Christmas

I’m not a huge Christmas person. Don’t get me wrong, I like Christmas carols and enjoy some of the traditions, but I find the relentlessness of the season to be exhausting. It’s hard to escape it short of hunkering down in a hole somewhere far from the rest of the world (an admittedly tempting prospect at times). Add in the faux controversies (Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas, Keep Christ in Christmas vs Xmas, etc.) and I’m ready find that hole well before the actual holiday comes around. It can be hard to remember that, while the birth of Christ is important, it’s His death and resurrection that really matter. Sometimes I think Cromwell and the Puritans had the right idea when they outlawed Christmas, as it strays further and further from its roots. Perhaps it would be better to have a secular “Solstice” celebration for everybody and then, for Christians, follow up with a quieter, more contemplative Christmas celebration. The gift giving and commercialization could follow the secular holiday, leaving Christmas proper to the Christians. We just have to make sure we avoid creating a Robot Santa Claus that will attack holiday mirth makers. Merry Christmas!