Skip to main content

Christmas is for Everyone

I’ve always thought it interesting that Christmas is a holiday with its origins in Christian religious tradition, yet non-Christians celebrate it too. I can’t think of any other religious observation that transcends the camp that gave rise to it, though I’m sure that’s just my ignorance. Nevertheless, Christmas does seem to be for everyone.

The message of peace on earth and good will toward man has universal appeal. Nobody could lay claim to the idea exclusively, yet it is part of the branding of Christmas, and that branding has generally steered clear of the religious side of the holiday, focusing on gift-giving and familial cheer ahead of the birth of a messiah two thousand years ago. When you think of it, a lot of Christmas songs and stories since the middle of the 20th century (like White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Rockin Around the Christmas Tree and many others) are quite agnostic, focusing on the spirit of generosity and goodwill rather than reminding you whose birthday it is.

There are those, of course, who insist on telling that story and reminding everyone to keep Christ in Christmas, but to them I have only one thing to say: all holidays matter. I mean, what are they trying to say? That Christmas is for Christians only? I think it’s safe to say that Jesus would be happier with everyone being kind to each other regardless of background rather than worrying about remembering it’s his birthday. That just seems petty and silly, and so it’s hard for me to take seriously the religious folks who push the ancient myth instead of just having a good time.

I like Christmas. I think it’s a very positive, pleasant time of year when people have it in mind to be a little bit nicer, more generous and friendlier than they are the rest of the time. Like the song says, “Have a holly jolly Christmas/And when you walk down the street/Say hello to folks you know/And everyone you meet”. I’m sentimental about community and Christmastime carries with it a sentiment of warmth and positivity, of kinship. We’re all in this together, so why not be friendly?


Funny enough, my favourite Christmas song, Happy Xmas (War is Over), was written by an atheist, but it does sum up what I’m trying to say: “A very merry Christmas/And a happy new year/Let’s hope it’s a good one/Without any fear (War is Over/If you want it/War is over now).” There is no limit to what human beings can achieve when we recognize each other’s talents and support each other. To me, that is the true meaning of Christmas and I try my best to carry it with me all year round. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Film Review: Blade Runner 2049

Denis Villeneuve has succeeded in creating that rarest of films: a very late sequel that respects and improves upon the original. Blade Runner 2049 expands the canvas of the first film with new locations and characters, all of whom feel authentic and true to the tone and themes of 1982’s Blade Runner . I thought it was magnificent in terms of setting and imagery and it packed an unexpected emotional punch which was absent in the first movie. I wanted to see it twice before I wrote my review and I am confident in saying it is superior to the original film while remaining tonally and esthetically consistent. I loved it. Foremost, I loved the story – complex without being hard to follow and never violating any continuity laid down by its predecessor. There were plot twists I could see coming but then the revelation would have more dimension than I was expecting. There were also genuine surprises in a couple of scenes. The cast is wonderful, with everyone well-suited to their roles (...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oscars

For the first time that I can remember, I have seen all but one of the nominees for the Oscars, which were held last week. At the time, I had seen all of them except for The Post and The Shape of Water , which I finally saw after it won best picture. My thoughts on it and the rest of the nominees: The Shape of Water is essentially Splash re-imagined with the Creature from the Black Lagoon instead of a mermaid, but nowhere near as good. I was impressed by the creature design, certainly, but the rest of the movie felt frustratingly underdone. It was a very typical Guillermo del Toro film, in that sense: I think he’s a gifted visualist, but his stories and characters leave a lot to be desired. Get Out is actually my third favourite movie of 2018, behind mother! and Blade Runner 2049 , so if I had been an Academy voter, this is the one I personally would have chosen for best picture. It’s very smart, very funny and very poignant without being preachy. It’s really brilliant,...
Post a Comment
Read more

IPO Statement

This weekly blog is intended (like most people’s) to be a space where I can talk about the things I’m interested in. I’ll be using it to post critical reviews of movies, books and whatever else I might want to unload my mind about. In general, I’m going to keep things as positive as I can because there’s already enough negativity out there and I would rather spend time focusing on the things I like rather than the things that upset me. I am a rational anarchist. I believe nobody has any right to tell anyone else what to do, but that the limits of anarchy make it unworkable in groups larger than a hundred or so individuals. I think with this many people around, impersonal rules are an unfortunate necessity, but I will only respect the ones that seem fair, in my mind. There is no excuse for injustice or abuse of power and as people and populations change, so must the rules that govern us, meaning they should always be challenged or at least suspected. Art and culture are my pass...
Post a Comment
Read more