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Christmas Or Else?Monday, Dec. 12, 2005 10:12 PMA recent column by Cynthia Tucker appears in the print edition of Monday's San Francisco Chronicle. Thank you, Ms. Tucker, for quietly pointing out the historical and non-Christian elements from which the holiday season is derived. We continue to hear about lawsuit-this and boycott-that as offended Christians bemoan how Christ is being taken out of Christmas. We are treated to narrow-mindedness that falls a mere hair's-breadth short of outright bigotry. (Specifically, William Donohue of the Catholic League's comment, "Spare me the diversity lecture.") The season isn't the sole province of the Christian faith, and never has been. Nor will screaming about pagans and liberal conspiracies make it so. Having been raised Catholic, I have never had a problem with Christmas being a time sacred to more than the Christian faith. I was fortunate enough to have neighbors who invited us over to observe Hanukkah, and the lighting of that evening's candle. My faith is not diminished by those who choose to believe differently. It can't be, because faith is not a question of a popularity poll. An honest and forthright understanding of my faith includes historical and astronomical facts which offer a different interpretation of the biblical story. In the end, it doesn't matter when, precisely, Christ was born. The Redemption through His Blood does not depend on his chronological age, or whether there was a Douglas Fir alongside the crib in the manger. Like the solstice celebrations that preceded it, Christmas is an acknowledgement of a symbolic rebirth and renewal. It is celebrated in our hearts, not amid the aisles of Target and Wal-Mart. And certainly not through a selfish insistence that the season belongs to only one faith.
John - 2005-12-13 16:57:29 So, what we appear to have here are a bunch of alleged Christians whose faith is so weak and shallow that they feel it's threatened by ANY other religion celebrating their faith during the month of December, yes? Right; OK, "alleged Christians" applies, then. Real Christians have no problems with their brothers and sisters who choose not to follow Christ as they do. I believe the term John the Apostle used was "Christian tolerance"... but what do I know!
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