It’s the holiday season and for our Christian peers, it’s Christmas time. Canadian society is now full throttle in the holiday mood, which arguably means “Christmas mood”: Christmas music, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, Christmas shopping…
Holiday cheer is fabulous, I mean, who doesn’t love that warm, fuzzy feeling, but what if Christmas Everything makes some people feel excluded? A Simon Fraser University study finds that individuals that don’t celebrate Christmas are more likely to feel like they are not included and Christmas trees can undermine their psychological well-being. Now that’s the opposite of that warm, fuzzy feeling…
Time to rethink the annual red and green religious explosion?
That is funny. I was watching the view and they were talking about that uneasiness that some people from other faiths may have around christmas. I like one of the comments that was made. It reminded people that originally ‘Christmas’ was a ‘pagan’ festivity (Christians just gave it a meaning that spoke to them). Further, they justly reminded that the big symbols of Xmas that are the tree and santa (the red and the green) have no biblical origins, not christian.
Though there is an undeniable christian meaning associated with Christmas the values of sharing with loved ones are universal, so is helping the less fortunate (which is a large part of Xmas). I know a lot of non Christians who celebrate Xmas because of that. They have perceived that Christmas is not only about Christianity but also about fraternity. I feel that Xmas everywhere is becoming more and more secular, no more limited to the christian sphere.
It is too bad that some people feel excluded and depressed because of Xmas. Maybe if they knew the origins of the festivity and the secular meaning of some of its componant, they would see Christmas in a different way and embrace it for its secular, humane aspects.
However I can’t help thinking… Even if Xmas was ‘100% christian’, should people stop celebrate Xmas because of that?