Taking the “Christ” out of Christmas

Over this winter break, I watched nearly two dozen Christmas movies. I saw children’s movies, rom-coms, cartoon specials, and even a few action movies. Even with the variety of holiday-themed entertainment, all of the films had one thing in common: not a single mention of Jesus Christ or Christianity.

Every year on December 25, millions of families across the country and upwards of two billion people across the world celebrate Christmas. For many, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and that alone is enough to justify all the subsequent festivities. However, there are tens of millions of secular or non-Christian Americans who go out of their way to wrap presents or buy a Christmas tree. A recent poll found that over 80 percent of non-Christians in the United States celebrate Christmas. For them, Christmas isn’t about Christianity, and current American culture encourages this push toward a secular Christmas.

Although some sources lend credence to the notion of America as a whole being a foundationally religious nation, the actual size and devoutness of religious practitioners have substantially diminished in the last few decades. A study conducted by Gallup News found a 19 percent decline in religious adults in America, with an even steeper drop in church attendance and religious teachings in households. Religion simply isn’t cutting it for more and more Americans, and even for many of those who still consider themselves religious, ceremonies and rites have become arbitrary and only hold significance in tradition rather than meaning.

Christmas has been substantially redefined since its integration into American culture. What was once one day and one night turned into 12, and from there originated a season of joy, kindness, and charity. Though these values may emulate religious principles, the Christmas season is in no way a wholly religious season. Christmas isn’t even necessarily a holiday with Christian roots. Pagan celebrations of the late December winter solstice predate Christianity as a whole, and it is very likely that traditions and ceremonies associated with Christmas came before its Christianization.

To many, religion doesn’t hold the same importance it did centuries ago. Modern Americans no longer find religion to be something that substantially impacts their lives or the lives of the people around them. This isn’t to say that modernity has turned everyone atheist, but it did provide moral frameworks similar to those derived from religion while also completely eliminating the aspect of faith. At Christianity’s conception in Ancient Rome, its beliefs did not align with those of the Roman Empire, and the very foundations of the ethical and moral teachings of Christianity were so opposed to Roman law and culture that Christianity was outlawed for much of its early existence. In those times, Christianity acted as an alternate way of perceiving the world through moral and theological lenses, presenting believers with a code of conduct intended to make followers more righteous. However, much of what the Christian canon asserts to be the right way of life is no longer significantly disputed in the Western world to the point that it becomes hard to distinguish between a religious person and an atheist solely based on actions. Tenets of Christianity have been so deeply integrated into America and the Western concept of “objective values” that acknowledging and following them does not require you to be Christian.

Christmas isn’t the only thing that has de-Christianized. American society and culture are shifting away from previously religious lifestyles. The hole in our existential moral compass that religion once filled has been replaced with a broader understanding and acceptance of moral codes and differences between people. Where religion once pulled people together in a fraternity of a singular understanding and experience, modern culture allows for differences and varieties that come with living in a unique world. Christmas is not a uniform holiday celebrated in one single way; it’s the ability to interpret the great holiday that makes Christmas important for Americans of all backgrounds. We cannot shun typical American Christmas celebrations “for being religious.”

For some people, celebrating Christmas even slightly is considered, in some way, a betrayal of their culture and religion. Instead of looking at the holiday’s joy and togetherness, they see the millennia-old religious significance and shun every modern aspect on principle. In an attempt at religious exclusivity, so many people in America miss the message entrenched, not only in the principles of Christmas, but also everything America stands for. And while I light my menorah next to my Christmas tree, I can’t help but wonder: why would anyone not take part in such an American tradition?