In the past, I am always very irritated by the commercialization of Christmas. I was perplexed when i attended US companies' Christmas celebrations. They were all drinking, merry-making sessions where there is not even a mention of God or Jesus, or the Christian religion. I am dismayed.
I was ,very very surprised that many people in Asia,even Christians did not know that Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus's birth or the Christian religion. I was one of them.I did not really know myself until i was in Europe some time back and the Europeans pointed this out to me. In another ocasion, my Japanese friends told me that the very reason for the popularity of Christmas in Japan is precisely "Christmas is a non-Christian secular western festival"(the Japanese he reasoned do not want to celebrate Christian religious festivals).
Christmas is a pagan festival. I read that the celebration of Christmas was once outlawed by a Christian king for its non-Christian ,pagan origins. The Jehovah Witness forbid its followers to celebrate it. Some attributed Christmas to winter solstice festival celebrated in Europe before the advent of Christianity while others tell of religious festivals honoring Greek deities. The last time i visited Europe, there were a some public campaigns to celebrate Christmas in its originality that is stripped of anything Christianity , much to the dismay of churches who are already grappling with low church attendence. Europe are starting to search for their rich pre-Christian historical roots which they lamented has been destroyed intentionally by early Christian missionaries who spread this Middle East religion into Europe.
Personally, i am still adjusting to this startling fact. i still cannot accept a Christmas that is non-Christianity in nature. The childhood Christian education,the images of Jesus in the Manger,the church's plays of Jesus and the Christian religion still lingers in my mind during the Christmas seasons.However, I take some comfort that Santa Claus, Christmas trees and exchanging presents are still part of non-religious Christmas.
Maybe like the Europeans and many Americans i should also look back and discover the original Asian religious and cultures of my grandparents, which sadly have already seems so distant and so unfamiliar to me.
I was ,very very surprised that many people in Asia,even Christians did not know that Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus's birth or the Christian religion. I was one of them.I did not really know myself until i was in Europe some time back and the Europeans pointed this out to me. In another ocasion, my Japanese friends told me that the very reason for the popularity of Christmas in Japan is precisely "Christmas is a non-Christian secular western festival"(the Japanese he reasoned do not want to celebrate Christian religious festivals).
Christmas is a pagan festival. I read that the celebration of Christmas was once outlawed by a Christian king for its non-Christian ,pagan origins. The Jehovah Witness forbid its followers to celebrate it. Some attributed Christmas to winter solstice festival celebrated in Europe before the advent of Christianity while others tell of religious festivals honoring Greek deities. The last time i visited Europe, there were a some public campaigns to celebrate Christmas in its originality that is stripped of anything Christianity , much to the dismay of churches who are already grappling with low church attendence. Europe are starting to search for their rich pre-Christian historical roots which they lamented has been destroyed intentionally by early Christian missionaries who spread this Middle East religion into Europe.
Personally, i am still adjusting to this startling fact. i still cannot accept a Christmas that is non-Christianity in nature. The childhood Christian education,the images of Jesus in the Manger,the church's plays of Jesus and the Christian religion still lingers in my mind during the Christmas seasons.However, I take some comfort that Santa Claus, Christmas trees and exchanging presents are still part of non-religious Christmas.
Maybe like the Europeans and many Americans i should also look back and discover the original Asian religious and cultures of my grandparents, which sadly have already seems so distant and so unfamiliar to me.
