“I’m an atheist, and I love Christmas.” — VOICES for REASON

That’s the intriguing start to an essay by Onkar Ghate, senior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute (and Voices for Reason blogger), in the latest issue of U.S. News & World Report. The magazine invited him to address the “con” side of this debate: “Have the Holidays Become Too Secular?”

His answer, in essence, is that the true meaning of Christmas is secular, not religious. “Christmas in America is not a Christian holiday,” Dr. Ghate writes, explaining the paradox this way:

Christmas’s relation to goodwill leads many to believe the holiday inseparable from Christianity, allegedly the religion of goodwill. But the connection is tenuous. A doctrine that tells you that you’re a sinner—that you must seek redemption but cannot earn it yourself—and that Jesus, sinless, has endured an excruciating death to redeem you, who doesn’t deserve his sacrifice but who should accept it anyway—can hardly be characterized as expressing a benevolent view of man.

Christianity from the outset has been suspicious of human, earthly pleasure and joy. At best, these are seen as unbecoming a sinner, who should be busy repenting and fretting over his fate in an imagined next life. There once existed a war against Christmas—when religionists held sway in America. The Puritans canceled Christmas; in Boston from 1659 to 1681, the fine for exhibiting Christmas merriment was five shillings.

Christmas as we know it, with its twinkling lights, flying reindeer and dancing snowmen, is largely a creation of nineteenth century America. One of the most un-Christian periods in Western history, it was a time of worldly invention, industrialization and profit. Only such an era would think of a holiday dominated by commercialism and joy and sense the connection between the two.

Traditional wisdom has it that we are likely to forget the true meaning of Christmas as we scurry about buying last-minute gifts and enjoying holiday lights and gaiety. But there’s no such danger. In fact, the danger lies in the opposite direction—in the possibility that taking religion seriously will spoil the joy of the season. Dr. Ghate’s article is the best insurance against that risk.

Image: Wikimedia Commons