Little or nothing in this world surpasses the dumb ignorance contained in the contention of a ‘war on Christmas’. The notion of arming teachers in schools is close, but this is dumber. A nation blowing its oil reserves on Christmas lights, in which Christmas movies take over the airwaves, in which half the people walking towards you on the street are wearing a crucifix and 90 percent of the rest have one at home, is hardly under attack. That a simple ‘Happy Holidays’ recognizing those who happen to have a different faith puts some individuals right out of their water only suggests a deep-rooted insecurity.
To be clear, December 25 is the date in which we celebrate Christ’s birth. Biblical scholars, however, pretty much agree it was more likely to have occurred in March, as based on scripture, primarily from the book of Luke. This created a marketing problem – yes, a ‘marketing problem’ is exactly what to call it – for leaders of the early Christian church who were trying to mold it into an institutionalized religion. First, March-ish is also the time for recognizing the RE-birth of Christ – Easter. Second, celebrations surrounding the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere were preeminent – every culture celebrated the time the Sun began moving north again. It was like Carnival time in the Caribbean. For Christianity to be taken seriously it had to have a winter solstice celebration too. Hence, Christmas, and for the true believers, nothing else existed. So, I guess I can understand that for some a mere hint that something else legitimate exists might be threatening. But it’s stupid. Perhaps even psychotic.
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Curtis HendricksAll my life I have had to learn to do things differently. To see the world differently. Archives
December 2020
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