Presents, trees, family and friends, eggnog, reindeer, corny old movies, potentially even cornier music, red and green decorations hanging everywhere, cards from people you've never met, sales, and conspiracy theories.
Ah... Christmas.
I was thinking about writing a series on this, but "the bounce has gone out of my bungee." And I did a series last week, so... yeah. No series. Just a few points that have struck me over the last few weeks.
Twice now I've heard people discuss the things that Christmas "borrowed" from pre-Christian beliefs. Seems to be a rather popular topic this time of the year. And why not? If Christ's birth is merely the conglomeration of myths cut and pasted together, then that sure puts Christianity in a bad light.
Trouble is: While many of the commonly cited religions/mythologies do predate Christ, their ties to Christ don't appear until well after Christ Himself.
Huh?
Winter Solstice has long been celebrated by cultures worldwide. And with good reason: Agrarian cultures are tied closely to the changing seasons. But ties to a Son of God, born of a virgin, later to die a martyr's death and rise again to save mankind... yeah, those all got tied to various mythologies post-Christ.
My mom researched this a few weeks back in response to a letter she received. And my pastor talked about it yesterday. Since it came up twice, thought it was time to pass it along. Fear not: If anything, pagans borrowed from Christians for this one.
On the other side of the conspiracy fence is the group of Christians who decry Christmas because it borrows from pagans. Yep, that's right: Same complaint, slightly different bent. The argument goes that since this is a man-made potentially borrowed from pagans "holy day," we are to avoid it. Much like Halloween, only without the added ammunition of demons and ghouls.
Thus far, I haven't seen anything in Scripture that even hints at staying away from remembering Christ and spending time rejoicing in His goodness to us with friends and family. I've read a few blog posts on this recently, but they have been far from compelling. But, sure: The consumerism is a tad out of control. And it's a pain to find presents for everyone <smile>.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or Solstice or nothing, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter. I do love me a good conspiracy <smile>.
For me, the only question that remains is this: Why do we have so many songs about Christ's birth, but so few about His Resurrection?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father
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