Season’s Greetings

Sunday Sermonette

You could always wish someone a Merry Christmas. This type of “season’s greetings” has never been under serious and systemic threat. Donald Trump did not “save” Christmas.

But to hear today’s GOP talk about it, Christianity – the majority faith in the United States – is under attack from every direction. It’s not. What may feel like an attack, however, is the cultural trend that removes Christianity from its central position in American society and replaces it with a more nuanced and dare-I-say inclusive view of the role of faith in a modern secular world.

A local group I’m part of had its holiday party this week. This was the standard potluck luncheon, with fried chicken and ham ordered from a store. Attendees provided side dishes and desserts. The purpose was not the holiday celebration itself; instead, the purpose of the event was to enjoy spending time together before the new year arrives and we have to dig back into the work of the organization. Most members are from a generally Christian background, though few are regular churchgoers. However, one of our most active members is Jewish, and she provided our constant reminder the we should call this a holiday party rather than a Christmas party. There was some sighing and eye-rolling (behind her back) when she corrected us, but it was generally good-natured, although she probably didn’t appreciate it. I neither sighed nor rolled my eyes, just to set the record straight. But neither did I chastize the sighers and eye-rollers.

As President of this organization, I welcomed everyone and wished them a Happy Holiday. I didn’t do this as some “woke” desire to avoid offending anyone. I used this phrase to include everyone in my wish that they have a nice time over the next couple of weeks. Wishing my Jewish friend a Merry Christmas isn’t necessarily rude – it’s just not applicable to her.

People we see in public venues – stores, libraries, hotels, concert arenas, and so forth – wish us “Happy Holiday” because they want us to enjoy whatever holiday our traditions celebrate. In a not-unrelated fact, they also want us to spend our money in their establishment, and they figure we’re more likely to do that if we feel welcomed. In addition to the Christian Christmas holiday and the Jewish Hannukkah celebration, other holidays are recognized at this time of year, including Kwanza (celebrating African American heritage). The goal of gatekeepers of public spaces is to make the public feel welcome and encourage them to return. The best way to do that is to avoid greeting them in ways that ‘otherize’ them.

Public schools are one arena where the pressures of holiday celebrations run up against cultural pluralism and secularism. When I was in elementary school, the Christmas concerts were specifically Christian in orientation; we didn’t sing just the secular songs of the season – Over the River and Through the Woods, Jingle Bells, and Frosty the Snowman. We sang the same songs we encountered in church during the same time frame. Today, it is much more likely that secular songs will be mixed with traditional carols, along with music reflecting other traditions and music that captures values across traditions – Let There Be Peace on Earth, for example.

Prehistoric and pagan civilizations acknowledged the Winter Solstice because it signaled regeneration. After December 21 (today, as it turns out), the days get longer in the northern hemisphere. The light is literally returning. It’s not accidental that the major religions based in the northern hemisphere acknowledge this celebration with lights of some type – candles, lighted lawn or rooftop displays, yule logs. Cultures that originated in the southern hemisphere – the ancient Incans, for example – had festivals that marked the June (midwinter) solstice.

No one knows for sure when Jesus was born, but it was almost certainly not in “deep midwinter” – there would have been a bunch of frozen sheep that shepherds were watching by night, and lambs are born in the spring. December 25 was proclaimed by the Roman Emperor Aurelian in 274 CE as Sol Invictus – The Unconquered Sun (or Son – get it?). This marked the sun’s ‘victory’ as days lengthened after the solstice. This slid nicely into early Christian imagery of Jesus as the Light of the World, of darkness relating to sin or death, and to salvation as illumination. The first reference to December 25 as Christmas appeared in the Chronography of 354, a Roman calendar, which appeared in – well, 354 CE.

President Trump – inexplicably the leader of a political party strongly influenced by evangelical Christians – is undoubtedly the most irreligious president in recent American history. I don’t know much about the religious beliefs of earlier Presidents. Still, at least in the 20^th century, politicians' religious beliefs and expressions have played an essential role in establishing their credibility as serious candidates or officeholders. They not only used the language of faith to express the source of their moral code, but they also usually framed their life stories around church membership at various points in their history. They attended (and sometimes taught) Sunday School. They went to church suppers or attended church youth group functions. They sang in the choir or attended adult Bible study. It’s not always clear how often they did these things, but they were generally at ease with the vocabulary surrounding these activities.

President Trump, on the other hand, has no similar stories in his repertoire and generally shows ignorance, if not active avoidance, of such topics. Trump is performatively a Christian (meaning he says he is a Christian and seems able to bow his head when others are praying), but it doesn’t take much examination to see that this set of beliefs is as transactional as anything else he has believed in. The leaders of his evangelical base know this; at least, they should know it because it is evident to anyone paying attention that he has no grounding in either theology or church-going – which are not the same thing.

When I see my family next week, I’m planning to wish them a Merry Christmas. When I’m in our hotel or restaurant while we’re travelling, I’ll say Happy Holidays (and receive similar greetings) to wish goodwill to people whose belief systems I am in no position to know. There’s nothing ‘woke’ about that. It’s just good manners. But then, why would we expect the Insulter-in Chief to know anything about good manners?

Donald Trump (left) (not in costume) receiving the FIFA Peace Prize. Jim Carrey (right) (in costume) stealing Christmas from the citizens of Whoville.