It's that time of year again. Time for cries of "War on Christmas," and "Remember the Reason for the Season." (It's axial tilt. The reason for every season is axial tilt.)
Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year
Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share
-"Christmas Time is Here," by Vince Guaraldi
As the Christmas trees (pagan) and wreaths (pagan) spring up all over the place, as stockings (pagan) are hung on the mantel with care, it's amusing to see how gleefully Christians have embraced completely non-Christian traditions. And perhaps it's no surprise, then, that non-Christians have similarly embraced Christmas. You'll see Christmas displays from atheists, Hindus, Jews, and more people who couldn't give a lick about keeping Christ in Christmas. If you ask most people the central figures of Christmas, you're more likely to hear about Santa and Rudolph than Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. (But what about poor oft-overlooked Krampus?)
Cultures all over the world celebrate the winter solstice. Some Christians are seriously irked by "Happy Holidays," but how else are we supposed to accommodate the absolute flood of winter holidays from cultures around the world?
Every culture in the world notices that days get longer and shorter throughout the year. Every culture marks the point when the nights are longest and days are shortest. Yule, Saturnalia, Sol Invictus, Kwazaa, Christmas, Hannukah, Sankranti, Soyal, Shab-e Yalda, Shalako, and too many more to name. Celebrating deities as diverse as Christ, Huitzilopochtli, Sanghamittā, Sol, Surya, Lussi, or Odin. And let's not forget Festivus!
Sol Invictus is an official holiday of the Satanic Temple. It's speculated that the early church chose December 25 as the date on which they would celebrate Christmas as an attempt (successful, it seems) to co-opt the existing Sol Invictus celebrations on that date. But ultimately, they're all about the winter solstice.
(Apologies to our brethren in the southern hemisphere, who get all the winter solstice talk at the height of summer.)
I've always loved Christmas. For the story? Not so much. Pregnant teenager knocked up by a distant bio-dad gives birth without access to sufficient medical care, then becomes a refugee in a country where she's an ethnic minority. It's motivating for social justice, but not really bound up in my happy memories.
For family. It's the time we gather at the home of the reigning matriarch to reunite with far-flung cousins. The matriarch has changed over the years, which cousins came, the details of where we meet and what we do. But it's a time for family.
For music. Triumphant arrangements of familiar carols. Moving arrangements of songs I haven't heard for years. The joyous gauntlet of singing three of the five Christmas Eve services with my choral compatriots. Such pageantry.
More than any other time of year, this is when I can set aside the fact that I don't believe any of this actually happened and just revel in the glorious music. Enjoy coming together with family and friends to celebrate that, though nights are long, light will return. Nothing un-Satanic about that.
Hail, Satan! Amen.