The Absurdities of Christmas

I'm hardly the first free thinker, and I certainly won't be the last to note how gullible religious believers are in America, especially during the Christmas season. Yet it just never ceases to astound me how even intelligent people can give credence or even lip-service acknowledgment to such notions as virgin birth (a de-evolution to asexual reproduction) and the star of Bethlehem (the reduction of a sun, one of nature's true wonders and incomprehensibly large and intricate bodies) to the size and function of a super-trooper spotlight. Then of course there's the main character of this myth, a "savior" who would redeem mankind from "original sin" (another crackpot perspective about humanity which itself has done incredible harm to the progress of rational Western thinking, but that's a topic for another blog) who would later die and rise from the dead like a human phoenix. (BTW, if Jesus was the son of God, wouldn't that make Joseph one of the most famous cuckolds of all time?)

Then there's the designation of Christmas as a federal holiday (and I daresay on the state, county and municipal levels throughout America), which not only violates the separation of church and state but in doing so gives preference to a particular religion. Some might argue that with the popularization of such symbols and widespread customs as yule trees, parties, and Santa Claus, that this is now a secular holiday in America as well. But, folks, it's still Christmas ("Christ mass"), and here I would agree with the fundies that "Jesus is the reason for the season".

So I suggest that we make this a truly nonsectarian celebration by changing the date to December 21, the first day of winter, and renaming the holiday "Solstice". That way, come December 25, those who want to observe Christmas can do so privately in their own homes and churches and not impose their beliefs and rituals on others. Speaking of 12/25 as the birthday of Christ, was Jesus a “born-again Christian”? Western Christians celebrate his birthday on that date, but the Eastern Orthodox Church claims it was Jan. 6. How can that be? If he did perform miracles, popping out of Mary’s womb twice has to be the biggest one of all.

May there come a time when there truly is peace on Earth, good will and critical, rational thinking to men and women, the sooner the better.