Christmas for Everyone

(I wrote this on a whim last Christmas and posted it to Facebook, but I think it has enough merit to be posted here)

I'm an agnostic. This means that I believe that the big questions like "How did we get here?" and "Is there a God?" are unanswerable by man. It's not that I don't care, it's that I don't know, I think no one else truly knows, and I don't think anyone is capable of knowing. It's highly unlikely that this is going to change for me, ever. That being said, I respect all forms of spirituality, and admire many of the beautiful practices therein. I meditate. I admire Muslim devotion and Jewish traditions. I love Christian-inspired art. I watched the Passion of the Christ and cried. And I celebrate Christmas. I have a wild passion for the holiday.

I consider that last point to be something of a digression, though. Because Christmas in America is....Christmas. That's it. It's a holiday that has lots of things connected to it, from the religious to the secular. But it's not, by definition, religious or secular, it's Christmas. It's whatever you want it to be, and many of us (while not having any interest in religion) want to be a part of it, because it's awesome. We exchange gifts. We decorate trees. We sing Christmas songs. Some of those Christmas songs talk about the baby Jesus. So what? I don't have to believe in a certain religion to enjoy a nice song. Why should I?

I grew up on Christmas, and I did not grow up on Christ. I sang. I put the star at the top of the tree. I marveled at the special quality of the season to bring people together. I reveled in the celebration of life, kindness, selflessness, and pure celebration. None of this was lost on me because I did not believe in Christ, least of all the cool story of the nativity. Because, whether or not you believe the story is true, it's a cool story anyway. It evokes wonder and excitement and positive energy. And we can do whatever we want with that energy- funnel it into religious stuff, or just take it and use it and pass it on, and everyone benefits either way. America has developed its own kind of Christmas, and every family likewise. That's not religion, it's culture. The two aren't mutually exclusive, but neither are they identical.

So let's quit griping about whether to call it "Christmas" or "the holidays". Everyone knows it IS Christmas. And that doesn't make it offensive unless we MAKE it offensive. Christmas is part of our culture, so let's embrace what we've built and enjoy it. Participate in it, or don't. But try to recognize that we're not all enjoying it because we're Christian- I'd say more of us aren't than are. And certainly don't refuse to enjoy it if you aren't Christian. Take the good, leave the bad, spread the love, drink the eggnog, cut out the gingerbread cookie, annoy your relatives, wear ugly sweaters. Watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and understand. It's all love, man. Merry Christmas!