Is Christmas The Best PR Job Ever?

 

If you believe in and celebrate Christmas, you may choose not to read the rest of this article, because I respect your choice and wishes and have no desire to change you or your beliefs.

If you don’t believe in Christmas or you have not made up your mind yet, read on.  I may have some interesting information for you.

I am not convinced that a person called Jesus ever lived.  I have read widely on the subject and can put forward a convincing argument that Jesus did exist, that he spent a fair number of years travelling the world (including countries as far away as India and the current United States), that he eventually was crucified and survived that experience, and then got married to Mary Magdalene.  Apparently, they had three children and then got divorced, and Jesus was last heard of when he was still alive and well into his seventies.

On the other hand, I can also put forward a convincing argument that Jesus was a resurrection of the myth of a virgin birth, where the ruling tyrant wanted the baby dead.  The baby became an adult, was worshipped as a savior and put to death on a cross between two thieves. He then rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.  Other mythical characters that had the same history include Bacchus, Narcissus, Zoroaster, Cadmus of Greece and a list that is too long to repeat here.

It also makes no sense to me that a monotheistic religion such as Christianity then breaks down their one God into three gods which includes this figure, Jesus.

I was impressed at how flexible and adaptable religion is, and how big an impact the Christian Jesus has even had on other religions, when I discovered what the Hindus did with Christmas, which is not a traditional Hindu holiday. In 1985 a five-day festival named Pancha Ganapati was created by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami along with elders of various Hindu groups.

During the festival of Pancha Ganapti Hindus create and decorate a shrine in the main living room of the home.  The focus if the shrine is a statue of Lord Ganesha.  Every day the children of the home dress the statue in a different color.  On 23rd and 24th December, the third and fourth day of this five-day festival, presents are handed out.  Now the Hindu children can also receive presents and not feel left out when the rest of the world goes mad on tinsel and sanctimonious songs.

Apparently, the tradition of having a Christmas tree is rejected as a heathen practice in Jeremiah 10:2-6: “Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen ... For the customs of the people are vain; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”  I know many Christians who ignore this part of their Good Book but insist that the rest is true.

Why does Santa Claus always dress in red and white?  Because he works very hard on Christmas Eve delivering gifts to children all around the world, and when he gets thirsty, he stops and drinks Coca Cola out of a red and white can.  Yes, that company decided that Christmas was really about the spirit of Santa Claus, and they decided to dress him in company colors.

And to think all of this started with a Public Relations job that was commissioned by the Christian church 2 000 years ago! I wonder if they would be willing to take on the PR for my new book?

What are your beliefs about Christmas?  Why?