Christmas

Christmas

There are several pairs of lenses one could place on his or her nose to read this word with near clarity. To read a word, humans must place lenses of definitions or “values” on the words they read. Words themselves would be nothing but simple signs unless we placed them into a structure of meaning, relevance and system. Though there is a structure to the structure of language, there are still multiple interpretations and readings of a particular word. Christmas has become a complex word that invites many readers to approach the word with their own lenses. I want to look at these lenses or definitions to establish what I have been thinking of Christmas lately.

One definition that we place on the word “Christmas” is of a religious nature. It is no secret that Christmas symbolizes a time when the gods gave one of their own to be born on earth to reunite the gods and humans into a companionship. This mystical tale is full of peculiar (maybe even contradictory) details of how the gods chose for the baby-god to enter humanity. This tale is a rather simple story full of complex and hidden details, but I would rather not speak of the literary value of the birth of this baby-god at this moment.

The second definition that is placed on the word “Christmas” comes from society. Because society attempts to separate itself from religion, the “societal Christmas” focuses on the manifestations of Christmas, not necessarily the origins of the holiday. Through society, Christmas is a joyous holiday full of food, good cheer, gifts, Christmas sweaters, Santa Clause, snow and family. Society attempts to overpower the religious value of the word, but I would suggest that the religious connotation of Christmas still exists today, though it might only exist in a historical (thus a distant) sense.

Now there are negative aspects to both definitions. Society’s, particularly the media’s, definition of Christmas have aspects of consumerism (well, this is evident in the USA’s society) where all you hear about is “a diamond is forever.” In England the adverts are not so forceful or annoying, but there is still a hint of consumerism.

The negative aspect of the religious connotation is the exclusion and separatist nature of Christmas. What if someone does not want to celebrate Christmas? Society is attempting to move the definition of Christmas away from its religious value so all may freely participate.

To address another relevant con to Christmas, Christmas is a time of loneliness for many.

Though there are different lenses, the meaning of the word must be inspected closely. The old English root of the word simply says “Crïstes + mæsse.” In old English this would be translated as “Christ’s festival.” This festival commemorates and celebrates the coming of a god (the baby-god sent by the gods to become part human.) There is a marriage in the word that unites the concepts of gift and companionship. “Crïstes” is humanity’s gift from the gods. “Mæsse” originates from the concept of Mass. Mass could be analyzed in several ways, but one way to looked at it is through companionship, which literally means, “to break bread with.” The gods chose to symbolize their union with humans by breaking break in the last supper. This being said, within the word there is an intertwining of the words gift and friendship. Through the lenses of different readers and the dichotomy of the word, there is major “play” when using and reading the word. However, I want to define more clearly the connotation of this godly gift in particular. Now bear with me.

The story of this god coming down to earth has his “death” told in paintings, images, statues, necklaces and little booklets passed out by crazy peoples all over the world. It has been used as an icon to kill and save throughout the world. Thus, the idea of Christmas needs to be re-examined with fresh eyes, a reborn imagination and a new vigor towards fictional stories. The myth speaks of the baby-god sacrificing his godliness to come to be with us humans. The baby-god lost his godliness and then lost his humanness when killed by the humans he came to be in relationship with. Therefore, there is an intrinsic value of sacrifice in the idea of Christmas—the festival that remembers the gift of the gods—the gift to be later murdered.

Therefore, Christmas holds the value of sacrifice. But how would this relate to humans and how we experience Christmas? To transpose the essence of sacrifice to daily life, sacrifice might simply look like thinking and living beyond one’s self. Now I am a big believer in having a festival whenever I can or to visit any that are taking place, but I think that the essence of Christmas (and this might go unsaid) is in the everyday life.

This is how I spent my Christmas… mainly on a train from Rome (where you could say Christmas was first created) to Florence, Italy. It was a four and a half hour ride where I filled the time by listening to music with my ipod, eating Penguins (wonderful English chocolate biscuits), and watching the Italian countryside pass me by. Later that evening I skyped with my family for a good hour, ate Italian pizza, drank wine, ate chocolate and attempted to watch A White Christmas and Miracle on 34^th Street but they wouldn’t download correctly. When I went to bed that night i was not satisfied, I was also not unsatisfied, I just was falling asleep from another day.

I know of an English bloke who spent his Christmas at his university home alone where he opened gifts he rapped for himself and ate bread and butter for the day because he could not grocery shop the day before. He then spent the day watching movies and the Queen’s annual speech to the nation.

Christmas for me (the literal day) has not really happened. And I am glad for this. Christmas takes place in the little things I encounter in life. I have and hope to experience bits of Christmas each day in a new way. We should celebrate the mystical, fictional tale of the gods, diversity, unity, companionship, and the ability that we all can give each other a laugh, a cookie, a card, and even an embrace. And this in time should scratch our lenses a bit. We won’t be able to read the word so clearly, but maybe that is the point. The third definition that I would like to place on the arbitrary symbols that make up what we know, as Christmas is the messy idea to live a life of sacrifice and companionship—being an important local citizen and an aware world citizen. But this is still ill defined.