Christmas - The glue that binds us all.
Christmas
is celebrated by almost every person in America. According to a Pew Research poll 96% of people in the U.S. celebrate Christmas. 81% of the non-Christians who celebrate are a diverse group of atheists, agnostics, and
those of other religions. Although, Christians are decreasing as a percentage of
Americans, the percentage who celebrate Christmas is still about the same.
Even
if one doesn't attend church on a regular basis, over 60% say they will attend
services. And of those who don't attend church at all, 16% say they will. 86%
say they will gather with friends and family and exchange gifts for Christmas.
The
first recorded date of Christmas was 336AD, during the rule of the Roman
Emperor Constantine. December 25th is the winter solstice, the
celebration of the Roman sun god Mithras. Wishing not to participate in the
sun god celebration, Christians adopted that day for their own as the
birth of Jesus (which many experts suggest was sometime in the spring). Orthadox and Coptic churches chose the use of the Julian calendar and celebrate Christmas in January. I
personally like the play on words of the sun god verses the son of God.
As
you can see by the map, most countries around the world also celebrate
Christmas.
No
other holiday is as festive and cheerful as Christmas. It crosses political
party lines and cultural divides. It is the one holiday that literally forces
people to set aside their differences to come together. It is easy to focus
on the negative aspects of the holidays, such as suicide or commercialization,
but I believe people really want a chance to renew relationships and have a
reason to be kind to others.
It really is the holiday of holidays, because
it binds us like no other day of the year. I believe Jesus is the best reason for us to be merry, but I am also thankful that we in America and around the globe consider it important enough to observe this special day to celebrate and have a Merry Christmas.
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