It’s The Most Wonderful
Time of the Year
By Johnny D. Adams
I
t is that time again
and thanks to living in a
Christian-centered culture,
we have all dealt with it before. It is the beginning of
our year, but the end of everyone else’s, and with it, the
seemingly unending holiday
questions begin. I have been
Pagan for over twenty-five
years. For me, that is more
than I was a Christian, but it
still seems like the questions
and practicality of how to
handle the holiday question
has never gotten any easier.
Our Samhain and New
Year are easy to deal with.
Over time, Samhain (a.k.a
to others: Halloween) has
grown in popularity, with people willing to spend almost
as much money on its décor
and celebrations as they do
on Christmas. So asking for
time off from work and transforming my home for the celebration does not raise an
eyebrow from the community, my employers, friends or
family, but Yule is a different
story entirely.
Oh sure, I can put up a Yule
tree and decorate for the holiday,
but try to explain to others that you
open presents a “few days earlier
to celebrate the changing of the
seasons” and the world looks at
you like you’ve grown a third head.
You tell others you want time off a
few days before Christmas but are
more than willing to work Christmas Eve or Christmas day and you
are deluged with questions galore.
“What, you aren’t going to spend
Christmas with your family?” I absolutely loved the one neighbor
who came over and asked if I was
taking down my tree because
I was Jewish. I mean, really –
a Jewish Christmas! Do they
not even take the time to learn
about other religions?
In truth, the neighbors
are not as difficult to deal with
as some of past my employers. Everyone wants to have
a Christmas dinner potluck,
thou