First of all, the celebration of Christmas has evolved, oops dirty word, from being just a religious celebration to being a celebration. I am an Atheist and I’m a very big fan of Christmas, believe it or not. The real true meaning of Christmas is happiness. It’s a celebration of whatever makes you happy. If being together with your family makes you happy, that’s your meaning of Christmas. If presents, lights, Christmas carols, Peace, love, kindness, giving, receiving, etcetera make you happy then that’s your meaning of Christmas. If mythology makes you happy then that’s your thing, but it doesn’t mean that’s what it should be for everybody.

There are many other December holidays that are important to people. The most famous of these holidays are Chanukah or Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, a celebration of the liberation of their temple from the Seleucid Monarchy, and Kwanzaa, which is a celebration of African-American heritage.

In fact Christmas is not even the original December holiday. While the term ‘Christmas’ is in relation to Jesus Christ the holiday itself is not originally about the birth of Jesus. Before the myth of Jesus was ever even conceived people celebrated Yule, which is the early German celebration of the winter solstice. Christmas has borrowed many traditions from the celebration of Yule such as the Yule Log, eating a ham, holly and mistletoe. Chanukah/Hanukkah has also been around for centuries prior to Christmas and is potentially where the use of Christmas lights originated.

Jesus is not even the original “savior” celebrated on December 25th. The Persian mythological character named Mithras was also born or December 25th , to Anahita, the immaculate virgin mother, and every year his followers would celebrate his birth on that date. Mithras served as a mediator between the Earth and, the “god” of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda. He was the savior of Mithraism, which is a derivative of Zoroastrianism.

Christmas has become an umbrella term for our December celebrations. How each person celebrates is up to them and should not be dictated by anyone. Fighting over which holidays are best, how to celebrate or the greetings we wish each other. December/Christmas should be a time for joy and celebration, not a time for telling people how or what to celebrate.

Which is more important, the language of the celebration or the celebration itself?