Unity Center
in western North Carolina

Celebrating Christmas!

Pagan Is Not a Four-Letter Word

Between the ages of sixteen and thirty-six, I did not observe Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or birthdays. My church forbade it, due to the pagan origins of those celebrations. To have disobeyed would have resulted in my being dis-fellowshipped.

Thirteen years removed from those strict doctrines, it all seems frivolous and narrow-minded. Yet, the cry of "pagan" still resounds from many fundamentalist pulpits, and the zealous followers of several groups.

In my former church, it became a mission for ministers to sermonize on some hitherto unexposed paganism associated with Christmas, each time the season rolled around. To avoid repetition from any previous messages, I remember sifting through Sir James Frazer’s classic, "The Golden Bough", to contrive a sermonette on the use of mistletoe in pre-Christian worship. I needn’t have worried about fresh material for speaking assignments, as endless information abounds regarding the proliferation of paganism in practically every religious rite.

From symbols to ceremony, paganism pervades the worship service of virtually every church in America. Whether it be the steeple, the stained-glass windows, or the cross, all owe their origins to paganism, even down to the final "Amen," which is linked to the name of the principal god of Lower Egypt. It would be a more difficult task to find non-pagan trappings in modern Christian observances. Try an Internet search for "pagan symbols" or "pagan symbols adopted by Christianity", for a myriad of startling results.

Through popular misuse of the word, "pagan" has been used by many Christians, to apply to all people and things not deemed Christian. In such cases, the term is usually a slur. Its broader meaning, however, includes practitioners of polytheistic religions, and can also refer to irreligious or hedonistic individuals. Secondarily, it may be applied to mean any individual or group outside of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths.

When the word "pagan" is used maliciously, it is condemning billions of our human family, and entire civilizations, ancient and modern. Our form of government, our economic system, and much of our academic knowledge are borrowed from individuals and cultures that fall under the broad pagan umbrella. To dismiss the validity of so many great nations, simply because their heritage is non-Christian, is hardly in keeping with the Bible message that "God is love."

Paganism is all around us. It is unavoidable, from the wedding rings on our fingers, to the symbols on our money. Rather than use it as a label to separate one another, why not embrace it? Enjoy the rich cultural diversity handed down to us. Celebrate the holidays free of judgment, and full of the wonderful traditions that make them so memorable.

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