That worldly and intoxicating, yet spiritual Christmas itch!

Dec 23, 2018 Countryman, Features / Columnists

By Dennis Nichols

Christmas, like no other celebratory occasion I know of, enlivens the spirit, intoxicates the mind, and resists common sense in a most convivial and uplifting way. And although many of us know of its pagan origins, coupled with Jesus’ improbable birthday, we perpetuate the traditional nativity story along with its materialistic trappings. The reason we do so is primarily because the whole thing is a feel-good experience – an irrepressible itch you just have to scratch, buttressed by a spiritual underpinning.
Even if we found out that Jesus was born on the 32nd day of some Martian month, we would still be ‘Decemberizing’ his birth, sanctifying the nativity, and having a jolly good time at it. Traditions like Christmas are enduring, and near impossible to erase. Why? It isn’t, as some claim, just the spirit of the season, but a spirit that exults in ecstasy. And what is more ecstatic than the notion of the creator, God, incarnate, coming to Earth for the purpose of saving humanity from sin-death? Talk about the Good Life! Move over APNU.
Seriously though, many persons assume that Christmas has a biblical basis. It is actually a human ‘invention’ and quite possibly celebrated by as many non-Christians as Christians. Most adult readers should be quite au fait with, and tolerant of, the so-called pagan yuletide traditions. But the more critical thinkers might well cast supercilious looks on those of us imbecilic, merry-making, dispensers of goodwill – and sadly, demur.
They shouldn’t, because the traditions, trappings, and trivialities we associate with Christmas have been subsumed by the larger blending of the season’s spiritual significance and our own good-naturedness. I mean, who would begrudge the jollification and the gratitude that people around the world experience and express at this time, as another year, with all its memorable moments and misfortunes, is being tucked away, forever.
Christmas trees, fairy lights, and sundry decorations add colour and variety to our homes; our clean-up, paint-up, and furniture-buying (or rearranging) are positively transformative; gifts and greeting cards evoke cheer; toys bring instant magic to children, especially those from a chubby, white-bearded Santa. Shopping, meeting, and greeting friends and sometimes total strangers ratchet up the social chart, and of course church-going ties it all up in a spiritually-satisfying package. Eating and drinking to excess, well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves (I’ll come back to that).
In any case, how many of us do actually consider the pagan or idolatrous aspects of these things? Not many. When we decorate and light up a Christmas tree, do we celebrate the return of the unconquerable sun with an evergreen fir? When we decorate with imitation holly and mistletoe, do we honour and invoke the protection of ancient gods? Do we see Santa as that old Bishop from Asia Minor dropping a bag of gold down a chimney? When we gorge on black cake, pepperpot, and garlic pork, do we think of the feast of Saturnalia, described by some as a ‘huge drunken orgy’?
Furthermore, it shouldn’t be lost on anyone that Christmas in this part of the world is a unique experience, as are other celebratory events. Throughout the year, the Caribbean and Guyana hold several carnival-type festivals. The best-known is undoubtedly the Trinidad Carnival, but there’s also Guyana’s Mashramani, Barbados’ Crop Over, and Bahamas’ Junkanoo among others. Christmas brings out the Masquerade Band, and there was a time when that entertainment ensemble was a sight to behold. Both adults and children would be mesmerized by the colourful attire of the dancers and musicians, the cartoonish ‘Mother Sally’ and ‘Long Lady’, and the irascible ‘Mad Bull’.
That spectacle has all but disappeared, and most of today’s so-called masqueraders are a pitiful semblance of what once was. The art of the twisting, whirling, foot-skipping flounce and the skill in deftly picking up coins (in a bygone era) are almost dead; the movements and the music lack vitality. Even so, the sound of the fife, flute, and drum is enough to kindle at least some nostalgia, and a hope that the Masquerade Band can regain; even surpass, its former glory.
Of course, the Christmas itch and concomitant scratch have their downside, as all life’s pleasantries and persuasions do. The live-for-today-don’t-worry-about-tomorrow syndrome kicks in, and some of us tell ourselves that the New Year and January will take care of themselves. Maybe at the back of our minds is the reminder that quite a few persons unexpectedly succumb during the season, including those who take great care not to overindulge. Such arbitrariness tends to negate worry and pooh-pooh logic. (My health-conscious dad died in the blink of an eye, hours after my mother was interred, and four days before Christmas) So there!
Now for the food, drink, and merry-making. In ancient times, as alluded to earlier, the Romans were said to honour Saturn, the god of agriculture and time, with a bacchanalian feast that included gluttonous eating, widespread intoxication, gambling, sexual socializing, human sacrifice, master-slave role reversal, and generally unrestrained revelry. The Roman AD poet Gaius Catullus described it however as ‘the best of times’. Later historians have observed that some Christmas traditions, including the revelry, have been passed down from that ancient festival, and have all but desecrated the celebration of Jesus’ birth.
Guyanese, and I suspect, Caribbean people in general, do tend to overindulge in eating and drinking at Christmas time. There are just too many end-of-year parties and social gatherings about the place. Then there are the homemade delights of cake and pepperpot, ham and garlic pork, baked chicken, fried and cook-up rice, ginger beer and sorrel, candies and chocolate, and maybe a few unexpected treats tucked inside a ‘foreign’ barrel. Sodas, cider, wine, and various brands of liquor are usually at hand to ‘wash down’ the super smorgasbord.
No wonder so many people get sick at this time of year. Doctors and dieticians warn us to be very careful of what we eat generally, but especially at Christmas time. The heart, stomach, liver, and pancreas can handle only so much, literally. Many people put off a visit to the doctor because, well, there’s so much going on. In colder climes like the United States, it is reported that some sick folk actually ‘hold off death’ to experience Christmas one more time; nevertheless some over-stressed hearts simply quit. But enough of morbid images.
Christmas is, and will continue, in the foreseeable future, to be a season of joy, peace, goodwill, and sheer celebration of life. That’s why, the bible says, Jesus was born. It’s true that we need to be both prudent and perspicacious as we navigate the yuletide season (and the urban traffic). Moderation and temperance are good words to bear in mind here. But when it comes to that intangible spirit emanating from deep inside, that touches hearts and conjures up cheer and care, then – let it all hang out. Merry Christmas, readers!

A Christmas wreath – pagan or permissible?