The court is still out on evolution. It has to be, if we're still petty enough to discuss what is the exact date Jesus was born on and if we should celebrate it on a day that coincides with what used to be a pagan holiday!
There is a 'sleighload' of enduring issues that threaten our existence on this planet, our integrity as human beings, & the general quality of our lives: rampant corruption, pollution, mother nature's wrath, wars, illiteracy, famine, disease, mismanaged limited resources... Instead of all that and much more, we choose to debate every year the birth date of, at the very least, an extremely esteemed 'individual', who walked the earth (and the water) around 2000 years ago!
Who cares what's the exact day that Jesus was born on? I get that if he was here, he might take issue with celebrating his birthday on the wrong day: you know because he doesn't want to be gifted new sandals in winter! However, since you're celebrating his birthday in absentia, I'm more than positive that he doesn't mind the mix up. You can celebrate it on May 7th for all he cares. If you have the spiritual knack, you can celebrate it everyday.
Who cares if December 25th used to be a pagan holiday? So, if you were 'unlucky' enough to be born on that day, you're Scrooged! You won't be able to celebrate it, because regardless of your intention, it coincides with a pagan holiday! Even though it's pagan (whatever Godly punishment the utterance of this word brings by default), if what you take from the tradition is what is good about it, then so be it. Are you binge gambling on that day, as some used to do on Saturnalia? Is someone even campaigning for that? Did you know that during Saturnalia, slaves were given certain temporary liberties, and their masters used to prepare their supper? Did you know that gifts were encouraged to be more symbolical than expensive? The view that anything B.C.*, B.M.*, B.A.*, B.B*... is to be discarded is childish and negligent.
An action is deemed bad, sinful, scientifically irrational if the intent of the action, the action itself, or the consequences of the action have a harmful effect. So, let's tackle this act, first as a pagan holiday, and then as a Christian one.
As a pagan holiday, there are decorations all around, people are nicer to each other, & gifts are given. The nerve of some people for promoting such a thing! I highly doubt that people are still celebrating Saturn or whatever non-existent deity (although you can't prove them wrong mind you). So, what harm can come out of that? Rhetorical question.
As a Christian Holiday, Jews take issue for obvious reasons. Muslims take issue mainly because of a technicality: Jesus was not born in December! What both don't get, is that you do not have to believe that Jesus is the Messiah or a god in order to, Allah or YHWH forbid, celebrate it in your own way, with your own good intentions. Or to simply wish your fellow Christians a merry Christmas. It is not hypocritical on your part to do so nor is it a betrayal of your own religion. If a mere greeting can compromise your beliefs, or lead to eternal damnation, newsflash: discard them! All it is, is a small act of courtesy. You know that you enjoy it when others wish you 'happy hannukkah' or 'Ramadan Kareem': let us crudely call it returning the gesture. To put things into perspective concerning how compassionate a firm believer should be, an excerpt from the Matrix:
"//debating how to save the human race//
Commandor Lock: Dammit Morpheus, not everyone believes what you believe.
Morpheus: My beliefs don't require them to."
This annual Beckettian stupidity has got to stop. This is the 21st century for carolling out loud! Forget the fact that in one way or another if someone sneezes in Europe, there is an epidemic in Africa, we are virtually a touch away from each other anywhere in the world! Contact is inevitable. So you either quarantine yourself, or the other completely; or you accept the fact that you have to interact with the other. If you choose the former, then by all means deck the walls with boughs of electricity, shut down the internet, raise the airports to the ground... but mark my words, there will come a time where you will need the other for something - God usually does that (I think on purpose). What then?
If you choose the latter, then the way to go about things is simple: the basis for all positive interaction is kindness.
Christmas has become to a great extent, a secular holiday in the sense that it is celebrated by all: A time when you allow yourself to be a child for a while, when a tree and some red lights can genuinely cheer you up, when a guy with lousy makeup & a school bell can make you giggle, and when most importantly you give: a little extra kindness, a gesture, a hug, a greeting. So, how about we celebrate the good spirit of Christmas instead of its letter?
*B.C., B.M., B.A., B.B....: before Christ, Mohammad, Moses, Abraham, Buddha...
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