Every so often, someone will ask me why as a Pagan I
celebrate Christmas. It’s not an odd question really; not if you consider
December 25th to actually be a Christian holiday. Christmas is after
all a celebration of the birth of the Christian Savior so why would Pagans
choose to participate in this oh so important celebration of another religion;
a religion that historically has not been very tolerant of Pagan faiths and
celebrations. But for me and for many other Pagans, December 25th is not a religious holiday...not anymore.
No one knows the actual date of the birth of Jesus Christ;
not the month, the date or even the year for sure but there has been much study
and debate given over to determining the actual date. What the early Christian
fathers did know was that the Winter Solstice was a day of important religious
observance in many of the Pagan religions that still held the hearts of
so many people. In many of the religions
of the time it was a day when the Sun God was born/reborn and there were a
great many traditions and celebrations related to that event in much of what
was then the Roman Empire. Also it was then as it has
always been the standard operating procedure of religions seeking to convert
the masses to adopt or usurp the sacred and holy days of the religion they wish to supplant and turn them to
their own purposes. It made perfect
sense for them to choose the Solstice to celebrate the birth of the son of their
God on the date that was so widely celebrated as the birth of the Pagan Sun
God. The similarities between the two would not have been lost on them.
When the date December 25th was chosen as the day
to celebrate the birth of Christ it was the date of the Winter Solstice by
their calendar. You have to remember that the calendar that we use today is not
the same one that was in use at that time. Today the Winter Solstice falls on
December 21st or 22nd but the Roman Julian calendar was
in effect when this decision was made and by that calendar December 25th
was the date of the Solstice.
Now, fast forward through history; the calendar was revamped, the Gregorian calender replaced the Julian and the date of the Solstice now lands on December 21st
but Christmas remained fixed on the date December 25th so that it no
longer coincides with the Solstice. By that time Christianity had become the dominant religion
in many parts of the world and Christmas, December 25th, was
celebrated in all of Christendom as Christ Mass or the religious observance of
the birth of the Christian Savior Jesus Christ. As
time continued to march on something unforeseen by those early Christian
fathers happened; many of the symbols that became associated with Christmas
began to reflect more of a seasonal theme than a religious one. Mistletoe,
holly, evergreen trees and boughs, fur clad jolly elves and snowmen have
nothing at all to do with the Christian Savior being born in the dry and arid Middle
East. Even before Nativity scenes became politically incorrect the
majority of the symbols of the season had more to do with nature and yes Northern
European Paganism than Christianity.
(Now, it’s not exactly fair to
say that Christianity stole our symbols of the season; the truth is that in
many cases the Christian leaders were dead set against things like Christmas
trees but somehow these old symbols and traditions could not be kept from
creeping in. They could not keep the age old symbols of our cultural and
perhaps even genetic memory from us.)
Today, especially in America
it’s only in the churches and in the hearts of truly devout Christians that
Christmas as a strictly religious observance still holds sway. Outside of those
churches, in the secular world Christmas is a time when family and friends get
together and share food and drink and exchange tokens of admiration, affection
and love and where children are still encouraged to believe in magic. These
best traditions of the season have long ago quit being the realm of
Christianity but rather they have become cultural, secular and fun.
Non-practicing Christians, non-Christians and many non-religious people of all sorts enjoy the
holiday for all of its best qualities without any of the religious overtones or
reverence.
(But let’s be honest, it’s also a time of gross consumerism
and gluttony, but that’s another topic for another day and besides I’m a big
fan of gluttony….well, in moderation. )
So actually the question shouldn’t be why do Pagans
celebrate Christmas on December 25th it should be why do Christians continue
to celebrate the birth of their Savior on December 25th when it is clearly obvious that the
religious importance of the day has been overshadowed or even lost in the
seasonal festivities and frivolity of the season. It was Solstice after all
that the early Christian fathers designated to celebrate the birth of their Savior
not the calendar date; perhaps when the calendar changed they thought it was a
good time to shed the Pagan association of Solstice but it may now be a good time
for them to rethink that decision. Today’s Christians must juggle the festive
cultural traditions with the solemn religious aspects of the day in way that
must leave at least the truly devout among them terribly conflicted.
Pagans on the other hand can celebrate the rebirth of their
Sun God on the Solstice with whatever solemnity and reverence our traditions
dictate and then celebrate Christmas
on December 25th with our family and friends. In this way our
religious observances don’t conflict with the gift giving, feasting and
frivolity.
So even though the widespread celebration of Christmas on
December 25th is actually the result of Pagan suppression by
Christianity in the end it’s my opinion that it is the Pagans who have come out
on top; of course it took a couple of thousand years. Now if we could just get
people to call December 25th something else it would be perfect….but
hey you can’t have everything.
Brightest Blessings of the Season
Raven Womack
