This month’s Synchroblog is of course apropos for the season and is themed “Redeeming the Season.” While this leaves the topics wide open to addressing everything from Christmas consumerism to debating how to appropriately remember the Solstice, it prompted me to ask “honestly, what’s so bad about Christmas?” (or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever).
Sure I can (and have here) listed my complaints against Christmas, but what I’m referring to today is why people are so adamant on only acknowledging the holiday they happen to celebrate to the exclusion of all others. I’m talking about those who freak out of people say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Or the people who bring lawsuits against schools or workplaces for putting up “Christmas” lights. The message they send is – “I don’t care that we live in a pluralistic world, I insist that the universe revolves around me and my preferences, I don’t even want to be reminded that people different than me even exist.”
Examples. When I was in high school my December final exam one year for my dance class was to choreograph a dance to music of my choosing. I choose a purely instrumental piece that had the term “Messiah” in it. A Jewish friend saw my tape with that title and complained to the teacher that her religion was violated if she had to listen to “Christian” music during my performance. Or a few years ago when I was a substitute teacher I was in charge of a 3rd grade class on the last day before Winter break. Of course the kids did nothing constructive all day, just games and craft projects. At one point I passed out pictures of a wintery scene with a horse drawn sleigh on them for the kids to color. A Muslim girl in the class refused to participate and complained that I was forcing her to celebrate Christmas by coloring that picture. This was after I had sat with her through lunch and recess while the other kids ate and played and talked with her about Ramadan (which she was observing).
This is a season of holidays. And if we truly want to redeem it so to speak, it seems like we need to get over ourselves. Our particular pet holiday, although deeply meaningful to us personally, is just one among many. To insist that others acknowledge our holiday or to barricade ourselves from exposure to other holidays is just plain selfish. Instead of trying to fight expression of any and all holidays because ours can’t be primary, lets work to allow equal promotion for all. I always liked Austin’s Trail of Lights each December in Zilker Park. It was a holiday celebration that allowed displays from whatever group wanted to set up a display. So there were of course Christmas displays (both secular and sacred), Hanukkah displays, Solstice displays, and even one set up to acknowledge the Greek Pantheon. It was fun and festive, and worked off of mutual respect instead of faked collective ignorance as to the existence of the entire season.
So let’s redeem the season by letting it be what it is – a season of holidays. Let’s acknowledge that other people deserve respect and don’t have to be exactly like us. And maybe we could all end up having a bit more fun with more reasons to celebrate and less excuses to fight. Maybe.
For other contributions to this Synchroblog check out –
Recapturing the Spirit of Christmas at Adam Gonnerman’s Igneous Quill
Swords into Plowshares at Sonja Andrew’s Calacirian
Fanning the Flickering Flame of Advent at Paul Walker’s Out of the Cocoon
Lainie Petersen at Headspace
Sam Norton at Elizaphanian
Brian Riley at at Charis Shalom
Secularizing Christmas at JohnSmulo.com
There’s Something About Mary at Hello Said Jenelle
Geocentric Versus Anthropocentric Holydays at Phil Wyman’s Square No More
Celebrating Christmas in a Pluralistic Society at Erin Word’s Decompressing Faith
Redeeming the season — season of redemption by Steve Hayes
Remembering the Incarnation at Alan Knox’ The Assembling of the Church
The Obligation of Christmas at JonathanBrink.com
A Biblical Response to a Secular Christmas by Glenn Ansley’s Bad Theology
Happy Life Day at The Agent B Files