The problem was the tone and the topic. It was basically one of those "Jesus is the reason for the season" messages. Some years ago, I must confess I believed the same thing. Since then, I have come to know the truth and the truth has set me free. Yes, I am no longer a Christian. Now I am a happy heathen!
That being said, I still like to respect the rights of others to worship and have faith as they see fit. Unfortunately, there is a certain element in the Christian church that does not share this approach. And that brings me to the message I received.
It contained multiple photos of some very lovely Christmas trees. Before each image the message proclaimed:
This is a Christmas Tree
Scrolling down through the message, this was repeated numerous times. After the last photo came the following message:
These are NOT Holiday Trees
They are NOT Winter Festival trees
They are NOT Hanukkah bushes
They are NOT Allah plants
They are Christmas trees.
Say it...
Christmas , Christmas , CHRISTmas
Yes CHRISTmas -not Holiday
We are not celebrating the birth of a Holiday !!!
We are Celebrating the Birth of
Jesus Christ!!!
So I would like to say to each and everyone of you
Have a Very Merry CHRISTMAS
and may GOD BLESS each and every one of you!!!
Take a stand and pass this on !!
I was grateful for the last statement - take a stand - as after reading the message I really felt like it was time to do just that. And so I did. Below is my response.
WARNING: If your faith is easily offended you may wish to stop reading now. While I am no longer a Christian, I do have respect for those of the faith who are open minded and intelligent enough to realize that their perspective on spirituality is but one view. What irritates me are those individuals of any faith who believe their path is the ONLY path and who have so little understanding of other beliefs that they don't even realize some of the things they practice have origins outside of their church. And now, the message:
Enough is enough with this fundamentalist Christian propaganda. It’s time Christians faced the truth. It IS a holiday season. It was so long before the invention of Christianity. In fact, many of the ‘Christian’ celebrations at this time of the year were stolen from more ancient beliefs.
Shall we get down to the truth?
First, the Christmas tree, as that is the focus of this little misguided diatribe. The “Christmas” tree actually evolved from a pagan symbol used by cultures that predate Christianity. The Druids in ancient England & Gaul and the Romans in Europe both used evergreen branches to decorate their homes and public buildings to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Over the years, these traditions were adopted by Christians, who incorporated them as part of their Christmas holiday celebration.
So, we should actually call it a Solstice tree.
Furthermore, Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, is really just the result of the early Christian church attempting to convert non-believers by usurping festivities that existed long before the supposed arrival of a savior. There were a bunch of festivities (holidays) already taking place at that time of year. Rather than fight them, the church decided to declare that this is when Jesus was born so the festivities would take on a Christian veneer. In effect, the early church tried to steal the traditions of others.
Show me where the Bible gives the birth date of Jesus and declares "And on the 25th day of the 12th month, thou shalt honour the birth of thy saviour." Early Christians did not celebrate Christmas, they honoured Easter.
So, who first celebrated this time of the year? Many people. All predating Christianity.
- In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. So “Yuletide carols being sung by a choir” really has nothing to do with Christmas. Yule is an old Norse tradition. And they didn’t worship Jesus. They looked to Odin and a host of other gods.
- Germans were terrified of Odin, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside. Hmmm. A magical being who travels through the sky watching people to see who has been bad or good, so you better be good for goodness sake! Sound familiar?
- In Rome, Saturnalia—a holiday in honour of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of the city. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun.
- Members of Rome’s upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra was born in cave to a virgin. He was considered one part of a divine trinity. For some Romans, Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year. Does any of this sound familiar?
- In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not even celebrated.
- Giving gifts at Christmas also has nothing to do with “Three Wise Men” or gifts for the Baby Jesus. The tradition, again, began in northern Europe and ancient Rome where people gave each other small presents as part of the year-end festivities.
- Wreaths, so popular at Christmas, have their beginnings among the folk practices of the pre-Christian Germanic people. During the cold December darkness of Easter Europe, they would gather wreaths of evergreen and lighted fires as signs of hope in a coming spring and renewed light.
- Mistletoe . . . so festive, so much a part of Christmas. Right. Mistletoe was held sacred by the Norse, the Celtic Druids and the North America’s First Nations peoples. Druid priests employed it in their sacrifice to the gods while Celtic people believed it possessed miraculous healing powers. It was the sacred plant of Frigga, the Norse goddess of love.
- Holly, the sacred plant of the god Saturn, was used at the Roman Saturnalia festival to honour him. Druids believed that holly stayed green to keep the earth beautiful when the sacred oak lost its leaves.
Enough, already, of the “Jesus is the reason for the season” mentality. Get over it people! It’s a festive holiday season that originated out of older traditions more in touch with the Earth. And if you are really one of those who believes the Bible is the literal word of God, I share this written by one of your own: Jesus is Lord.
You want to say ‘Merry Christmas?’ Fine. I do, too.
If someone else wants to say Happy Yule, that’s cool.
If I want it to be a Solstice Tree, let me!
Just don’t steal another culture’s traditions then try to denigrate their beliefs by claiming it’s a ‘CHRIST-mas’ tree and everyone else should bow down to a skewed Christian perspective of reality.
Heathen’s Greetings, one and all!
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