Guest Post by Morbo
It’s Christmas, so there may not be a lot of people visiting blogs today. But if you’ve happened to stop by, the Carpetbagger and I appreciate that. If you celebrate Christmas, we hope you have a merry one. If not, then just have a great day.
Isn’t it nice to have the choice? Some of the earliest European settlers in America, the Puritans, banned celebrating Christmas. Ironically, people who today are very much like the Puritans in many respects, the Religious Right, seek government sponsorship of the holiday.
As we wind up another holiday season replete with claims of a “war on Christmas,” let’s not forget what’s really going on here: Some people believe their religion is better than everyone else’s and certainly better than non-belief. It is their right to believe this, but merely believing it is never enough for these types. Increasingly, they are insisting that public schools, city halls, state governments, courts and other public institutions meant to serve us all adopt and promote symbols and phrases that reflect an understanding of what this holiday means that is held only by some.
And let’s be clear, they look down upon not just those who don’t celebrate Christmas but those who celebrate it in ways that they deem not authentic or serious. Some of us were raised in churches and grew up with Christmas. Although we may be less religious now, we still like aspects of the holiday and see no reason to discard it. Others celebrate it essentially as a secular holiday. Some honor the Pagan features that are still so pronounced in it.
No matter what holiday, if any, we celebrate at this time of year, many can look at the features of the Christmas story and take things of value from it. I have trouble wrapping my head about the idea of an all-powerful God sending his own son (who was an aspect of his own self) as a sacrifice to redeem humankind. But if we strip the story of its more fantastic elements we find at its core a more appealing tale: A tale of a Creator who, much like a watchful parent, loves his progeny so much he will lay down his own life for them.
The Carpetbagger noted on Saturday that the Archbishop of Canterbury pointed out that the story of the Three Wisemen is just a legend. Of course it is. In my view, the entire nativity story is a legend. There’s no historical proof for any of it. So what? It’s still charming, and I told it my children just as I read them the stories of Greek gods.
These tales are interesting, often teach moral lessons and form the canon of Western culture. They do not have to be true to enjoyed, and I feel sorry for the fundamentalists who insist that one must swallow the story of Jesus’ birth literally or it is useless. This is a false choice, one I reject when they thrust it at me. (As a practical matter, this is impossible to do anyway. The Gospels don’t agree on key facts. What we know as the “Christmas story” is a mishmash of elements taken from all four blended together to make an appealing narrative.)
This week, many newspapers reported on an astrophysicist who says he’s discovered what the star in the East really was: an alignment of the planets.
I had to laugh at the man’s silliness. In my view, there was no star. It’s just a story. Claims like this were made all of the time about prominent people in the ancient world. Their births were heralded by comets and other unusual celestial events. It’s an archetype. Rather than try to twist science and history to fit events that probably never happened, why not simply acknowledge that it’s all a story — but that the story has value, power and meaning after many centuries? We can say to ourselves, “That’s amazing. What does it say about us? Does the story have any meaning for me?” We don’t disrespect the story by examining its hold on us and asking why it touches so many people so deeply. There is great value in that very act itself. After all, if a Creator did make us, he gave us intelligence for a reason.
December holidays tend to share certain features in common: ideas of birth or rebirth, hope and light — a light that may seem to leave us for a time but that always returns. Ancient people cowered in fear of natural forces they did not understand. They conjured up rituals to comfort themselves and provide what seemed like answers to their confusion. Today we understand many of these forces, and, being social creatures, still find use for ritual.
We can make inquiries like this and appreciate the value of stories because we live in a country where we are free to ask questions about religion, challenge assumptions and strongly disagree with one another. We are free to acknowledge, worship or interpret God as we see fit. It was not always so. It is today because of some very wise people. The gift they gave us, religious freedom, is one of the best you’ll ever get. Enjoy it, even if you’re not celebrating a holiday today.