Scrooge Letter: December 9
Dear Uncle Scrooge,
Thank you for your last letter. It has given me a lot to think about and I must concede on point. You are probably right that I am over thinking this whole Christmas holiday. I fear that I have given you the impression that I am against celebrating Christmas and that is not the case at all. My goal in writing you is not to convince you of the futility of Christmas (like anyone could even do such a thing), but rather to help me find what is missing for me and Christmas: a purpose and reason. To paraphrase my mentor: To do something just because that is how it has always been done is wrong. To do something because you understand and agree with why/how it is done is right. I just want to understand why I do the things I do at Christmas.
I must say that something you said in your letter (I think more of a passing comment to make your point) has given me the most to think about. Perhaps Christmas has less to do with Jesus. This made me think maybe Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus (at least as it is celebrated today). This caused me to look at Christmas with a religious meaning.
Certain parts of the holiday become easier to explain. Things like the lights and the tree become just decoration for the holiday, much like the decorations for other holidays. This would also help explain “Santa Clause” as this I can find nothing in the Bible to account for such a character. And why give gifts? One could say that it is for the joy of giving, but if that is the case, why not then tell children the gifts are from you instead of Santa? I will admit that giving a gift to someone (especially a child) that they really like does make a person feel very joyful. However, for many people, there is much stress over finding the ‘right’ gift for someone. Worse of all, is seeing the look of disappointment in the face of a child (or hearing their cries) when they did not get the gift they wanted. The feeling you get from their disappointment cancels any joy from the act of giving. Without a religious meaning, how does one explain gift giving in moments such as these? Now please understand I do not blame the child for acting that way as they are only acting how the feel. One of the things that adults learn is how to how to hide their feelings at such times so as to spare the giver’s feelings. Could we then argue that (without religious meaning), the purpose of gift giving, and thus Christmas itself, is to teach us how to deal with disappointment? Heaven forbid such a thing. If it were true, then the best way to celebrate Christmas would be to purchase the worse gift for each person, thus helping them with their Christmas spirit. This hardly seems like a valid reason for such a holiday. Still, I am hard pressed to think of another reason for the gift exchange.
And what of the “good will toward your fellow man?” Although its origins would be a mystery, the idea of helping improve the condition of other people is a great idea. This idea does not need a religious purpose or meaning to be followed. Perhaps the idea comes from the concept of karma (or as the Christian call it, the Golden Rule). I have found this concept in just about every religion. Making Christmas about good will towards your fellow man could then be a way to remind us we should be mindful of the condition of others and gives us a change to do something about it. (Remember I am speaking of a Christmas without religious meaning).
There are elements that do not fit when you remove religious meaning from the holiday. This includes items like the Nativity Seen and most Christmas Carols as they both are religious in nature and subject. It is clear after close examination that Christmas must have some type religious meaning in order to make sense (or it much be completely made-over). Christmas must has a religious meaning if it is to be celebrated at all.
Your loving great nephew
E. Cliff