A Washington Post Editorial called The
Christmas story, still captivating the world, published: December 24 stirred up some
discussion about the contemporary meaning of the holiday. They contrasted the story in radio “DAYS of old (1947 to 1956, to be exact)” as they called it when
the narratives were mainly:
“from
the Bible, mostly from the life of Jesus, presented with the urgent energy of
radio drama and the sort of background music, spirited dialogue and sound
effects that made it a good deal more compelling than Sunday school. It was
widely popular for a time
This pop-up style they
contrasted with a more enduring story of generosity, the need for shelter, the
feeling of home and a new start to things (throw in New Year’s). This universal
appeal:
“ is a tale with universal appeal extending
beyond any one faith or doctrine, a story of love and triumph over adversity
and also of humility, of the good lay in
their warmth, humanity and simplicity, …….an enduring reflection of both the
“comfort and joy” of the carol and also of the spirit expressed in a seasonal exhortation last week from
Pope Francis: “Let us act so that our brothers and sisters never feel alone.”
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Yes, it seems as Alistair Cooke noted, "Washington's birthday is as close to a
secular Christmas as any Christian country dare come this side of
blasphemy."
There
were numerous responses to this more secular, humanist slant to the season. The
following from FL-Chet
represents a meme of a more traditional,
Christian view of the season.
The Christmas story without his claim that he
was fully God while being fully man is like Christmas dinner without the main
course. Yes, we can nibble around the table of the Christmas story and learn
from these truths. But to ignore his claims to be God come down to rescue us
leaves our hearts and lives wanting, and needing more.
Put
me on the side of the universal Humanist appeal of the season. Long
before there was Christianity we had people celebrating the winter solstice - the
shortest day and longest night of the year which falls (in the Northern hemisphere)
on December 21 or December 22. The
harvest is in but some plants & trees remain green thru winter and thus had a
special meaning for people in dark, cold times. Today homes in Western culture are
decorated with pine, spruce, and fir trees. In ancient times peoples also hung
evergreen boughs over their doors and windows (to keep away witches, evil
spirits, and illness after all the sun-god gets weak in winter) but this
seems mostly buried by the later Christmas story meme.
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I say let’s keep the non-spiritual side of the season alive with growing Humanist memes about kindness and sharing along with traditions like HumanLight and song. For the latter I like Vienna Teng’s The Atheist Christmas Carol. It is by no means an atheist song, but rather a Humanist one as is Ode to Joy with its inspired message that 'all men shall be brothers'.
.
As
to seasonal wishes there are many that I like. One builds on Mary Ellen Chase’s idea, beyond
shopping malls and temples the winter celebration, people, is not a calendar date.
It is a state of mind and one in which children can be grateful to parents who
fill stockings and a natural sun that stays a minute or so longer each day.
"Keeping
a holiday spirit is good, but sharing it is better."
after-- Arnold Glasow
after-- Arnold Glasow
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