Christmas is not quite my least favorite holiday... but it's close!
Me? Believe it or not, I have theological objections.
Worship of the Baby Jesus seems inappropriate.
Were I a believer, I'd be a heretical "Adoptionist", accepting G-d's proclamation at the Baptism:
"You are my Son, today I have begotten you."
(Luke 3:22 - an original reading)
I'll go further: anyone who claims to understand the Doctrine of the Trinity is lying.
For me, Easter is THE Christian holiday - not Christmas.
The Christmas stories in the Gospels - only 2 of 'em - are easily explained as answers to questions early believers must have asked: when and where was Jesus born? Didn't anyone notice he was the Son of God at the time???
Somehow the notion of G-d sucking on Mary's tit just isn't appropriate.
That said, the secular version of Xmas that has evolved in the USA is not too hard to take: give & receive gifts, spend time with family & friends.
I'll still sing Xmas carols with my church choir on Xmas eve... but were it not for the purely secular connotations of the holiday, I'd have a hard time reconciling this performance with my conscience.
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The word Christ mas short for mass, says it all. It's a Catholic holiday. The U.S. being mostly protestant ignored the holiday until after the Civil War. Buisnesses have made the holiday into the behemoth that renders it theologicall nearly meaningless.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther did write Silent Night and introduced the yule log (Christmas Tree) to the holiday, but he was trying to incorporate the Norse beliefs with Christian. The German tribes for most of their history would offer presents to their enemies at the winter solstice and a thank you for giving them the opportunity to die in battle and spend eternity in Valhalla.