For all seasons

...love and joy should be for all seasons, and not just an arbitrarily-picked date or season.

I'm not anti-Christmas, by all means. It is one of the happiest piece of sunshine in my otherwise partly-cloudy life. I am born and raised a Roman Catholic, had a mostly Roman Catholic education and born in a Roman Catholic family..

Moving to the US made me open my eyes and heart a little wider. The pretty kaleidoscope colors of this holiday was broken down and I am now beginning to see the full 360.

For non-Christians, how does this season affect them? The great store prices could not be beat. Adam Sandler's song says that instead of one glorious night, Jewish people have 8 glorious nights or something like that. I've always thought that the Christmas tree tadition has pagan roots - and I read somewhere (my apologies, I must've googled it), that it does. Some man , an early Christian man was shocked to see pagans worshipping an oaktree during a winter's solstice. He ordered the tree cut down (how rude)and from the oak stump , a pine tree emerged. He sees this pine as some sort of the divine and in his own way, embraced it within his Christian beliefs. This man was cannonized as a saint eventually. There are aetheist and others who does not consider themselves to be a part of any relgious faith, who calls it Humanlight, my understanding is, it celebrates humanity and the goodness of it. Kwanzaa , a tradition founded in the 60s is also recognized as a special African American holiday based on certain values - it seems to me, to be a social movement or rose from a social movement to retain and uphold the African heritage - which I truly admire. Baha'i with its universal theme for unity and harmony are no different from the very essence of any religion. Muslims have Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha, which is once again, essentially a season of joy and celebration after breaking their fast. I know I have just scratched the surface and there are so many more out there.

I love knowing and learning about these different beliefs, practices and traditions. It broadens my understanding and appreication for the world I live in and its unique societes. Despite the differences of these holidays - most of it are essentially the same- it celebrates unity, peace, joy and treating each other with kindess. If I could, I would "respectfully" gate crash all of these holidays festivities probably strating with Eid Al-Fitr, Hannukah, Christmas then Kwanzaa (in that order) I'd probably add more to it as I learn more.


Growing up in the Philippines, I never gave it a second thought. Christmas for me was about gift-giving (well mostly gift-receieving), schools talked about the Advent Season - there was talk about the birth of Jesus nd Jesus is the reason for the season. The society I grew up in is homegenous. I am surrounded by people like me - mostly Christians of Roman Catholic faith. Mostly Filipinos in middle class families. Was it a bit ego centric of me to think that I was celebraiting CHristmas with the rest of the world? I never gave it a second thought, which was so naive of me.


I had a argument with a person who is so dear to me. This person's heart is in the right place but his mind had dangerously misunderstood and moulded this season within his own comfort zone of belief - and I'm sorry to say, the parameters aren't that big. This person called Santa the devil, his reindeers the devil (even quoting some Revelation bible phrases about some devil who would pose as a holy one aka Saint Nick , would come from the clouds in a chariot aka sleigh, drawn by devil-creatures with horns aka reindeers) , the Christmas tree as some sort of Illunati conspiracy (yeah I know too much Angels and Demons there buddy) and that there should be a nativity scene surrounded by gifts instead of this pagan tree. And that people should remember that Jesus is the reason for all season. Again, his heart is in the right place.


I first just nodded, not in agreement but just in acknowledgement and I bit my tongue and hope that this person will just shut the hell up. But I think my body language further encouraged this person and went on to rant about the things I mentined above. I felt my energy inside me start to quiver and I could not just sit here and allow this ignorance to mature to dangerous fanatic levels.


" Who feeds you this bullshit? What you're saying is very ignorant and narrow-minded you give Christans a very bad name. How could would a God say that a man who gives children presents to be the devil? And the reindeers are a biological creature mostly in some Scandinavian country, they're not the mythical devils you speak of.", I found myself say.

" ....well, I'm just here to break traditions. Why do people have this stupid tree and the devil Santa all over the world instead of Jesus - it is his birthday. Like India or China" , was the reply.


"...not all the people in this world are Christians. Not all people in this world thinks it's the birthday of Jesus. India is mostly Hindu and China must be mostly Buddhist and Christians are a very very small minority over there."

"...yeah but even the Q'ran talks about Jesus." , this person said.

"...yeah but Jesus is also not considered as god by some people and religions. So they don't need a nativity scene. They don't celebrate his birth.", I heard myself say.


Christians should not only consider Jesus to be the reason for this season , they should consider Jesus to be the reason for ALL seasons.


Would I be excommunicated by saying that Jesus is a great gift for humanity? So was Muhammad, so was Moses and Abraham, so was Siddharta Gautama. I find myself thanking God for sending these people to this world. I often pray that I would always be inspired by their wisdom, sacrifices and love for God. I truly respect and admire Jesus and the other great beings mentioned and unmentioned. And, I love God. Like the character Pi Patel in Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" - " I just want to love God."

...there is talk about the second coming of Christ. I think it has already come. The first was his birth and his presence in this plain of existence. The second was when he died but he came in the form of Christianity that has spread throughout the world and it is widely-practiced today, thousands of years later. No other has that much of an influence and power in all ages.

The spiritual and divine wisdom is a great gift for humanity. But humanity's flaws has stained the beauty of the divine and spiritual wisdom. This wisdom gets so misinterpreted and infused with the err of humanity , it takes its own shape and form and sadly, it gets blindly followed thinking that this is what God wanted and God's will.


Anyway, may this season and for all seasons to come be a season of hope and joy and kindess to one another.