and a blessed and bright solstice to you!

What's the major hot button for those who call themselves Christians this season? Not bringing relief to the earthquake victims in Pakistan, though we may have written a check for that relief fund. Not making a concerted effort to deal with the detritus of New Orleans, though we may have sent southward some stuff from our last garage cleaning. Staffing the inner city missions and suicide hotlines? Nah. Bringing the good news to the lonely and brokenhearted? Get real--gotta shop.

We're upset that some stores are greeting us with "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". That some towns, in an effort to elude legal bills that would indubitably be incurred in fighting the ever vigilant ACLU are calling their decorated fir a Holiday Tree, instead of a Christmas Tree. And we're fighting mad that some public schools, under pressure from our omnipotent American God of Political Correctness, have dispensed with all of this season's religious overtones. It's all inane and artificial, both sides of the conflict. To the best of my understanding (and I make no pretence of being a legal scholar), the constitutionally sanctioned doctrine of the separation of church and state was instituted to protect the church from the state, not vice versa, so I see no good reason for anyone to be fussing about that creche in the town park. On the other hand, the church sold out its particular claim on Christmas long ago, when we who purport to live our lives by the church year instead decided to follow popular culture into believing that the Christmas season begins with that mad shopping dash on the day after Thanksgiving. Neither side comes off looking very good in this picture.

In that context, it seems to me ridiculous to me that retail employees (or anyone else we encounter) should at this point greet us with any seasonal greeting beyond "Happy Holidays," acknowledging that Thanksgiving heralds a month-long frenzy of generically festive get-togethers. First of all, as of today, Dec 2, Jews are 13 days away from the beginning of Hanukkah, which Wikipedia says begins on the evening of Dec 15th this year, and Christians are 23 days away from the onset of the 12 days of Christmas. (Do even churches remember that Advent and Christmas are two very distinct seasons? I'm driving by churches, even liturgical churches, and some have their seasonal finery already displayed.)

But there does exist some common ground between popular culture, Jewish tradition and the Church, if we bother to remember it. Constantine, you know, that emperor famous for seeing that vision in the sky that told him to conquer in the sign of the cross, and for legalizing Christianity? To the end of his life, Constantine seemed to have some confusion as to whether he was worshipping the Christian God of Light or the Roman Sun God, perhaps an honest misunderstanding. If we northern hemisphere folks could remember that we are in that long, dreary, short-dayed time of the year, when our bodies crave carbs (usually in the form of cookies and rich cakes) and our psyches more light (which we supply with those little twinkling bulbs adorning anything and everything stationary), we could stop trying to force religious contexts on this long stretch between TDay and Christmas and those twinkling lights on the fir (originally part of pagan, pre-christian celebrations anyway), and simply remember that we are waiting for the return of light along with our pre-christian and pagan ancestors. Pop culture can celebrate those cute little snow babies, the coca cola santa and elves by singing "Jingle Bell Rock" ad nauseum. The Jewish tradition can keep its proper celebration of the Maccabbean miracle of light, and Christians can call the light for which we are waiting and will properly celebrate on Dec 25 "Christ". (A funny, and countercultural thing that Christians celebrate the waiting, the coming, the "advent", but that's the church for you! At its best and most clear, countercultural every time. I'll always love us for that!)

Put up the damned tree and lights already, and call them whatever you like. I'll put up a Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve--if at all. Sing the seasonal ditties that are appropriate for your community and school: certainly there are contexts where "Frosty the Snowman" is more comfortable than "O Come, O Come Emanuel", and I won't be singing "O Come all ye Faithful" before midnight mass on Christmas Eve anyway. Go ahead WalMart employee. Say "Merry Christmas" to me today, and I'll likely stop and lecture you about the church year, and make you practice saying "Richest Advent Blessings" with me. Or maybe "A Joyous Solstice to You", because that light (by whatever name you choose to call it) or temporary lack of it, is really the "reason for the season".

Now. About staffing that soup kitchen. Maybe on Christmas day. How about it?