Beyond a Pagan Holiday

From “The Axis Team” —-

On Christmas Day 2014, the astrophysicist and science personality Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted:

“Merry Christmas to all. A pagan holiday (BC) becomes a religious holiday (AD), which then becomes a shopping holiday (USA).”

While his call-out of consumerism is well-taken, reactions to his paganism comment were mixed; some pushed back, but many seemed to implicitly agree that Christmas was a pagan holiday before it was Christian.

At this point, the hand-wringing about the pagan origins of Christmas feels like part of the social media calendar, right up there with listening to Mariah Carey, arguing about Die Hard being a Christmas movie, and diving into the Hallmark Christmas abyss. 

But the arrival of God’s own Son, born of a virgin and delivered in a stable, is the most culture-shaping thing that has ever happened in our world. And regardless of whether ancient Romans gave gifts and decorated wreaths around December 25, and whether ancient Nords and Celts had superstitions around mistletoe, celebrating the birth of Jesus shapes us to be generous, loving, and humble. It is a celebration of redemption that is so powerful, it can transform human tradition.

—- Permit me to wrap this up with a profoundly boisterous Merry Christmas!