The Heart of the Holidays
Rev. Dr. Darryn Hewson, Contributing Writer
A holiday is a “holy” day and therefore has sacred significance within whichever tradition celebrates it, but often the heart of the holiday is a theme that resonates beyond those who adhere to a certain religion. Diwali is a fabulous example of how the heart of a holiday can transcend a religion and find sacred significance in a way that is universal, even sacred in multiple faith traditions. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, some Buddhists, and Jains, all at the same time within their various religious traditions, with different stories and foci, but with a central concept of light defeating the darkness. In reality, Diwali is celebrated by secular people and even some Muslim, Christian, and other religious peoples in communities around the world. It is most prevalent in India as a cultural community celebration, but there are more than a dozen countries where it is an official holiday, and several billion people celebrate it. A celebration with lights and food and family (sounds familiar) focused on the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness seems like something universal that we could and should all celebrate.
Then there is Christmas, which is celebrated around the world by Christians and many others, including those who practice other religions or espouse no official connection to a particular religion. In the Christian faith, Christmas is celebrated as a remembrance of the day Jesus, who would be the Christ or Messiah, was born. Most religious scholars agree that December 25th was not likely the actual day Jesus was born and that the celebration in December was to replace other festivals like Saturnalia (which was about family and gift-giving) on the Roman calendar. Does that matter? It should not. If you celebrate Christmas by giving and receiving gifts (Yes, learning how to receive a gift is actually important) and spending time with loved ones, but you do not even think about Jesus or God, have you somehow violated the holiday? If you celebrate with food and family and love on or around December 25th, but instead of Jesus, you celebrate enlightenment or community, are you dishonoring God? Should “real Christians” (whatever those are) be upset, or is that exactly what God or Jesus or whatever higher power is watching over us wants for us? If we find reasons to be generous and share love and community, is not that exactly what Jesus prayed for us? He did not pray that everyone would believe in or worship him as God or even the Son of God. In fact, Jesus got kind of annoyed when the disciples tried to. Instead, he prayed that “we would all be one”—period, no strings or sacred holidays attached. Jesus is important for Christians, but the most important attribute about the Messiah is supposed to be what he taught us, not when he was born or even how he died or did not die. As inspirational as Jesus’ story is, his lessons about love and forgiveness and service are the real heart of what is holy.
So, when we think about the “holy” in the holidays, I hope we remember that the heart of our traditions is not the memorial of an event but rather what those events were meant to teach us.
