Today is Christmas Day. And it is my friend Patty’s birthday. Both are reasons to celebrate. The reasons to celebrate the birthday of a good friend are easy to understand and appreciate. The case for celebrating Christmas sometimes hides beneath the day’s religious gravity. During my lifetime thus far, my understanding of the significance of Christmas has undergone considerable changes. Initially (as I recall…memories nearly seven decades old are faint), it was an occasion—whose foundation was vaguely religious—to exchange gifts. The evolution of my insights into the purposes for celebrating Christmas has been far too involved to cover with just one post, so I will leave that for another time…if ever. But this morning’s online news and information triggered some thoughts I will share here.
One of the headlines that jarred me this morning, when I skimmed the Associated Press website, addressed Trump’s vow, in response to Biden’s commutation of most federal death sentences, to pursue executions. Today, on a day ostensibly meant to celebrate the birth of a prophet who spread messages of love and salvation, the news was about a man who spreads messages of hatred and vengeance.
I found a different message in today’s story from NPR‘s My Unsung Hero. It relayed the experience of a young woman—who had just been attacked by her boyfriend—who was given help and hope from a Jewish family who invited her to their home and to their Hanukkah dinner. That message—a celebration of compassion, love, and salvation—helps explain the reason to celebrate not only Christmas but every day in which human decency triumphs over hatred and unchecked animosity. Perhaps that is the foundational core of most religions, too often hidden by superfluous ceremony and tales of magic. Religious fables that have real, practical value, then, may have been crafted to celebrate behaviors and attitudes that support human dignity. The rest of those fables? Hmm.
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Merry Christmas to all, whether you celebrate the occasion or not. I hope a positive message accompanies your thoughts today and every day. I thought I could more fully express my thoughts than I have this morning. I’m already too tired to keep trying.
