The Reason for The Season!

I read a post recently that said they wished people would stop saying Jesus is the reason for the season. I’ve seen a few others with the same theme and heard statements about it. I decided I wanted to shed a little historical light on this matter of Christmas and holidays in general. There are other sites that will give you even more detailed view but here’s my condensed version with a few personal interpretations.

The truth is that the Christmas holiday was instituted by the Catholic Church for Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and for no other reason, regardless of when his birth happened, ergo, the name "Christmas" - a mass to celebrate Christ's birth. There is NO other reason to have Christmas. Whether it is December 25 or June 22 has no bearing on the issue. Without the birth of Christ there would be NO Christmas since the reason for instituting Christ's Mass would not exist. I get so annoyed by the evident lack of knowledge of historical fact and the lack of logic in thinking! These two events are inextricably linked. Unbelievers need to get over it, put your packages back on the shelves, take down your tree, put away all the decorations and move on. It isn’t YOUR holiday.

Americans celebrate the birth of several early presidents... but not on their birthday. We celebrate them on a Monday, regardless of the date in February. So the argument that Christmas is not "on" Christ birthday is irrelevant. The day is not important. The REASON for the celebration is the issue. We take off from work to celebrate these presidents' births and their contribution to the development of this nation. They are the "reason" for that one holiday. You could honestly say, “Happy Washington’s Birthday!” But it is a bit unwieldy. Again, it is unnecessary to celebrate the birth of presidents who no longer server as president. They are not presidents then, they are citizens and no more important than I. But someone thought it important so they made a day for it. I benefit with a paid holiday.

We also celebrate Martin Luther King's birth on a Monday so we can be off work, whether we view him as a great citizen or not. I personally find celebrating his birth offensive. He was not a president. His major contribution to the development of the nation was to join an already large movement of civil rights activist who received no recognition. He was a good organizer, an eloquent speaker and he was a Baptist preacher, pretty good one, too. That, in my view, doesn't make him special. He sought change through peaceful means which is commendable. He was tragically murdered and that sets him apart. Amazing how dying for someone can make you very important!!!!! He is considered a savior to the African-American community because he motivated them to make a change in their status through political dialogue and peaceful protest actions. AND he DIED FOR THE CAUSE. Someone thought he deserved recognition. He gets it and I get another paid day off. It isn’t MY holiday.

Jesus Christ did the same thing, whether you believe he is God or not. He motivated billions of people for centuries to change their lives for the better. AND HE WAS MURDERED FOR THE CAUSE! Yes, some of those were dishonest and cruel people who twisted the message and used it for evil. So do some African-Americans but no one is suggesting they toss MLK Day because some of those who followed him were criminals or because others find it offensive! The message is not the problem, people are.

The pagan seasonal holidays have nothing to do with the Christmas celebration other than the fact that it falls around the time of the Winter Solstice. Although, Christmas is December 25th and the winter solstice is December 22nd. The Catholic Church probably deliberately elected to have their religious celebrations around times when the pagan holidays fell for a very good reason. People were already used to celebrating a holiday at those times of year – an established ritual already existed. They liked to celebrate something because their lives were miserable and celebrating relieved their misery for a short time and those so called Pagan priest were no better than some Christian priest. They used pagan gods to manipulate and control a miserable population!

People celebrated lots of things for good reasons. A good harvest was cause for celebration to whatever god they believed in because it meant hunger was staved off for at least another year. A wet spring could be prayed for and celebrated because it meant a good crop. The long dark night of the winter solstice would be reason to pray for the sun to rise again. It might not in such times. The Summer Solstice would be eagerly celebrated because the sun remained in the sky longer that day than any other and to see a sunrise and have one long day of life was probably something they knew the real value of.

It is important to remember that in less complex times, life was more complex. People had no knowledge of medicine, grocery stores, or department stores. The average family did not know where their next meal was coming from or if their children would even survive being born! They grasped at ritual celebrations as a way of comfort and control. They prayed to whatever they could in the hope that someone was listening and would come to give value to their existence. They wanted control of their lives.

Ritual is about controlling your environment! You can't control life and death but you can control the ritual and then the ritual becomes magical. It is why the Catholic Church easily converted so people on so many continents. They replaced pagan rituals and symbols with "Christian" rituals and symbols so the transition would be easy for those not fully convinced. The church used holidays to reinforce their teachings of the gospel. The populace was still given their celebrations, but they were centered around the gospel rather than the weather and crops.

The mass for Christ was set near the time of the Winter solstice. In many countries, native peoples still celebrate their pagan ritual along side their Christian rituals because they want to be sure they have their bases covered. It isn’t a matter of right or wrong to them. Their lives are usually still miserable. People still have no control. So they cling to ancient rituals. Thankfully, the Catholic Church doesn’t use torture anymore to “convert” them. And thankfully, other churches have moved into those areas and they that do not rely on rituals to draw converts. Some have wrought wonderful changes in the lives and treatment of these people. Others, both Christian and non-Christian have exploited them.

When the split with the Catholic Church occurred, one of the most prominent things that changed was the rituals and symbols. The protestant church eliminated icons and statues and worship of saints. It eliminated rote prayer and allowed its members to actually own a Bible so they could read it for themselves. The members now could pray for themselves rather than pay the priest to pray for them. But remember, these changes took place over centuries, not in a day.

Pagans then and now celebrate their winter holiday as do those who celebrate Kwanzaa celebrate their African heritage. I don't particularly care for an African Kwanzaa doll on my Christmas tree since it has nothing to do with Christmas but I have no problem with those who elect to celebrate "their" holiday in that manner.

I propose that those who do not believe in Christmas should not celebrate in any way. Go to work, don't buy presents, and don’t put up a tree. For heaven's sake do not smile that sappy smile and say "Happy Holidays!" There is only one holiday (meaning holy day by the way) in December and you don't believe in holy days!

However, in America, no one has the right, at least not yet, to insist those who do elect to celebrate stop doing so because you don't share their beliefs. We still have a right to say, ‘Merry Christmas” because we are celebrating! We still have a right to post a banner that says, “Jesus is the reason.” I don't get all bent when people say, "GO TIGERS!" or whatever team they squeal for or when they paint those messages on their bodies and cars. Personally, that’s the stupidest thing I ever saw but everyone has a right to be stupid. I’m fine with it.

Here’s what I suggest. All non-Christians should just ignore the greetings by saying "Up yours." if you like. I promise we'll get the message. Or perhaps, "May the Force be with you." I’m a Star Wars fan and this is a multi-religious response. All religions believe in some kind of “Force” so you won't offend anyone! They’ll just think you are a nut. And popular opinion would seem to support that.

If you are non-religious, you may just smile and say, "I'm a friend of Madeline Murray O'Hare." In America, we all know her and will understand completely. She’s the atheist who ended up murdered and buried in a trash can. She was the person responsible for having prayer and Bibles removed from all public schools. Oddly enough, only one of her son’s defected from her teaching and accepted Jesus Christ as savior. The other son, an atheist to the end . . . died with her. She changed the social and political environment of a whole nation and she was murdered! Do you know that as far as I know no one has suggested a day to celebrate her life or death! Actually, virtually no one under the age of 40 knows who she is! But she left a cancer in this nation that is slowly destroying it.

Of courses, non-Christians could still find something to celebrate, even though they aren't recognized by any agency as "legal" holidays and in fact, they aren’t holy days at all. You can celebrate the Winter Solstice but it falls on December 22 at midnight. Not many people will be celebrating then, unless you have a bunch of Druids hanging about. I believe there are some around... in England?

The ancient ones celebrated all the seasonal starts based on the sun's path throughout the year. I believe there are only four major holidays for them. Winter Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice, and the Autumnal Equinox. I think, but could be wrong, that the traditional way to celebrate is by dancing in a clearing in long white robes and having a feast. I do believe they pray in some manner, however, so it is still a religions thing. Oh, wait, do they celebrate Samhain? That's the holiday that became Halloween or All Hallows Eve. Or is it only witches who do that. Of course, you got that religion thing going on again. Amazing how humans keep creating religion, isn’t it?

If you want to really get into the concept of pagan control of December 25 and other holidays you might read this fellow’s site. Christmas - The Real StoryHe is a real fanatic who dwells on all the hideous history and goes to great detail to outline the horrors and satanic connections to December 25. You may actually decide it is just too horrible a day to celebrate the birth of Christ. He asks a very good question at the end of his page. My response to that is that on December 25 I will be celebrating the birth of the person who came to deliver us from all such atrocities as described on this page.

I don’t care about pagan roots and connections to certain days of the year. I AM taking that day back from the pagan. I’m not a pagan. I wasn’t a participant in those events. Those days have no power over me and are merely interesting, often sad historical side notes. I believe that if you are all “het” up about pagan connections to your Christian holidays, then you need to get back to the altar. You are acknowledging that those connections have power over you. You are so concerned that 10,000 years ago someone worshiped a false god on December 25, or that someone had ritual sex 5,000 years ago on December 25, or that someone was murdered on December 25 that you want to ban the day altogether! Why, thank you very much! You know what you just did? You just gave that day back to the pagan. You abandoned territory that has already been battled over. You have just given power back to those spirits and by giving them the day, you are authorizing their right to rule over you and control your days of worship and celebration! Never surrender territory to the enemy or he will overrun your position.

Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: I choose to worship any day I please and I intend to celebrate the birth of MY Savior on any day I wish. And if I want to bake a cake and put a candle on I will. If I want a tree with a star on top to honor the triumph of Jesus over a pagan holiday, I will. I will not be led by powerless Christians who can’t lay claim to one single day to celebrate and who are so terrified and unbelieving in the power of their own faith that they tremble at the sight of a decorated evergreen! Get over it!

I also won’t be controlled by people who can’t handle good wishes directed to them because they are so insecure in their own beliefs that they feel threatened by a blessing directed to them! How silly is that? I sincerely respect your right to not like it, not agree, and not participate in my worship and celebration. I promise not to participate in your New Year celebration which is a totally pagan ritual to pagan gods and has absolutely NO Christian connotation at all!

The tradition of using a baby to signify the New Year began in Greece in 600 BC. It was their tradition to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. Although Christians denounced the practice as paganistic, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced them to reevaluate their positions. The church then allowed the members to celebrate the New Year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of Jesus Christ. The image of a baby with a New Year's banner was brought to early America by Germans, who had been using the symbol since the 14th century. From: New Year’s Cheer- Traditions

There is that religion thing again and even the Greeks were doing it! Again, the church in question was the Catholic Church. Modern churches in no way believe this, at least, mine doesn’t! We do not use the “new year baby” to symbolize Jesus Christ. We are educated enough to know that it signifies the “birth” of a new year, a chance to start over and do better the next year. This is an inherent desire in the human psyche! We all wish we could have a second chance to do things “right this time”. However, we won’t be worshiping Dionysus. I will assure you that all over the world Christians will kneel in prayer at midnight and pray for the coming year to be blessed, prospered, and peaceful. All while the pagans are dancing and getting drunk. And we won’t be hugging toilet bowls or have pounding heads the next morning.

Folks, on this blog, you will hear me shouting loud and clear! Jesus Christ IS the reason for this season. Always has been and always will be. Christmas was created as a direct result of the birth of Jesus Christ. Just get over and move on with your life. The rest of us have celebrating to do!

Merry Christmas!