Christmas is about faith
More often than I might expect, friends ask if I have faith in anything. I've done an excellent job in convincing people that I'm a die-hard secular advocate. That the scientific method rules my life. That I can't believe in anything I can't measure with a scale and ruler.
This may or may not be true. But what about faith? What about just "knowing" something to be true, in contrast (or in spite of) evidence? Do I believe anything like that? I do; many things, in fact! The reason why no one hears about them is because I believe faith is a quiet thing. There is no way for me to convince anyone else on matters of faith by using words. Trying to talk about faith is to miss the point entirely. In that spirit, let me tell you about something I have faith in, rather than trying to explain it.
I have faith in Christmas.
Ever since I was a child, I have loved Christmas. If I were better at analyzing myself, I'd pin it on the fact that Christmas is a wholly optimistic holiday. From the religious background, it is a beginning. For the naturalistic, it's the equality of day and night, showing the process of the sun towards summer.
When I was growing up, I got fed lots of platitudes about Christmas being about good will to everyone, peace on earth, the community of all. And I believed them. I still do. I heard sappy songs talking about keeping the Christmas cheer throughout the year. And I do. Why? It's what I want. I want to be able to connect with people the way I do at Christmas.
I have no great plan to effect this in people. I have no figures to back it up. I'm almost positive it's not possible. Yet I believe it, nonetheless. I feel it in my heart. I accept it, even given evidence to the contrary.
I have no logic to the ability to accept this season while denying the religious foundation. Yet this year, while at the church for the choir concert a few weeks ago, I was caught up listening to the music. The choir was singing "The First Noel," and I was enraptured. It was gorgeous music, swirling around me like I was crashing through waves. As the music built to its climax, I had to reach out to the railing to steady myself. I was almost overcome. Overcome by Christmas music!
The music touches me. Even going to the candlelight service at my local church (which I do every year) touches me. But it's not about the church, or the sermon, or the orthodoxy. It's about the people and the community all oriented towards peace on earth.
I have managed to disconnect the holiday from Christ altogether. I write that as if it's some sort of grand philosphy, when I've never even thought about it. I wouldn't have been able to speak about it, unless I was trying to write it into a blog (like now). The words of the Christmas carols may as well be in Latin, for I do not connect them with the church event.
In the past (and probably in the present and future, too) this declaration has opened me to ridicule. I'm subverting it. One cannot separate the two. Even if I'm not thinking about Christ on Christmas, he's thinking about me. After all, he went to all the trouble of dying on the cross for my sins.
All of this is completely irrelevant. If tomorrow, it were somehow proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christianity was a hoax and that it had been started by greedy fiction writers in Palestine all those years ago, it wouldn't effect my Christmas celebration in the slightest. My spirit would be undimmed, my carols still sung as loud.
My faith is in Christmas. It's in the spirit it brings to people. I have faith that every once and a while, we all feel the need to help each other out (even if we need to disguise it as "gifts"). My faith is steady and deep. I have no desire to press my faith on anyone; if I tried, the teachings would be worthless. Everyone must come to the Christmas spirit of their own free will, or it has ceased to resemble the beauty of what I feel. Everyone must want to learn. There are no threats. No guilt. This is one of the things I have faith in.
I believe in Christmas.
This may or may not be true. But what about faith? What about just "knowing" something to be true, in contrast (or in spite of) evidence? Do I believe anything like that? I do; many things, in fact! The reason why no one hears about them is because I believe faith is a quiet thing. There is no way for me to convince anyone else on matters of faith by using words. Trying to talk about faith is to miss the point entirely. In that spirit, let me tell you about something I have faith in, rather than trying to explain it.
I have faith in Christmas.
Ever since I was a child, I have loved Christmas. If I were better at analyzing myself, I'd pin it on the fact that Christmas is a wholly optimistic holiday. From the religious background, it is a beginning. For the naturalistic, it's the equality of day and night, showing the process of the sun towards summer.
When I was growing up, I got fed lots of platitudes about Christmas being about good will to everyone, peace on earth, the community of all. And I believed them. I still do. I heard sappy songs talking about keeping the Christmas cheer throughout the year. And I do. Why? It's what I want. I want to be able to connect with people the way I do at Christmas.
I have no great plan to effect this in people. I have no figures to back it up. I'm almost positive it's not possible. Yet I believe it, nonetheless. I feel it in my heart. I accept it, even given evidence to the contrary.
I have no logic to the ability to accept this season while denying the religious foundation. Yet this year, while at the church for the choir concert a few weeks ago, I was caught up listening to the music. The choir was singing "The First Noel," and I was enraptured. It was gorgeous music, swirling around me like I was crashing through waves. As the music built to its climax, I had to reach out to the railing to steady myself. I was almost overcome. Overcome by Christmas music!
The music touches me. Even going to the candlelight service at my local church (which I do every year) touches me. But it's not about the church, or the sermon, or the orthodoxy. It's about the people and the community all oriented towards peace on earth.
I have managed to disconnect the holiday from Christ altogether. I write that as if it's some sort of grand philosphy, when I've never even thought about it. I wouldn't have been able to speak about it, unless I was trying to write it into a blog (like now). The words of the Christmas carols may as well be in Latin, for I do not connect them with the church event.
In the past (and probably in the present and future, too) this declaration has opened me to ridicule. I'm subverting it. One cannot separate the two. Even if I'm not thinking about Christ on Christmas, he's thinking about me. After all, he went to all the trouble of dying on the cross for my sins.
All of this is completely irrelevant. If tomorrow, it were somehow proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christianity was a hoax and that it had been started by greedy fiction writers in Palestine all those years ago, it wouldn't effect my Christmas celebration in the slightest. My spirit would be undimmed, my carols still sung as loud.
My faith is in Christmas. It's in the spirit it brings to people. I have faith that every once and a while, we all feel the need to help each other out (even if we need to disguise it as "gifts"). My faith is steady and deep. I have no desire to press my faith on anyone; if I tried, the teachings would be worthless. Everyone must come to the Christmas spirit of their own free will, or it has ceased to resemble the beauty of what I feel. Everyone must want to learn. There are no threats. No guilt. This is one of the things I have faith in.
I believe in Christmas.
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