Despite the ability to take the title as blasphemous, this has nothing to do with trying the temper of those in religious faith. Also, any religious debate in the form of comments will be deleted, as this note is against stupidity, not religion. Aheh.
(I'll try breaking these thoughts into separate paragraphs as to not create walls of text, as it may deter you from reading further.)
The start of this note dates all the way back to last year. A girl I'm acquainted with wrote a post on Facebook (back when you could have more than 240 characters) about Christmas. Unlike most Christmas posts among this season, it wasn't the usual "I don't wanna wrap things", "I'm so happy/sad during this holiday", "Can we pretend the airplanes in..." kind of posts we're all used to. No, it was a developed, spiteful campaign written to say that Christmas was slowly becoming a pagan tradition, that Santa was an anagram for Satan, and how each year, in a fit of commercialism, the "Christ" in Christmas was slowly being taken away.
My grimace is slowly appearing as I await dissecting all of this part-by-part. And please do try to keep up, because maybe you believe this idiocy, in which, I'm more than willing to try and convert you back to the logical side of things. First off, the belief that Christmas is turning pagan. Now... it's easy to say that Halloween came from pagan tradition, because it did, and Christmas relates as well, but more on that later. But to say that something is turning pagan now? In a country that's about 80% Christian? ...
...Okay, you know that scene in "A Princess Bride" where the tiny man with the shrill voice yells "Inconceivable!" and Inigo Montoya chimes in to say "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means." That's what I'm feeling at this moment when this girl used the word "pagan." When in a discussion about Halloween, that word seems evil and mystical, so easily, when applying it to Christmas, and saying it's becoming pagan, it too should sound evil. Anyone with a brain knows that even by the two definitions (literal and religious) that ... it's almost impossible for this to happen to Christmas. Besides, as Jesus being born in the Spring shows, we, during the creation of the Christian calendar, took December 25th from the pagans, who celebrated the Winter solstice on that day as well. So all these years later, Christians won, as hardly any pagans in the US are out and about waving and shouting "Happy Winter Solstice" to folks across the street.
In the literal sense, Pagan describes a polytheistic (or animist, etc) religious tradition. In the religious sense, it simply means every religion that isn't Christianity, Judaism, and the other one we try not to remember is associated with the other two. So, as time goes by, apparently by this girls standards, we're all becoming... polytheistic? I'm actually not sure. I think people simply use scary words hoping that others haven't heard of them, and become scared themselves. And I'm not going to say or have someone imply that, like the word "Irony", that by years of mis-use, it's become a meaning different from itself. The implication was just... wrong.
I'm going to save the anagram part for last, because it contains a lot of Steve, and it's best saving the best for last. So instead, let's talk about commercialism. Every year when you watch Charlie Brown teetering on the edge of a suicidal spiral, you hear him monologue about how Christmas is turning into nothing but commercialism. You hear him explode in a fit of rage when he reads little Sally's Christmas letter to Santa only to find it pulled from the pages of any advertisement and commercial around.
Now, as I'm listening to my self-created Christmas DVD, which shows a 12-second loop of a record player repeated for an hour and a half, while my favorite Christmas classics are played for my enjoyment, I'm inclined to ask: Who is responsible for commercialism? It's easy to blame "commercialism" for the decline of spirit, but in the end, it's like your religion, or your favorite pizza topping. No one can (..should?) decide your religion for you, and I'd be dammed if someone told me my new favorite pizza topping was horse shit.
So, the next time you hear someone complain about commercialism in Christmas, take a minute to think about what they've bought. Are they complaining about commercialism, while on the other hand had just gotten back from every major sale in the business district? Did they just buy every single toy for their child, then tell you how advertisements are ruining the spirit of Christmas? In the end, only you encourage or hinder commercialism. It's like war: you can be against it all you want, but it still exists, and in the end, it's up to you whether you shelter yourself from it, or join.
Yeah, I know, kids see commercials on the television and want things... but that happens ALL YEAR 'ROUND. It's what being a kid's all about. You know what else being a kid's about? Innocence and obliviousness. They're told that if they're good, they'll be rewarded. If you take the time to raise them to understand that it isn't all about presents, but the spirit, and that they don't simply get everything they want as a stipulation, there's no way in Hell you're going to blame commercialism on your problems.
Lastly about commercialism, going with the Charlie Brown deal, any of you remember how that ends? Here's a recap: Charlie's feeling down about Christmas, much like Jimmy Stewart in "It's A Wonderful Life". Then, he reads his sisters Christmas list, and gets further down. After seeing his shrink, and getting crushed further, only his best friend keeps him with a bit of hope. As he tries conducting the school play, everyone dances, then tells him to get a Christmas tree. When he comes back with the sorriest looking tree in existence, they all chastise him, as he retreats in shame (as he thought the tree had character.) Linus then tells the story of Jesus Christ being born, and telling others that it isn't the gifts that matter, but those around, and honoring the birth of their Lord. Then his friends, seeing how Charlie was only doing his best to please everyone around him, all gather around the tree, their gain in Christmas spirit from him saves Charlie from a deep depression and a glimmer of hope that Christmas isn't just consumerism. See? If you break past your ideals, and simply live for the spirit, things like commercialism and consumerism won't/can't affect you.
And this is the part that gets me the most, saying that Santa's an anagram for Satan. First off, that's incredibly limited in both respects for their names. Santa himself has many names he's been called over the years: Kris Kringle, Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, and Father Christmas. Satan, as well, has his namesake, along with "Devil", and the names of any other embodiment of evil in other religions as well. As Satan is simply the wholesome figure of pure evil, there are many other figures akin to him that each have names for themselves as well. But in the end, that's only one demographic that "Santa" is being pitched to. In the East, he's called "Father Christmas", and in his Turkish origins, he's called Sinterklaas, in memoriam to SAINT Nicholas.
Now, I capitalized that "Saint"... because honestly... can you think of anything more evil and devilish than... a Saint? That sarcasm was so thick you could make a sandwich from it. You can make anagrams of almost anything, it doesn't mean you should, nor does it mean it proves that an entire holiday is full of sin and evil. Now, as The Beatles "All You Need Is Love" starts playing on iTunes, I feel forced to bring up what Santa is all about. The myth/tradition is, at least in the West (that's us...) that if you are good each year, you're rewarded for it. That seems a lot more wholesome than what the Devil seems to offer. I mean, sure, each year an old, jolly hipster breaks into your house, eats your pastries, drinks your milk, then leaves evidence all around your Christmas tree... but that's hardly the point.
Lastly, I want to bring up the "taking Christ out of Christmas" thing. Now, in this day and age, being someone of Christian faith, do you think it's humanly possible to take the Christ out of Christmas for these people? I mean, by God... it's Christ. If you overlook that guy, and the day to remember his birth, I don't think you can call yourself much of a holy person. You can't take the Christ out of Christmas. It's CALLED Christmas. Christ...mas. But I don't even know where these people get away saying these things. This holiday represents not only the things that Jesus would go on to promote to people (good spirit, love, compassion, sharing, flossing, etc.), and that deal with the wisemen baring gifts to their Lord.
But if you ask me, the Christmas Santa is the best things on Earth for Christians who want their children to grow up Christian. It only applies if you can do it right, but bare with me. The Christmas myth is kind of like religion for children. I mean, not every child can comprehend a guy dying for their sins, the whole Jesus deal, but they can totally understand getting toys and clothes and seeing daddy not beat mommy for Christmas. A jolly fat man in red and white is also more appealing to a 5 year old than a guy hanging on a cross, I'm assuming.
But stick with me on this. For Christmas, what were you always told? "If you're good all year, Santa will come and leave you many gifts, it might even be just what you ask for!"... and then you get older, and you start delving into (or are raised into) religion, and then what are you told? "If you're good all the rest of your life, this incredible man will give you all that you ever wanted and it'll be exactly what you want." See the connection? I've got a few more.
First off, God is said to be an all knowing, and all seeing God. Sound like anyone you know? "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake." Oh Steve, you silly pot, that could just be a coincidence. Aside from the fact that no one has seen God, and no one has seen Santa, yet they both bring happiness and spirit into the hearts of their respective demographic? Those who believe in Santa Claus are happy and spiritually awoken each December 25th, and those who love and believe in God have that same feeling. Each has a person widely known: Jesus and Santa, and each are known for baring gifts (of course, for Jesus it's miracles and dying for sins, and Santa gives presents of the unwrap-able kind.)
And my one favorite correlation between the two, Christianity and the Christmas myth, is this: Each year I listen to Bing Crosby sing my favorite Christmas songs... and each year, he says one lyric that fills me with pride and a self-worth, one of not just happiness, but a thankfulness for life. Bing spins on my record player, and says "The more you give at Christmas time, the more you get." As a person, the more you give, the more you care, the more you love, the more that's there in your life, the more you get, in the form of love and respect. And during Christmas, the more you give, the more you help, the more you spread the joy of Christmas, the better you feel from it, for the same reasons. Just like I say each Thanksgiving: You shouldn't stop being thankful after today, since there's still more to come the next day... the same goes for Christmas. Christmas shouldn't be the only time of the year that you take time out to visit family, or help someone in need, as the gift from doing that is just as good any time of the year.
Well, I'm out for now. To anyone with the will-power enough to read that: Congratulations! We can all go back to our normal, everyday lives now... that was just really bothering me.
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