And so this is Christmas...?

(this sat in my "Drafts" for a week, which is why it's dated December 13th but published December 20th - I'm still getting the hang of this...)

A lot of Bah Humbuggerstm making the news lately. Target is banning Salvation Army bell-ringers, Denver's Parade of Lights bans any religious references or songs, and Macy's & Bloomingdale's won't use the words "Merry Christmas" in their sale displays. Much is made of PC thugs who would deny the true meaning of this season. I can't argue with Christians who are offended by a barrage of advertisements by stores who won't even acknowledge the holiday they're celebrating. But I do, as you may have guessed, have a few gripes about this whole Christmas thing.

First off, Christ's birth is a wonderful message of love and hope to world. Whether you believe or not, I think that point can be agreed upon. But has anyone else noticed that Christ's birth stopped being the focus of Christmas before this season? Saint Nick replaced the Christ child as gift-bearer throughout Europe centuries ago. And in the U.S., "Silent Night" gave way to "White Christmas" decades ago. Sure, all of this Christmas-phobia is silly, but so is the idea of "Merry Christmas from Macy's" having any real meaning other than, "Shop at Macy's, Christians!" As slogans go, "Happy Holidays" is more honest. (And hardly new, I might add. The likes of Bing Crosby and Peggy Lee recorded Irving Berlin's "Happy Holiday" - hardly icons of a heathenistic time like ours...)

Besides, we don't know for certain when Christ's birth was - the winter's just one out of 4 choices. We do know that cultures that predate Christ celebrated around this time. They even used fir trees. The church eventually co-opted traditions and approximate dates to celebrate Christ's birth. For similar instances, see Day of the Dead, celebrated the same day as the Catholic Feast of All Souls, created as a counter to All Hallow's Eve. For that matter, see Easter. Christ's resurrection is celebrated, but the eggs, bunnies, and springtime symbology were used in similar celebrations long before that too.

None of the above validates or invalidates Christian faith or the meaning of Christmas itself. It just goes to show that Christianity isn't all there is. Why can't Santa and Jesus just get along? And if they're OK with each other, what's so wrong with acknowledging that people, (good, intelligent people, no less!) celebrate Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Hannukah, and/or Solstice? It seems to me that this time around there are two sets of Grinches trying to steal Christmas - those who don't want to acknowledge it and those who think they own it.

Season of giving indeed.

It's coming on Christmas they're cutting down trees, putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace...I wish I had a river I could skate away on... (Joni Mitchell, "River")