WHY CHRISTMAS IN DECEMBER?

                                                   WINTER SOLSTICE MESSAGE  2013
    I was planning to write a new WINTER SOLSTICE essay for 2013 but have decided to reissue my piece from 2009.  I made the decision based on the illusion (perhaps delusion) that if people but knew history and  facts about how things came to be, they would not continue to hold beliefs that are contrary to fact.  I made this decision in spite of Jonothan Swift’s admonition that “It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.”
    From the postings on Facebook it seems some Christians are still concerned about somebody trying to take Christ out of Christmas.  I don’t know why they are so threatened.  As far as I know, every Christian family, every Christian Church, every Christian organization, and every Christian individual is still free to celebrate Christmas as they wish.  The only restriction – if it is a restriction – is that Christians as well as any other religious group – may not usurp that which is PUBLIC for their private religious purpose. 
    Well, if you are interested in my thoughts, and I don’t know why you should be, I offer the following from 2009:

                                                       THE WINTER SOLSTICE, 2009

      December 21st is the winter solstice, one of the most significant days in the year. Why? Astronomically, it is the point when the sun seems to start back in the opposite direction. If you have noticed, since about June 21 days have been getting shorter and nights longer, so that on December 21 the shortest day, and, hence, the longest night, of the year occurs.  For us in the moderate climes (latitudes) it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but if you lived at the North Pole (or the South Pole) your days and nights would be exceedingly long. Metaphorically, human cultures have developed religious and symbolic explanations and ritual celebrations in conjunction with the ebb and flow of the seasons, especially in relation to the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. For example, Eskimo culture, experiencing long periods of darkness, developed the following metaphoric explanation: once upon a time, the evil king stole the sun from the sky and put it in a box in his palace. Through divine intervention, including the miraculous birth of his grandson, the sun was rescued on December 21 and restored to its rightful place in the sky. The return of the sun was indeed something to celebrate! Other cultures, especially of the far north climes, developed stories and symbols celebrating the sun’s return: a rotund man dressed in red (the sun) bringing gifts (light); evergreen trees indicating that life persists, even in the midst of darkness; wreaths, evergreen circles symbolizing the continuous cycle of the seasons and the unending persistence of life. The December celebration in the Roman Empire in the first century was called the “Saturnalia,” in honor of the god Saturn and marked the return of the “Golden Age.” The celebration lasted for seven days and was a time of feasting and gift-giving. The genius of the early Christian church was that it had the capacity to incorporate existing pre-Christian rituals and celebrations into its own annual calendar by giving those celebrations Christian content and meaning. By celebrating the birth of Christ in late December – scholars agree that this was not the actual time of his birth – the early church was greatly assisted in its efforts to convert non-Christians to its faith. The Santa Claus figure was incorporated into Christmas celebrations through a mingling of both Christian and non-Christian sources. Santa Claus, a rotund (round) figure all dressed in red (the sun) who came from the North Pole (arctic darkness), bringing gifts (light) slowly became a central metaphorical symbol associated with an historic figure from the fourth century, Saint Nicholas’ (in Holland, Sinter Klaas) death was celebrated in early December and was marked by feasting and gift-giving. Parents would encourage “proper” behavior in their children by telling them that if they were “good,” St. Nicholas would bring them gifts. Our celebrations of Christmas, thus, derive from many cultures and many sources, all ultimately related to the winter solstice. For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the coming of the son, God made flesh. For the larger culture, it is a time for feasting, family reunions, and gift-giving. For commercial enterprises it is time for exploiting the generous spirit of the season, thus generating the largest profits of the year. For everyone, it is a time to celebrate the oneness of our common humanity on planet Earth, 93 million miles from the sun and tilted at 23.5 degrees. So, in the spirit of generosity and tolerance, let me wish you a season, however you celebrate it, of joy, happiness, and above all, LIGHT (both literally and figuratively)!