Stealing Christmas (from Christ) Part 2
Or: Christless Christmas Begins
Christmas is no longer (exclusively) a Christian holiday. There I’ve said it. The elephant in the room has a name tag. This is an obvious observation; one that any of us could verify at any time, in any mall in the western world.
There exists a completely separate secular Christmas and it’s popular, I mean really popular. Every year, the Santa worshipers increase their lead over team virgin birthday. This majority is quiet, filled with people either unaware or unwilling to admit their own allegiance.
Take a moment to think about your Christmas; is it more Kringle or Christ? Look around your home and take inventory of your Santas and your snowmen. How many baby Jesus decorations did you find? One? In your nativity scene, right?
Christmas was once based on Christ but many of us don’t celebrate that Christmas anymore. We pretend it isn’t true. We trim our trees and sing our songs and light candles on Christmas Eve yet we always feel like we’re crashing the party. We‘ve been raised to believe that Christmas is for Christians; but why? Who says so?
I want Christmas too!
I love Christmas. It’s my favorite time each year. I love the lights, I love finding the perfect tree, I love listening to Christmas carols and eating my Mother’s peanut butter fudge[i]. I savor the merriness that arises in people for those few precious weeks after Thanksgiving. People become almost tolerable.
Christmas reflects my childhood and rekindles in me the last handful of traditions I’ve maintained. I clutch them tightly. Every December my eyes grow wide looking at lights. I listen to Frank Sinatra and Vince Guaraldia, Nat King Cole and Burl Ives. I spend fifteen minutes testing branches for an ornament I’ve had over twenty years. In a mind as muddled as mine these memories are important. Christmas is important. Christmas means something to me…
But,
I am not a Christian. I played the role for many years[ii] , but it never agreed with me. I do know a lot about the baby Jesus and his virgin birth; his manger and his wise men, his kings and especially his giant star.
I went to high school in
So where does that leave me?
I am not a Christian and I love Christmas.
I am not a Christian and I love Christmas. It feels good to say that.
I feel less like a mouse stealing Christmas crumbs.
Raise your hands. Are there others like me? Are you on your tippie-toes in the back of the room, trying desperately to join in all the reindeer games? Has your enjoyment of Christmas been hampered by your lack of Christ?
No more! Let the Christians keep their Christmas (as if they need my permission). This year I’m proclaiming my own, Christless Christmas.
A non Christian Christmas; the oxymoron is delightful.
There isn’t much to change. I mean what the hell do reindeer, elves and snowmen have to do with the birth of the Messiah anyway? Christless Christmas is already here. All I have to do is advertise!
This year, if you are not a Christian and you love Christmas; stand proud! Enjoy your Christmas. Celebrate what it means to you. This year, stop feeling like an intruder in your own traditions. Hang your stockings, bake your cookies and wish everyone you know a Merry Christless Christmas!
[i] I’m fat, just in case you didn’t read Stealing Christmas (from Christ) part 1
[ii] I attended Sunday school for years as a child, I even sang in a church choir. This was followed by four years in a Catholic high school and eleven years of collegiate philosophy classes such as Comparative/ world religions and Philosophy of Religion.
[iii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem,_Pennsylvania#Christmas_star
I grew up near you! (Bethlehem, PA...one of my aunts lived there)
ReplyDeleteAnd I grew up with a scattered religious background. A gigantic Catholic family, but most of the adults my mom's age had left the church (rebelling from a strict Catholic school upbringing). So I went to all kinds of churches, either with family or friends.
I'm glad you wrote this.
I feel like I am a Christ-less Christian.
I would like to subscribe to the wonderful qualities of any religion!
With age I am more tolerant of religious folks, and less offended by...well anything!
I just decided to have my own religion, somewhere in my 20s. If I had to lable it with words, which I'd rather not do, my religion would translate loosely as SMILE-PI. Smile...pi is universal. Smiles are global. Pie is yummy.
Pie is indeed yummy. No argument here. Merry Christless Christmas!
ReplyDeleteA very very good blog entry. I do find it odd that people celebrate lil' baby Jesus birth on Dec, 25th even though he was born in the Spring. Or how talking heads say there is a War on Christmas, when it is nothing more than a Pagan holiday washed over by Christians traditions and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteLike you I equate Christmas to memories of growing up in NJ. Watching the snow fall, waiting to see if school would get cancelled, great food, the lights and decorations and music being blared by all the stores in the cities. However, over the years the true meaning of Christmas has been lumped in together with "commericialism" (which I have taken advantage sometimes). It seems stores keep pushing back when we celebrate Christmas. I swear to you next year that next to the Halloween decoration you are going to see Christmas decorations.
Sorry for the ramble. :)
I thought 'Christ' was taken out of Christmas and now its just Xmas. And, thinking back to my algebra days, I think 'X' can be...anything. Right?
ReplyDeleteI won't go on a rant about how Christmas is now a commercial holiday and well, if it weren't for the presents and time off, how much fun would it really be, right?! Come on... to kids Christmas is better than birthdays, there will be friends & relatives that forget your birthday, but everyone knows when its Christmas time. I actually feel sorry for the kids that have their birthday around Xmas b/c they got jipped with only 1 present.
Anyhow, getting back to Xmas. Maybe its just more politically correct to take out Christ from Christmas, I mean - are we still allowed to say 'Merry Christmas' or has 'Happy Holidays' offended a group already?? Pretty soon there may be a day when you just don't wish strangers a Happy or Merry anything, I mean, unless you've friended them already on facebook. I wonder how many e-cards are sent out this year instead of real greeting cards. I wonder how many Merry Xmas & Happy Holiday texts are sent out to friends who live in the same city, or if you're really close friends then you better write on their wall!
So heres to the 21st century way of celebrating Xmas, where we would probably be afraid of opening the door to a the neighborhood carolers, because, well, I don't know anyone in my neighborhood. Heres to the spirit of Xmas, where we need to evaluate what our relatives gave us last year to what they'll be getting (or not getting) this year. Heres to no Xmas trees or decorations in the workplace because we'd rather be neutral and not say offensive words out loud like 'Merry' and 'Christ'...
So Kevin, I'll gladly be joining you in the Christless Christmas you speak of. Just a month later when all of this has died down... Oh, one more thing. This blog counts as my Merry Xmas wish to all of you, so don't expect a text message from me or anything.
Cheers,
Sonny
Greg, they already put the Christmas decorations out next to the Halloween ones. I saw it at Target this year. Damn capitalists!
ReplyDeleteSonny- I agree political correctness and computers have effectively ruined genuine human interaction. I laughed out loud multiple times reading your post (literally, not in the LOL way you're used to.)
I think for some reason humans are predisposed to celebrate at this time of year. Perhaps it's because it's cold and dreary in some places(I'm told) or maybe it's just an excuse to get drunk. But it seems most civilizations and most major religions have some form of celebration at this time of year.
So get drunk and Merry fucking Christless Xmas to you.
Maybe as the years progress. We will all just friend Santa on Facebook and he'll just send us a virtual gift. Or we will track his progress on Christmas night via Twitter.
ReplyDeleteGreg- you can already do that. Check this out. very funny stuff.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/loadedsanta
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ReplyDeleteI say let the Christians keep Easter and leave X-mas for the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteAs was already mentioned, the political "Christian Church" as it were, already hi-jacked the Winter Solstice a long time ago and made it their Christmas. I'm a life long Christian who has had more than their share of listening to the half-truths the Church teaches, Sunday to Sunday (yet another bogus day of worship) and for me Christmas is more about the family and fellowship then it has to do with Christ. To clarify, I believe with all my heart that Christ is real and I believe that he is who he said he was; but it is fact that December 25th has nothing at all to do with Christ actual birthdate as was mentioned by another blogger.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I do enjoy the celebration or memorance of Christ birth and I like sharing that experience with my family, just like when I was young. I also enjoy the tales of Santa Clause and all the same Christmas music and lights that everyone else enjoys. I do get iritated when Christians use the slogan "the real reason for the season"...it is this type of ignorance as to why I find it hard to call myself a Christian. Nobody bothers to ask "why?" about anything the Church does or celebrates...that's why we have 100's if not 1000's of denominations believing whatever exerts from the Bible that they wish.
Based solely on what Christ taught us, if Christmas can serve as edifying and uplifting purpose to help others, then I see no problem with it being celebrated, but I would hope that the "Church" would be open about the truth of the holiday and where it came from.
Nice Beers. Sorry I'm a little late, but I had to get through the holidays first. I'm not a christian and I celebrate Kronica. Kampai!
ReplyDelete