Christmas h4t30rz

Slashdot geeks really bug me. Every December on Slashdot there erupt, like clockwork, a bunch of discussions about Christmas and dozens if not hundreds of flames claiming it's "not a real holiday" or "has nothing to do with Christ." See today's poll discussion, for instance.

This is insane. First of all, it is most certainly not the case that Christians are just celebrating Yule, or Jul, or Saturnalia or the Winter Solstice. I mean, it's a little weird that we sing carols like "Deck the Halls" which mentions Yule three times and Christmas not at all, and that we use the word "Yuletide" as if it were synonymous with Christmas. But did (or do) the pagan observers of the solstice sing songs about the Little Town of Bethlehem or the Herald Angels Singing or the "holy Infant so tender and mild"? Did they put nativity scenes out on their front lawns? Did they go to church services to read from Scripture about the prophecy of the Messiah and the story of the Nativity, to hear sermons about the meaning of the birth of Christ and to receive Holy Communion? No, they did not. And all the lamented commercialization notwithstanding, there are millions of Christians who do just those things every year. Don't try to tell me it's the same holiday.

Christianity is all about intent and how you see things anyway. This is inherent in the modern Evangelical view that no matter how righteous your life is, unless you do everything in Jesus' name you are damned, but it shows up in less perverse places as well. Most Christians probably do not literally believe that bread and wine are physically transformed into flesh and blood when they are consecrated for Communion (after all, they still taste the same afterward...); it's the symbolism that counts. To this way of thinking, the fact that Christians observe December 25th in Jesus' name makes all the difference in the world.

Additionally, I remember being taught that Christmas is celebrated in late December because the birth of Christ represents the return of God's light to a world darkened by sin. Note that the 25th is after the solstice, consistent with this interpretation. I do not deny anything anyone says about the historical origin of the holiday, but repeat that for Christians observing it in modern times it is the intent that matters.

As a final note on the subject, it makes me a little sick when people accuse one religious, ethnic or cultural group of "stealing" or "co-opting" or "corrupting" the traditions of another. This proprietary attitude is completely at odds with living peacefully in a melting pot.

A second point is the laments over the commercialization of Christmas. I am of two minds on this subject. First of all, there is nothing wrong with manufacturers and retailers of Christmas-related stuff and gift items trying to convince the public to buy things. That's what businesses do. Second, the exchanging of presents can easily be reconciled with the religious meaning of Christmas: after all, it's the holiday when we celebrate God giving the world the greatest gift of all. Christmas is a traditional season for charity (conveniently, it's also the end of the tax year, when people go to Goodwill to unload all the old junk they can). The Santa Claus legend is derived at least partially from that of St. Nicholas, a bishop who is supposed to have been very generous to poor families. The tradition of giving people things, even at some personal cost, is perfectly in line with celebrating the birth of Christ.

On the other hand, some of the consequences of this are unfortunate: there seems to be an obsession with giving everyone in one's life a present of some kind, resulting in the exchange of a lot of cheap, pointless and (worst of all) Christmas-themed items that are not really enjoyed by the recipients. Children who expect to be lavished with gifts become greedy little brats around Christmas. And there's only so many times you can hear "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock" at your local shopping mall before you start to want out of the whole thing.