This Means War?

This time of year should be such a joyous time for everyone. Between the spiritual and religious significance, the honored traditions, and the child-like joy of the holidays, it’s a time when the hearts of everyone are lighter.

However, over the last number of years there has been a spirit of cynicism and vitriol that would make Scrooge or the Grinch cringe. I am referencing the War on Xmas (spelling intentional). I don’t mean the alleged secularization or assault on the holiday that many on the far right bring up each year. I mean those very right-wing rabble-rousers themselves. They are the ones who are taking all the fun and yes, all of the meaning out of Christmas.

Let’s start with the Xmas spelling. “You are attempting to take Christ out of Christmas!” is the all-too common cry. Not so fast! The Xmas spelling dates back to the 16th century in English and comes from the Greek Chi Rho symbol, which is an ancient Christian symbol.

But of course, the whole kerfuffle goes beyond symbology. The hue and cry—mostly from the Religious Right—tries to take ownership and authority over the biggest holiday in America. (The proof of this claim, for any who would argue otherwise, is quite simple: no other holiday sees the massive closings of business that Xmas does. As always, follow the money.) Anyway, the great cry goes up that we evil liberals are “destroying a traditional, scriptural, sacred holiday”!

Oy . . . First of all, most of the traditions of Xmas are quite modern, some dating back only to the 1950s. So there’s nothing ancient about it. And as far as scriptural goes, there is no mention in the Bible about celebrating Jesus’ birth. Of course, there are lots of traditions not mentioned in the Bible. Doesn’t make them wrong by any means, but let’s not be disingenuous about it.

As many have probably heard, it’s very unlikely that Jesus was born anywhere around December 25 anyway. Again, it’s not specifically recorded, but the general consensus is that it was probably in the spring, based on the whole census issue and the shepherds in the fields with their flocks, among other indicators. The movement of the date to December was likely to appease the pagans who celebrated Yule or other solstice festivals. And I for one am fine with that! Don’t you think God loves the idea of having more people at the party? Jesus told parables about that very thing!

So bring on the mistletoe, the evergreen tree, and Santa. War on Xmas? Bah, humbug!