Trego's Mountain Ear

I started out believing Christmas was a Christian holiday – probably mostly a Protestant holiday at that. Those early years were Methodist. Yet as I’ve gone through life, I’ve grown to realize that, like Saint Patrick’s day, Christmas is for everyone.

I’ll receive Christmas greetings from Japan – and Christians are rare there. This article Christmas in Japan 2023 : Facts and Traditions | JRailPass tells of the importance of Christmas to all of Japan:

“One fun fact about the holiday season in Japan is that Christmas Eve (december 24) is the most romantic day of the year. It’s the Japanese version of Valentine’s Day. As a matter of fact, if you don’t have a date on Christmas Eve, you won’t want to be seen alone in public. Japanese couples, especially the youngest, book dinners at romantic restaurants, the stores sell romantic Christmas gifts, and the streets are decorated to perfection to embody this most romantic day.

The Japanese Christmas cake or “kurisumasu keki” is sold on practically every street corner from Hokkaido to Kyushu! This dessert is light and spongy with whipped cream filling and frosting, topped with perfectly cut deep red strawberries.

This beloved, and delicious, Christmas treat, very popular for birthdays too, is also seen as a symbol of prosperity since Japan rose from ruins after World War II.”

 Click the link – learn why fried chicken is the Christmas meal in Japan – and Merii Kurisumasu to all.

I’m in Trego – and won’t be seeing any of my Jewish friends this Christmas – but I recall Bob Mendelsohn’s explanation of how he loved Christmas music, the lights and the trees.  From “Let it Snow” and “Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire” to “White Christmas” and “Silver Bell” much of our Christmas music has Jewish composers.  Hanukkah fits into the secular American holiday symbolized by the “silly fat man in a funny red suit, stuck in the smokehole of our tipi” – and I am sure that song will be played this season.

I recall my surprise at receiving apples from a couple of my Chinese students as Christmas approached.  In China Christmas is a mercantile holiday – yet the song ‘Silent Night’ has morphed into Christmas Eve being ‘peaceful night.’  Since I’ve retired, I haven’t had Nepalis around at Christmas – my students from Nepal were either Hindu or Buddhist, and they took to Christmas with a more formal, good natured courtesy.

My Christmas tree probably shows a connection with the Roman Saturnalia holiday – but, as with the rest of Rome, when Emperor Constantine went over to Christianity, the tree too became Christianized.  Or it might have been St. Boniface’s attempt to convert the Druids.  At any rate, my tree shows a connection between Christianity and pagan thought.  It’s kind of neat to realize that Christmas isn’t just for Christians.