When The Man Comes Around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and in each sup
For you partake of that last offered cup
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the man comes around
-Johnny Cash, When The Man Comes Around

I've been kind-of following articles on this so-called "war on Christmas". It's a little puzzling to me, and seemingly a little misplaced. In a nutshell, here's the skinny- a group or groups of people want to keep the Christian holiday in the forefront, and have retailers say "Christmas" instead of "Holidays", and generally want the "majority religion" (this is a direct quote from the website www.waronchristmas.com) represented in the secular world.
Wow, where do I start? Atheists are taking out bus ads (also a direct quote from previous), there are lists of retailers who are "pro-Christmas", and the list goes on. It seems that with all the wrongs in the world, this is a pretty minor one. Personally, I don't get offended when people say "Merry Christmas!" Thanks for the sentiments, I say, and I wish you the same! I don't really celebrate Christmas per se, as I'm not a Christian, but if a Jewish guy or gal came up to me and said "Happy Hannukah!" I'd appreciate it just as much, and wish them well, too! I hope these people do indeed have a merry Christmas, or a happy Hannukah! It's a time of year to look on the bright side of things, and be grateful for the life, family and friends we have. And to look forwards to the promise of a new year, and hope that things are forever looking up.
Now to the technical aspects of it. Let's see, there is indeed a Christian holiday that corresponds to the old Pagan holiday of Yule. The term, I'm told, comes from the Norse word iul, meaning wheel. During this time, it was thought that the Oak King (the ruler of the 'warm' half of the year) defeats and kills the Holly King (the ruler of the 'cold' half of the year.) Thus Yule marks the coming new year, though winter still holds sway over the land. It's a recognition that spring will come, and the hope and promise of that new year. I've also heard (less substantiated here) that Santa Claus represents the Holly King, and his ride to the Land of Shadows on the solar chariot. This is a little more of a rough approximation, I've found. But gifts are given to mark the occasion of these two Kings, one abdicating power, his time spent, and the other preparing to take the throne in his place.
Another Pagan aspect more or less preserved is that of lights and fire- the Celts would burn a Yule log, often of oak, symbolizing the Oak King. Having a fire is often a Christmas tradition, though its roots may simply be family tradition. Nowadays a variation on this is common, using a log with three candles in it (pagans are big on threes, in this case symbolizing the three forms of the Goddess, maiden, mother and crone). So point being, there's a good deal of Pagan symbolism that goes unnoticed in the modern Christmas celebration. The Christmas tree, also, predates Christianity.
However, this is not to say that Christmas is just Paganism in disguise. As time has gone on, the holiday has come to mean different things to different people. And everyone should be free to exercise their own traditions, and imbue them with their own meanings. As to whether Christianity is the "majority religion', who knows? It's certainly a prominent one. But I wonder, why are these War On Christmas people so worked up? Is Christianity going somewhere? If we don't see Christmas trees and hear carols (over and over and over, until we're ready to beat ourselves or someone else senseless with a Yule log...) the day after Thanksgiving, are we all going to start sacrificing goats and dancing around the Beltane fires? (Yes, I know it's nowhere near Beltane, just seemed like a convenient reference). Why do we need Christmas defended? First off, retailers are less concerned about Christmas than they are sales. Hell, if Halloween was a major gift-giving holiday, guess what we would see come the end of September? To say holidays instead of Christmas seems like an attempt to include other faiths and practices as well- kind of like "It's a time of year a lot of people celebrate Christmas, but if you don't celebrate Christmas, that's cool too, but have a good time anyway!" Kind of like a waiter saying "enjoy your meal". You could order a steak, and your waiter could be a vegetarian. See what I mean? It's an attempt to make things relative to each of us, I think. I kind of liked Jeff Schweitzer's comment in the Huffington Post- "A Christian complaining that Christmas is under attack when submerged in that holiday's ubiquitous presence is like a fish in the Pacific Ocean complaining that there is not enough water. A lone humanist swimming in the middle of that vast ocean would be hard pressed to agree that water was in insufficient supply".
From what I can gather, the concern is that we'll be forced to not celebrate Christmas- mobs of angry secularists will go from house to house, pulling down Christmas lights and burning Santa Claus in effigy, or something like that. Now here's the stinger- doesn't the fact that you, those in support of Christmas, want to celebrate your holiday in peace, mean that you by logical extension should grant the right to others? Do we have a right to be free of Christmas decorations, if they offend our (prurient?) sensibilities? Of course not, that's silly. Would a Christian get offended if someone has a Star of David tattoo as a symbol of pride in their Semitic origins? Or if someone wears a kilt because they are proud of their Scottish heritage? No- everyone has a right to individual freedom of expression, barring anything illegal or harmful to others. If your skin is that thin that this type of display might offend you, I suggest that the problem lies not with those people who choose to decorate the house, but rather with you yourself. I think Christmas lights are cool, and like to see the displays people go through the trouble to put up. It's kind of a Christmas gift (or Yule gift, or Hanukkah gift, or whatever) that they share with the rest of the world- hey, come check this out, hope it makes you smile! People are entitled to their opinions. I for one am all about the "Christmas skeleton" idea the wife and I concocted a while back- leftover Halloween decorations for Christmas. Sure, it doesn't make sense, but wouldn't it be good for a laugh? Stick a red hat on him, and there you go! Silliness ensues, and hopefully it has the same effect as more traditional Christmas decorations- making people smile!
So, drawing this rant to a close- it seems this isn't about Christmas going anywhere. Again, I'll observe Yule, and my thoughts will be with family and friends, both those here in Afghanistan and those back home. The War on Christmas seems to be little more than media hype, something to fill the headlines between what Charlie Sheen said about the Queen Elizabeth, Justin Bieber's ties to the Illuminati, and other things that, in the long run, no one really gives a damn about, and don't matter in the slightest. So here's to the Oak King, may his rule be prosperous for us all, and to the Holly King, may we welcome him again when the time comes for him to once again take his place.