‘Tis the season for the understanding of one of the most important questions during the holidays: What is the true meaning of Christmas? With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, St. Lawrence professors and students provide insight into this important question, how Christmas has become commercialized and the idea of the relationship between religion and Christmas.
Associate Professor of the Religious Studies Department Kathleen Self explains how the evolution of Christmas has allowed this important question to be answered in various ways. “Christmas is so many different things and has been so many different things through the years, that the answer is going to depend on who you ask,” says Self. “What it is they think the true meaning of Christmas is now or should be is going to have a lot to do with what religion they have or their cultural identity.”
Self believes that society has a unique understanding of Christmas due to its evolution. “It’s important to know that Christmas has evolved a lot over the centuries, from being a religious holiday of not great importance, to one that became very important more recently,” says Self. “I guess you could ask the questions: ‘Who owns Christmas?’ and ‘Who gets to decide what Christmas is?’”
Abby Yosef 22’ of Christian religion believes Christmas has shifted from religious traditions to social traditions showing that America has commercialized the holiday. “Christmas should be celebrated as it is, but often times because it is commercialized, we focus on the gifts part of it,” says Yosef. “We should remember the reason for the joy that we express during this time.”
Although Yosef has stronger religious ties to the holiday, she enjoys how the holiday is celebrated by various cultures. “I know Muslims and Jewish people that celebrate Christmas just because it is a happy time,” explains Yosef. “I do love the idea that it brings people together and, essentially, even if people don’t realize that it is about Jesus, they are still doing what Jesus wanted everyone to do, which is to be happy and to have joy.”
Rachel Bjorgan 24’ of Catholic religion believes that the meaning of Christmas can be lost at times. “Christmas is about spending time with family,” says Bjorgan. “Christmas can be a stressful time for a lot of people, and they get wrapped up in trying to figure out what gifts to buy others. They forget about the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of spending time with family, rather than being centered around materialistic things.”
Regardless of how one’s Christmas holidays are spent, it is evident that there is more than one answer to the question. There are many symbols that Christmas can be identified with, whether it be religiously based with the birth of Jesus or tied to the gift giving by the jolly man in the red hat. However, what is most important is that we can find a common theme tied to the season: happiness.