Do You Really Understand Christmas? A Pagan's Perspective.
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One of the things you have to deal with on Facebook are self-righteous Christians who are obviously unaware you are NOT Christian. Ok, I might have been at one time, but not anymore. However, so few people know it, and I'm not ready to come out yet.
Anyway, I have to deal with remarks such as this one today: "Why...people with no connection to Christianity whatsoever...even openly reject Christ...think that Christmas applies to them? Christmas celebrates the coming of Christ, period.
Christmas is the Christian holiday for the birth of Christ. I have no problem with that, and I'm not waste my time to argue that point. But then, the preceding comments really start to naw at me...."You tell them! Without the birth of Christ, there's NO Santa, NO gifts, NO trees, NO lights ect."
Finally, I had enough. I could at least set people straight...if they are going to be so devout in their holiday, they should stop being so ignorant about it. So, I chimed in:
"I'm not sure I agree about the "no trees, no Santa" thing. Those things aren't really connected with Christ, and really, should they be? Winter Solstice (Dec 21) was celebrated around this time way before Christmas was officially declared on Dec 25, four centuries after His birth. Sorry, there are alot of Winter Solstice traditions and background with this holiday (tree, Yule Log, etc) Yes, Christmas is about Christ, but the traditions are mostly Pagan. The more stricter religions even wanted to outlaw Christmas in the early 1700's. http://www.history.com/topics/christmas."
And that's all I said.
What I didn't say there, I'm going to write here: Christians, if you are going to claim this Pagan Holiday for Christ, and complain about how everyone mutilates it for their own purposes, then the righteous thing to do is strip all the Pagan out of it!
No more tree, no more lights, no fun and festivities. Sorry, they are all Pagan activities.Here are a few more interesting facts:
- Dec 25 is probably not the the day Christ was born. In fact, no one is really sure when he was born.
- Dec 25 is the supposed birthday of the Roman God Mithra, an infant god. Hmmmmmmm??
- Santa? His origins are probably a blend of Christian (St. Nicolas) and Pagan (Odin) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus#Saint_Nicholas
Just so you know, my religion isn't going to stop you from celebrating Yule. After all, you stole all our great traditions and made them your own, so you are basically celebrating it anyway.
So, before spouting off about how everyone is bastardizing Christmas, do a little research, and stop pointing fingers. If we have anyone to blame for ruining this holiday, it's our greed and increasing consumerism. How can you justify spending $1000 on toys and junk that no one needs and claim it in Christ's name? How can you act like a bunch of vicious pack animals on Black Friday and sing "Silent Night, Holy Night" with a clear conscience?
If you really want to honor Christmas and everything it stands for, downsize the gifts and give that money to your favorite charity, work at a soup kitchen, or donate your time to a nursing home.
And yes, I practice what I preach. Last year, I gave $50 to the Salvation Army kettle and bought the poor bell lady a big cup of hot chocolate. Then, I bought a few gifts for the elderly gift drive in my area. I also encourage people not to give me gifts, and I mean it...honestly, I have everything I need.
The funny thing is, people scratch their heads and think I'm weird. Really. Sad isn't it? And they say people like me are ruining Christmas.
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ballsy good stuff here...good on you! Love it when someone SHOUTS about what truth's are important to them. And I like a bit of rustling-up the Christmas feathers- (it's getting commercially WAY out of hand)- so we can get things back in perspective again.
Mind you, I love traditional, old fashioned family Christmas'.
I've been reading a few of your hubs, and so far I have liked what I read. This is a good hub, with very accurate information.
I celebrate Christmas out of tradition, mostly an "Americanized" tradition. However, I agree with the gift giving aspect of your hub, there are too many people idolizing this tradition. Plus, it really feels rotten when, in a family, one child gets more, better quality gifts than another sibling.
Great hub, although I am interested to see what your thoughts are on the Christmas tree, (and its pagan roots).
Thank you everyone for your helpful and supportive comments!
Alexander, I think the Tree is a wonderful tradition,and I think it's probably the most Pagan tradition of them all. Pagans now and in the ancient past have always felt a strong connection with nature. It only stands to reason that they would use a tree to be symbolic of that connection, the change of seasons, resurrection, etc. Although, like this website says, http://www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_tree.htm Pagans probably didn't chop down a whole tree, because that was "too destructive". I myself prefer the fake ones, and that's one of the reasons why.
The real irony of Christmas Trees is that Christians get upset when people call them "Holiday" Trees. Guess what...they weren't even an acceptable way of honoring Christmas until the 19th century. Before then, you were considered a heathen if you decorated your house with evergreens and trees! Anyway, check out that link, it goes into a lot more detail.
I LOVE this! There is only one thing I wish you would mention here and that is -- Santa was a real guy. He lived in Russia and would slip money into people's bags...
Shesabutterfly 5 months ago
I may be a Christian, but I think your perspective is spot on. I also try to provide this accurate information to others around me who choose to be ignorant. Which is half of the younger generation who is too familiar with this new Christmas and don't care to educate themselves about what it actually is suppose to mean.