’re so right. Life’s too short altogether, and opportunities to reach out (or back) have to be taken, or lost forever.
:>
EdT — Merry Christmas to you too! All the joy of the Season! (I’m trying really hard to get into the spirit, but the house is a danged mess!!!) No photo for this one, though. I needed words today…
I love this: “. . . there are no spiritual contradictions unless we insist upon them.” It wasn’t until just a couple years ago that another angle on the “true” meaning of Christmas was explained to me. Christmas is about Emmanuel — God with us. God loved us so much he became human to connect with us, and in Christmas we celebrate that through Jesus’ birth. I do believe that God = Jesus = Love, and we can find God in all places–yes, in the Jesus story, but also in the decorations, the gift giving, the friend and family time and the celebration as a whole. All are welcome. No judgment or finger pointing necessary.
I didn’t mean to get preachy. You just hit home for me!
Thank you