Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas

One of the silliest notions out and about these days is that there's a War on Christmas. It takes a pretty simple mind to think that just because one group of people celebrates one way and other groups celebrate other ways, their way is the best or only acceptable way. This is the kind of thing that turns me off from religion: when it becomes so exclusive and chauvinistic that any other form of belief is not just intolerable, it is downright wrong. And this insistence that I am right and you are wrong is the guarantee for many other people not wanting to celebrate at all.

The month of December (as we call it today) and the time of the winter solstice (which has been recognized by people for practically as long as there have been people) were taken as times for celebration. The ancient Romans celebrated the Saturnalia, the Mayas and Incas had their festivals at this time. At the solstice, the Scandinavians celebrated Juul and the custom was taken over by the English (as in Yule Log), in Poland some still celebrate Gody, in Northwest Pakistan there is Chaomos, and even today the Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day on the 8th, and Hanukkah was from the 7th to the 14th this year. So belated Happy Bodhi Day to my Buddhist friends and Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish ones.

For those who think that political correctness has taken over, it is only because you have allowed it to. You're not going to go to jail for saying Merry Christmas, and people who are so thin-skinned and easily offended not only need to get over themselves, they need to recognize that any holiday greeting, even the wrong one, is simply intended as a friendly, human gesture. If you think it's any more than that ... if you take it as any less than that ... you've got more problems than most of us can help you with.

Unfortunately, I could not see that the Hindus and Sikhs have a holiday around this time, nor does Islam this (or next year). But, as everyone else has a reason to celebrate and things are going to be closed down on this day or the other, take the time to enjoy it with friends and family, and if you have no one to celebrate, feel free to celebrate with me, at least in spirit, because we probably won't be able to get together.

When there is so much going on in so many different quarters and for so many different reasons, there is nothing wrong with a quick "Happy Holidays" to be inclusive (as long as it's well-intended and heartfelt). It is a busy time of year, as we all know.

What all of these celebrations have in common, however, is that they give special attention to light (of hope, of good faith in the future, and well-being), warmth (at least in the Northern Hemisphere where it is coldest), peace and good-will to others. All of them share this. All of them. To think of "war" at all at this time of year is bizarre, narrow-minded, intolerant, and, well, ignorant. I don't have to share another's belief (or non-belief, for that matter), but the most decent, human thing to do, at minimum, is respect it.

So, Happy Holidays to all, no matter what you're celebrating. And if you have no real reason to celebrate, borrow someone else's or even make up your own, but make it a celebration of peace, joy, and hope. We'll all be the better for it.

The longest night

This is a special time of year … not because some are waging war on Christmas, not because some are once again trying to debunk the holiday with pagan myths, and certainly not because it's the biggest shopping season of the year. This time of year is special in a very fundamental way, and it might be worthwhile to reflect on why.

It's not a coincidence that all of those pagan holidays, as well as Christmas and Hannukah all occur right now, for in one way or another they share something very special in common, namely Light. For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day, and the longest night of the year. It is the time when the Sun – as seen from the Earth – halts over the Tropic of Capricorn (23 deg. S 26 min. longitude) for three days at the end of its journey to the South. After the solstice, it will appear to travel north again, the days will get longer and the nights shorter until it reaches its apogee on June 21 (the longest day and shortest night of the year). For those of you who are keeping track and like to be exact, the solstice will occur today at 16:19 GMT (or 10:19 am for you in NYC, and 7:19 am for our California friends).

Yes, it's dark in northern climes at this time of year. For where I live near Stuttgart, Germany, the sun rose today at 8:13 am (local time) and set at 4:27 in the afternoon. That's not much chance for much light at all, and we have it good. My friend in Bergen, Norway won't experience the sunrise until 9:44 am (local time) and it will have gone down by 3:28 pm. Blink, and you might miss it.

These, of course, are merely the facts, the pure, astronomical, verifiable facts. It is simply darker for a lot longer that it is light at this time of year. What we all experience, though, is the stillness, perhaps the sadness, the wish to maybe withdraw and to reflect throughout those long, dark hours. We feel it today, if we allow ourselves to. And our parents, grandparents, and their parents and grandparents, and theirs and ever on, further back, felt it as well. The phenomenon is the same, to be sure. How we choose to deal with it is quite different than it once was.

This is not to say that how we deal with it is better. Nor am I implying that how it used to be dealt with should be our way. Then was then and now is now, but we should be aware that our experience today is the experience our forebears had so many, many years ago. It is what binds us together over time. It is something that we share, and sharing is (or should be) a big part of this time of year.