The holiday formerly known as Christmas?
Regan Sarmatiuk, Staff
It seems as though the Christmas vs. “holidays” debate is destined to flare up annually when that “most wonderful time of the year” comes around, and this year has been no exception.
Last week, the town council of Oxford, Nova Scotia voted to approve a proclamation that forbids the use of any word but “Christmas” to describe the festive season. Last month, a Nova Scotian who provided the annual commemorative Christmas tree to the city of Boston — in thanks for Boston’s aid after the Halifax explosion of 1917 — was up in arms when some Boston city officials referred to the tree as a “holiday” tree.
Apparently a bit of a circus ensued, and even drew prominent American evangelical Jerry Falwell, who threatened to sue, into the mix. Eventually, the city officials publicly acknowledged that the tree was indeed a “Christmas” tree, and the conflict ceased.
But, the larger question of Christmas vs. “holidays” is complex, and because of the fluid line that exists between the religious and the traditional in the case of Canadian Christmas, a simple switch to the word “holiday,” although somewaht justified by history, doesn’t acknowledge the full picture.
It is indeed arguable that from a biblical standpoint, there are really no good reasons to consider customs such as the Christmas tree or Christmas gifts to be a part of the Christian celebration of Christ’s birth. True, the biblical story relates that the wise men brought Jesus gifts on the day he was born, but that doesn’t really establish a clear precedent for gift giving in the way it is practiced in North America today. And, the New Testament obviously doesn’t mention Christmas trees or mistletoe.
In fact, the New Testament contains no specific instructions regarding ceremonies or rituals to honour the birth of Jesus, but instead places much more emphasis on remembering his sacrificial death and resurrection on a regular basis (but perhaps it would be best to leave Easter out of the discussion for now).
There is ample evidence that many Christmas traditions were very likely adopted from various pagan rituals in attempts by the Roman Empire to “Christianize” them. For instance, Saturnalia, a Roman festival formerly held to celebrate the Winter Solstice at the end of December, featured decorative greens and trees, as well as the exchange of gifts. Many historians also believe that the adoption of December 25 as the day of Christ’s birth was set to coincide with festivals such as Saturnalia.
In the face of such evidence, one could easily argue that Christians should graciously let go of the need to call the tree a “Christmas” tree and the gifts “Christmas” gifts.
And Christians would arguably be well-advised to do so: dissociation from the excessive materialism and commercial culture that has characterized North American Christmas celebrations in recent years could not be a bad thing for a religion that follows someone who clearly forwarded the notion that a person’s true wealth doesn’t lie in his or her possessions.
However, does the lack of a biblical mandate for Christmas as we know it automatically mean that all references to Christmas should be dropped in favour of “holidays?” Not necessarily.
The answer becomes a bit easier to understand when one ponders the meaning of the phrase “Merry Christmas” in contemporary Canadian culture.
Does the saying “Merry Christmas” mean: “Joy to you as you celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ,” or does it amount to something more like: “I wish you well during this festive season?” For some, the saying can mean one or the other; for others, it is a blend of both.
It is this hybrid of tradition and the sacred that represents what Christmas in Canada has always meant. And regardless of whether any adopted Canadian Christmas customs were inherited from the French, Germans, English, or any other culture, it is clear that they were adopted as Christmas customs, not as “holiday” customs. Many partake in these customs regardless of the fact that practices such as the Christmas tree, the date, and the gift-giving were all co-opted from pagan traditions centuries ago.
Yes, there is obviously a case to be made for the “Christmas” to be dropped from the tree in favour of the generic “holiday.” However, it is also clear that calling the holiday known as Christmas something other than what is is and traditionally has been doesn’t make much sense either.
Regardless, I have no doubt that the battle over Christmas will continue to rage in the years to come. Perhaps both sides might do well to lay the debate down for a time to offer glad tidings of peace and goodwill to one another — after all, that is the Christmas spirit.
