Christmas or Yule?

Is it reasonable for non-Christians to celebrate Christmas? That question can be relevant, not at least to the many non-Christian immigrants into Western countries, where Christmas can sometimes be hard, if not impossible, to avoid.

This is not a problem for religiously indifferent people, which include a majority of the Christmas celebrating Europeans as well; but to followers of certain beliefs, partaking in another religion's celebrations can sometimes be seen as blasphemy.

"Freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin—inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night."

(John J. Geddes)

But how Christian is Christmas?

The time of the birth of the historical Christ is unknown, and will probably remain so forever. There is absolutely no reason to believe that it took place in December.

Quite late, the church proclaimed a celebration in remembrance of the birth of Jesus. Initially that celebration was held in different days, and it was not until somewhere in the middle of the 4th century it was fixed to the 25th December, the then estimated day of the winter solstice. This was made to make it coincide with the celebration of the birth of the sun god, a cult of the late Antiquities, whose symbolism was just transferred to Christ.

The winter solstice was subject to celebration in many ancient cultures, and in the Northern Germanic world, they had a special midwinter sacrificial feast, in different languages called iul, jol, geohol, or geol, or in modern English, Yule. In all Scandinavian languages, the word for the Christmas time, including the Christmas itself, is derived from this root. In itself, the word has no Christian implication.

Many important symbols and traditions we usually associate with Christmas, originally had nothing to do with Christianity at all.

"Christmas always rustled. It rustled every time, mysteriously, with silver and gold paper, tissue paper and a rich abundance of shiny paper, decorating and hiding everything and giving a feeling reckless extravagance."

(Tove Jansson)

The most important of them, Father Christmas (Santa Claus), is an artistic and literary creation of a relatively late time. His origin is mixed, but he does not in any way represent Christianity explicitly. His appeal is far more universal and he must be considered as a mythical or fictitious character in his own right. I would say that today he is a fictitious superstar, possibly greater than the holiday he represents.

"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph."

(Shirley Temple)

The Christmas gifts are in reality New Years gifts. (Have you ever thought of how strange it is that Christian years are counted from 1st January, and not from the assumed birthday of Christ?) The Christmas tree has a Christian origin, but not necessarily any religious significance any more. The angels are symbols of visiting dead relatives, and belong to a pre-Christian holiday.

Would a non-Christian belief be any bar to the celebration of Christmas, as long as the purely religious parts of the tradition is omitted (like going to mass)? It can be a folkloristic or artistic Christmas, or as an astronomic midwinter, as a celebration of light and colour, of family, of spiritual values of your own choice, even as a commercial celebration - whatever you choose to put in it.

I have no general answer to that, everyone must judge for himself/herself.

Still I suggest we reserve the word "Christmas" for an explicitly Christian celebration, and call it Yule otherwise.

Now one can object that Yule originally was a pagan celebration, and it's hard to argue against that. If you feel it that way, and if that fact troubles you, don't celebrate at all - or feel free to coin another name for what you put into the concept. However, I think the word "Christmas" is unsuitable for celebrations lacking Christian elements.

Finally....

Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), English judge and law commentator, one of the really important individuals for the development of English law, wrote:

"To come down a chimney is held a burglarious entry."

One would wonder what Father Christmas/Santa Clause would think of that!!

Copyright © 2006, 2021 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved.

(Lead Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images/Pixabay. CC0/Public Domain. The image has been cropped.)

Read also my series about calendar and months:

Zodiac, Month, Year: Some Scientific Elementa

History of Months I: Julian - Gregorian - Christian Months

History of Months II: Islamic/Arabic Months

History of Months III: Ancient Egypt & Babylonia

History of Months IV: Indian, China, The French Revolution & The Cruelty of April (forthcoming)

All my articles about calendars & time can be found here, about history here, and about folklore here.

Some other selected posts:

My Communities & Their Rules

What You Need to Know about Copyright

Index, with all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic.