A "Traditional" Christmas

Traditional Christmas

Is it too early to start talking about Christmas? I don't think so. Since I jumped the gun on Thanksgiving, I feel like I'm right on schedule:) This is going to be my first Christmas in my own place, without roommates and all the carrying-on that usually transpires when there are lots of people around. In the past we never had a solid theme (Snowmen, Santa, traditional, or modern etc.) because there were too many of us with differing ideas of how we wanted the holidays to look. But since I can do whatever I want this year I thought I'd go for more of the "classic", traditional (i.s. more holly and poinsettias and less cartoons, and snowmen) Christmas. You know lots of red and green, and the Coca-Cola looking Santa. If you are into Christmas movies I mean more of a Polar Express Christmas and less of a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer one.

Cartoon/kid Christmas

Anyway, I have been slowly getting in the holiday spirit (but not too much because I don't want to pass over Thanksgiving in my anticipation). How am I doing this you may ask?  I am reading up on the origin of the holiday and where all the traditions come from. Unlike many people I have no delusions about where Christmas originated. But that doesn't bother me at all, or change the way I view it. To me, the truth about it is actually much more interesting and way more fun than if it were in fact the birthday of Jesus. (Not that I am a practicing pagan:) There is just so much legend and history, fear and excitement, celebration and tradition, diversity and ethnicity wrapped into what we call "Christmas"! And I love it!
Just as living things evolve, so do holidays. They are what Richard Dawkins called memes. Social ideas that are analogs to biological genes in that they follow the same rules. They can be transmitted through a species, can replicate, can mutate and are ultimately shaped by the preferences of society in which they exist. Christmas is an amalgamation of many ideas and customs, that accumulated over a long period of time, not just one.

Religious Christmas

Most of us know that the origin of Christmas is pagan worship of the sun on the winter solstice. But there is much, much more to the story. And even those of us that are familiar with it's pagan roots actually know very little about where the modern day Christmas evolved from. Sure the pagans worshiped the sun, but what does that have to do with Santa? Why is it a holiday favored by children? What's up with flying reindeer?

Modern Christmas

In anticipation of the upcoming holidays (and to savor the excitement!!!!) I will post a blog a week about the historical significance and origin of some aspect of Christmas that we all take for granted today. If you have a specific request, post a comment and I'll see what I can do! Ho ho ho! Happy holidays!