I don't think I am being a scrooge when I say I am totally inclined to agree with
this recent post by Penelope Trunk. I would be much
obligedhappier if non-Christians
were no longer being pressured into (EDIT:17.35) celebrating Christmas. Frankly, as a Christian, I'm coming to the realization that it's being pushed down other peoples' throats and it is absolutely abhorrent to me. Frankly I think non-Christians would enjoy having that heavy burden lifted off their shoulders; Jews would be able to push Chanukah back down as the less-significant holiday that it actually is,
Kwanzaa could finally die the death its deserved, and more people (including Christians!) could keep money in their pockets at the end of the year.
I think returning Christmas to its rightful place would be the Jesus-y thing to do and if people want some sort of non-denominational winter festival to spend time with family they could go on ahead and lobby for it (though in America, isnt Thanksgiving e-frikkin-nough?). While I don't think any of this will happen any time soon, I think it's good to get the idea circulating.
None of this has anything to do with Christmas...
Comments
My husband and son both get the week off. I think we're celebrating that. I believe in giving gifts to people with whom you are trapped in a house for seven days, but mainly I think of the gifts as "starting the New Year right" more than Christmas gifts. And I like some of the solstice aspects (candles, lights, a tree in the house, the smell of good things baking). It took a long time for me to like parts of the holiday without being overwhelmed by hating on the commercialism or feeling like I was poaching a Christian holiday, perpetuating a tradition of holiday poaching. It took thinking, "I like this tradition, I'm going to do this; I don't like that tradition, I'm going to skip it"-- and realizing that it was possible. I think the pressure on people (particularly in the US) to celebrate a holiday that they feel dubious or even resentful about is only going to let up when they stop letting it affect them into giving in to that pressure.
The thing I don't love is the hypocrisy of it, which I think you're saying the same thing maybe - that, at the same time Christian groups wage this war saying TAKE BACK CHRISTMAS IT'S A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY, they're also the ones running around like maniacs trying to find the year's hottest gift and caught up in the commercialism of it. If these same Christian groups really wanted to make a point, they'd speak with their wallets, not on FOX news.
However I would wager to say that most of what you want out of your face are things like the photo I posted above. Christmas is basically just a mass service to celebrate the birth of Christ (whatever day it was) so unless you walked into a church it wouldn't be in your face anyway, what IS in your face is the commercial cooptation of the mostly pagan hybrid and, frankly, we'd all do well to be rid of it...especially those of you who have to go to work and the resulting office holiday affairs (yeesh, I just got a cold chill).
the heads of the catholic church declared it "christmas" to duel with pagans in the early days. they decided that christ was "the light of the world" so they took over the festival of light. it's never really been all about christ!!
in the end, no matter what we want to call it or how we want to celebrate, we're all just keeping each other warm through the shortest, darkest days.
My family has always focused on New Year's more. We decorate our tree on Christmas Eve because it's tradition, and bake 'potica' because it's tradition - it's more about doing things that belong to our heritage (regardless of the religious meaning behind them). What puzzles me is the people who consider themselves Christian but only see to do extremely consumerist things. I know very few Christians who celebrate Christmas the way I think it should be celebrated.
Maybe I'd have a different opinion on all this if I had a different religion and couldn't get days off on the festive days of that religion - being an atheist I just wish those who claim to believe in it were a little more consistent. Sometimes I watch the midnight Mass service on tv, and I think about the values that Christianity wants to teach with that, and I find it incredibly ironic that while I - an atheist - am thinking about such things, millions or Christians are stuffing themselves and greedily opening gifts they have spent too much money on.
the only thing that bothers me is how crowded movie theaters get on christmas now. when i was a kid we'd be the only people there.
My favorite is when people write "Xmas" and think they are being all subversive, as if using the Greek Chi as an abbreviation were brand spankin' new.
But anyway, I do feel like there is a near-universal human need to have some kind of festival during the shortest days. My favorite Yuletide† customs are downright pagan! But what bothers me the most (more than calling Advent the "Christmas season," which is saying a lot) is the abject consumerism tied inexplicably with the Incarnation of the one who brought "good news for the poor." This pretty much sums it all up for me.
†maybe everyone should just say this?
Thanks for linking to that letter. It was great. I'm glad people (especially American Christians, who can sometimes be the absolute worse) are seeing the light!
I must admit... I'm a non-observant Jew, and I loooooove Christmas. I love the music, I love the trees, the lights... I love santa, seeing my family, the "spirit", etc. My boyfriend is an observant Christian and he is generally with me on treating Christmas secularly, or at least has reached that conclusion/compromise with regards to our future together (not that I'm not open minded about Christianity and raising my kids with it-- but it's just not my background). That said, I certainly don't want to offend anyone by doing so, and I'm glad you wrote about feeling that way because I hadn't really considered it from that perspective.
I do agree that you could subsitute "Winter Solstice", but in language we have a million names for things that are totally outdated, and I don't think people --even the non-religious people-- would want to sever the historical roots of this now totally commercial, secular celebration.
As for the winter solstice comment, I am not saying people SHOULD say winter solstice, rather I am saying that most of the concepts people associate with Christmas have nothing to do with Christ's birth, and so the word and concept are just being zapped of any meaning.
not that it is very new, but it does seem to be put out by Christians, as opposed to anti-consumerists. though it's hard exactly to tell-- but I got that impression from a random article I read about it in an airport recently (i.e. not in the NY Times).
Lots of people can lay claim to the festival of light.... but not so many really want to claim plain old Christian Christmas. Nonetheless, my attitude is that if people want to join we Christians in celebrating plain old Christian Christmas then join but no one should be forced. I don't think anyone should be forced to celebrate the winter festival either. It should be kept out of the workplace (save for maybe a few "Winter Days" off)and the consumerism must die. The whole fervor strikes me as painfully oppressive.
xo
j.
Thanks for the befriending. Right back atcha. I also took the liberty of checking out your flickr photos. Some lovely stuff.
Will enjoy reading your blog I think.
let me just high-five you on the anti-materialistic front. It's gotten to the point where I get _angry_ about presents, either sent to me or expected from me. This declaration of familial love that has to have a particular price tag, and if it doesn't, it's not enough love. It couldn't be more chockfull of bulls__t as far as I'm concerned.
As a former Catholic, I think I get where you're coming from, as well.