By Samuel Liu & Yousra Fakhro,
Managing Editor & Social Media Editor
Rampage staff give opposing views on whether or not Christmas is secular.
By Samuel Liu
Nowhere in the Bible did God create elves, and Frosty the Snowman never made a cameo. But some choose to sing hymns on Christmas or represent the nativity scene outside their church. While Christmas celebrations can have religious observances, Christmas is a secular celebration of giving, festivity and family. To define Christmas by ancient origins or gatekeep the holiday for Christians is unfair because this holiday isn’t set in stone — it’s a holiday created with different traditions, old and new.
Our conventional observances of Christmas are largely secular. Secret Santa, a common practice during Christmas, embodies the festivities of presents and surprise. But the joy of gift-giving traverses Christianity or any single religion. Houses light up with tiny bulbs, inflatable penguins and reindeer, while families sit down to watch football. Children compete in gingerbread house decorations and lay awake in anticipation of opening presents under the tree. The scents of evergreen trees and the flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg don’t belong to one faith. Representations of skating penguins and the combinations of red with green are not trademarked by any God, and none of these reference any religion.
Music, a huge part of the Christmas experience, is secular. Songs like “All I Want for Christmas is You” and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” dominate the holiday radio charts and our playlists. Even a common carol like “Santa Claus is Coming To Town” doesn’t focus on the omnipotence of Santa Claus, but creates a buzz of excitement when anticipating gifts. Even then, some paint Santa as an oppressive representation of God. While every analysis is valid, every listener holds the power of individual interpretation. When engaging with Christmas music, the author’s perceived intent must not define our family gatherings, festivity and Christmas experience.
While gift exchanges and Operation Christmas Child revolve around the joyful spirit of giving and receiving, others choose to label those initiatives a form of conversion. Whether or not one chooses to participate in holiday activities, one truth is clear: Christmas is not a monolithic, religious experience — Christmas is what we make of it.
Ultimately, everyone makes a conscious decision to define Christmas by its religious past or honor the universal experience of generosity and togetherness. We decide the meaning of Christmas.
By Yousra Fakhro
In the wake of current strides towards reform of systemic racism and exclusion, it’s time to consider Christmas, a religious holiday, and its integration into the TC educational system.
At a young age, I remember a mandatory school performance of Christmas carols like “Winter Wonderland.” The issue is that school desensitizes young students, who only see this as a form of entertainment. As a Muslim, there’s a contradiction between my belief in one God, and the message these songs convey. For example, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” personifies Santa Claus, a figure assumed to have no correlation with religion, as God-like astaghfirullah*: “He sees you when you’re sleeping / And he knows when you’re awake / He knows if you’ve been bad or good / So be good for goodness sake.”
The history of Christmas begins with the pagans, including Scandinavians, Germans and the Romans. They celebrated Yule, the winter solstice, which commemorates the end of the long winter nights. Germans celebrated the Pagan God Oden astaghfirullah*, and they believed he made flights through the night sky to watch his people, where he chooses to allow them to perish or prosper. Romans also observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome and celebrated the birthday of Mithra, born on Dec. 25, who was an infant god astaghfirullah* born from a rock.
Around 350 AD, Pope Julius I chose Dec. 25 to encourage those attached to their pagan traditions to celebrate Christmas. However, officials couldn’t dictate how the holiday would be celebrated making a bastardized version of Christmas that has a combination of different beliefs.
Though Christmas is a combination of those different beliefs, this doesn’t make it secular. It’s inherently religious, the name itself means “Christ’s Mass” and just because the people celebrating it don’t believe in the various religions doesn’t make Christmas any less religious.
Besides the inability to dissociate the religious aspects of Christmas, Christmas Break is marketed as winter break as it lies a month before finals week rather than having the break after. To combat the connotation of winter break and Christmas, break should be after finals.
If TC truly claims to be secular and inclusive, all the major holidays Yom Kippur, Eid al Fitr/Adha, Diwali, etc, need that same consideration, otherwise, no attention should be given at all.
*Meaning: I seek forgiveness from Allah