Jeff Byrne

    AS the year 2011 draws to a close, many people in Western countries will be considering New Year’s resolutions to improve their lives and the lives of those around them.

    But, with the frailties of human nature, most of these promises will fall by the wayside.

    Yesterday, Christians throughout the world celebrated Christmas, generally accepted as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a myth as are most of the things associated with what has become the festive season.

    Christmas was invented by the Latin Church to supplant pagan festivals, principally the Roman festival celebrating the birth of the sun god, Mithras.

    Scholars believe Christ was more likely to have been born around March, but not in a stable. There is no mention of this in the Christian Bible, nor of the “three wise men” on camels. It does, however, mention wise men coming from the east, but no camels.

    Myths aside, there are profound messages steeped in the Christmas tradition, principally, “Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward All Men” (and, one supposes, women).

    Christmas marks the end of the year of most children whose parents have allowed them to believe in the myth of Santa Claus. There are some parents who don’t and rob their children of a magical time in their lives. In time, they learn that the jolly man is a myth but by then they have learned the gift of giving and the humility of receiving.

    Today’s image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a fur-lined red suit was invented as a marketing tool for Coca-Cola in the 1930s. The myth is based on a bishop in fourth-century Myra in what is now Turkey in Asia Minor. He was reputed to have given gifts of food and money to the poor and was to become Saint Nicholas after his death in 352 A.D. This became Sinterklass in Holland in the 16th century and later Anglicized to Santa Claus. The myth lives on with many children expecting a visit from Santa who leaves gifts for them on Christmas. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children.

    Perhaps the best illustration of the goodwill entrenched in the Christmas tradition comes from an extraordinary and spontaneous unofficial “truce” on Christmas Eve 1914 during World War I on the battlefields of Flanders.

    British and German forces faced each other across 150 meters of no-man’s land, When the British heard German soldiers singing Christmas carols across the divide, they responded by singing their own. Eventually, they joined each other in celebration with exchanges of gifts and friendship. This spread up and down the 40-km front line. The epitome of “Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward All Men.” (If only warmongers could submit to the same humility.)

    It would not last, however, and days later they went back to killing each other.   

    There is nothing wrong with believing in the myths of Christmas if it engenders peace and goodwill. What we need to carry with us into the New Year is faith in human nature which is endowed in the spirit of Christmas.

    Living with the myths and continuing the traditions of Christmas doesn’t mean we have to accept associated religious doctrine, although there are those who do.

    When the symbolism, myths and legends are set aside, it is the spirit of Christmas and faith in the future that carry us through the complexities of modern life.

    In the new year, we could do worse than embrace the spirit of Christmas: Peace on earth and goodwill to all.

    (The author is a former Shenzhen Daily senior copy editor and writer.)