Sunday, 28 November 2010

Christmas or Yule?

Yule approaches.

I know that this is often a time of some contention for some of Pagan types! Some of us feel very strongly about NOT celebrating Christmas, and some of us embrace it. Who is to say who has the right of it? I personally feel the two are so similar in message and actual celebration that I tend to celebrate my Yule at Christmas time with the rest of my community. It also makes it easier for my children!
For me part of the pagan message I want to pass onto my children (and this is simply true to my path, but maybe not yours?) is that of the importance of community. The pagan culture is a vibrant and diverse one, but regardless of if my children ever decide to chose it for their own, they are still a part of the wider culture of our community. To me this is as important from my pagan perspective as the pagan culture that I chose to identify with. I am heavily influenced by the desire to make the world a better place while we live upon it and this is only ever achievable within the community. It's when we work together that we make the biggest difference and change works so much better from within, be it change of people's opinions towards the pagan community or helping people show more respect towards their physical environment. Despite being a part of the Pagan community we are all a part of the culture of the place in which we were raised or now live in, and that is equally as important to me.
This Yule thing seems to one of those hot topics that can so easily divide Pagans. In the past I've seen quite heated online debates about celebrating Christmas as Pagans! But does the view point need to change when you go from being a Pagan to being a Pagan-parent?
For me one of the beautiful things about the various flavours of Paganism is their tolerance and the way they so easily embrace a whole tapestry of other cultures and beliefs into the fold. Now, I know this is a broad and sweeping statement, and not altogether a correct one because certainly there are many Pagans who are not tolerant and open to other beliefs. No group of people is perfect! But in general terms the message of Paganism is a tolerant one.
When we have children I think it becomes more important to open ourselves up to those holidays we don't consider Pagan for our children's sake even if before we might have been against celebrating them. Ultimately religious choice is theirs, but to make an informed choice they have to be aware of other religions
What do you think about celebrating Christmas as Pagans? How important do you feel it is to celebrate as part of your community?

2 comments:

  1. For us Christmas is a family holiday, so we celebrate. I feel that I would only be hurting my children to separate us from the rest of our family if I refused Christmas. Division is not what I want, and so we do celebrate. But we also do mark the solstice, we read books about the time of the year, we have hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace, we spend time together, and I give the kids each a small gift. They don't get it, really, but we talk about the simple stuff... the sun is going to start coming back, the wheel of the year stuff. It's a very mellow time for the nuclear family, where Christmas is a big festive large-group event... I think they are a nice balance, a nice complement... and show the kids the importance and strengths of both.

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  2. We do Yule at home and then visit our parents' houses for Christmas. Yule is the return of the sun. Christmas is a time for family and the spirit of giving without expectation of return (for short we call him Santa ;) )

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