Why Do UUs Celebrate Christmas?
Okay, why do we, Unitarian Universalists, celebrate Christmas?
Historically, both Unitarians and Universalists considered themselves Christians. Heretical Christians, but nonetheless, those are our religious roots.
Currently, Unitarian Universalism is a Big Tent religion. We have room in this big theological tent for people who identify as Christians, but we also have room for people who emphatically do not; those who come to us with wounds from traumatic experiences in Christian churches; those who are atheist or agnostic; those who bring with them a heritage of Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. If Christmas pushes your theological or emotional buttons wrong, you are allowed to excuse yourself from the Christmas Eve services and we will love you not one iota less. Reach out, you are not alone, and enjoy our solstice or Hanukkah services and ways to help our neighbors if you like.
BUT . . . if you come to us with treasured memories of Christmases past or are just willing to consider the magic of Christmas without the divinity of Jesus specifically, we have some things to offer you. There is music. There are cute kids. There is candlelight. There are cookies. And . . . there is some pretty good theology in the story, actually. For me, the emphasis has always been on the sacred archetype of the Mother, and the divinity of every child (not just one especially holy one). There are also good bits about the overthrow of kings, offering hospitality, being generous, and feeling awe and amazement at ordinary and unordinary things.
So that’s why we celebrate Christmas. In a time when there are many terrible things happening in so many places every day, with more yet to come, let us allow Christmas to offer us a moment, just a brief moment, of comfort, joy, and hope.
Historically, both Unitarians and Universalists considered themselves Christians. Heretical Christians, but nonetheless, those are our religious roots.
Currently, Unitarian Universalism is a Big Tent religion. We have room in this big theological tent for people who identify as Christians, but we also have room for people who emphatically do not; those who come to us with wounds from traumatic experiences in Christian churches; those who are atheist or agnostic; those who bring with them a heritage of Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. If Christmas pushes your theological or emotional buttons wrong, you are allowed to excuse yourself from the Christmas Eve services and we will love you not one iota less. Reach out, you are not alone, and enjoy our solstice or Hanukkah services and ways to help our neighbors if you like.
BUT . . . if you come to us with treasured memories of Christmases past or are just willing to consider the magic of Christmas without the divinity of Jesus specifically, we have some things to offer you. There is music. There are cute kids. There is candlelight. There are cookies. And . . . there is some pretty good theology in the story, actually. For me, the emphasis has always been on the sacred archetype of the Mother, and the divinity of every child (not just one especially holy one). There are also good bits about the overthrow of kings, offering hospitality, being generous, and feeling awe and amazement at ordinary and unordinary things.
So that’s why we celebrate Christmas. In a time when there are many terrible things happening in so many places every day, with more yet to come, let us allow Christmas to offer us a moment, just a brief moment, of comfort, joy, and hope.
Posted in Dawning Thoughts