Alfred Dawes | Merry Christmas anyway

A botanist and a physicist were strolling on campus one day and came across a gardener happily tending a garden of beautiful flowers. He sang while he worked and exercised great care in his actions. The botanist smirked. “He doesn’t even know why the flowers are so beautiful and come in different shapes and forms to attract pollinators. This simple man cannot truly appreciate the beauty that is in front of him because he lacks the knowledge to fully grasp the wonders of nature.” The physicist replied. “I bet even you do not appreciate the beauty of the different light waves being absorbed by some areas of the flowers and being reflected by others to create the multiple colours we are seeing.”

That is the true wonder of nature, how boring elemental physics is converted to beauty where there is no evolutionary reason for such diversity. The gardener, overhearing their conversation, turned to address their bigotry. “Does it matter if I don’t know the how and the why these flowers are so beautiful? Can I not still feel the wonder and amazement of their existence? Is it not the result of this experience on my inner happiness that is more important rather than the pleasure you derive from knowing the how and the why of the beauty of the flower?” The academics fell silent and quickened their pace, leaving the gardener to his joy and work.

Pagan Holiday

Every Christmas, we are reminded by cynics and atheists that December 25 is a pagan holiday adopted as the birth date of Jesus Christ. Basic research will turn up the Feast of Saturnalia and the celebration of the Winter Solstice where the sun of god is “born” where after tracking lower and lower in the horizon, it begins to rise again. On December 25, the Persian god Mithra was born, this day being celebrated with dinners by the Roman elite. The decoration of Christmas trees is a German modification of ancient pagan practices involving evergreen trees. There is no evidence that Jesus was born on Christmas Day, and the choice of the date of birth seems only to be a convenience in promoting the adoption of Christianity in a Roman Empire steeped in pagan rituals. Better to change the meaning of an established holiday rather than abolish it. It is with these facts that anti-Christmas campaigners advocate for the removal of the Christ from Christmas and instead wish everyone happy holidays.

JOYOUS OCCASION

Notwithstanding the origins, Christmas is a joyous occasion that brings families and friends together like no other season. The significance of Christmas is so dear to us that people will travel long distances just to be around their loved ones, and spending Christmas alone is one of the most depressing experiences if you are used to being with family. This year, because of COVID-19 restrictions, it will be an even more difficult period. Travel restrictions, limiting family gatherings, and quarantining elderly relatives means that Christmas Day will not feel the same. For many of the forgotten, Christmas is the only time of year where polite society remembers that they exist. Charities, individuals, and corporations feed, clothe, and treat the less fortunate, especially children, more than any other time in the year. This and the Christmas work doled out by politicians makes the anticipation of Christmas yearlong for many poor Jamaicans.

The majority of businesses and government entities wind down for the holidays, lightening the workload on their workers. The appreciation shown to employees and customers by businesses is a welcome part of the Christmas tradition. The Christmas bonus goes a long way for recipients, and office parties provide an outlet to unwind with co-workers after a long year. Often, they take on the role of a team-building event where managers and staff are able to co-mingle freely. For many, the Christmas party is the only chance they get to bond outside of the work setting. This is not only good for the organisation, but the individual employee’s mental health.

At Christmas time, most people feel good, they are happy, and they pause their worldly pursuits to even, for a moment, focus on what truly matters - family, friends, and giving of themselves to the less fortunate. Put aside the consumerism that inevitably follows gift giving. The reason for the season has changed. Gatherings and celebrations are no longer in the vein of chaos supplanting the normal Roman order while celebrating the Sun and crop planting. It is now about embracing the teachings of a Jew who had absolutely nothing to do with the origins of the celebrations. It is about love and charity. That is the true meaning of Christmas.

With the knowledge of the pagan origins of Christmas, is it right then to pontificate about it or to file it away for when you and your ilk meet up to compare urinary streams? The truth is whether you are like the gardener, the physicist, or the botanist, you can still appreciate the joy that Christmas brings. Stealing someone’s joy or denigrating their beliefs because you want to show off how much you know makes you a Grinch. If you don’t observe Christmas, that’s fine. Just make sure that you find another day to show your love and appreciation to your family and friends and to help the less fortunate. The problem is that not everyone will make the same effort to be with you as they would at Christmas. Good luck!

With one of the most challenging years for the majority of us and with limitations on how we celebrate with our loved ones, we ought to make the most of the season and demonstrate what, for many, is the new-found realisation of what truly matters to our happiness. Whether you never knew of or don’t believe in the pagan origins of Christmas, choose to ignore these facts and embrace the joy of the season, or choose to be cynical because of the prioritisation of origins over outcomes, have a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year!

- Alfred Dawes is a general, laparoscopic, and weight-loss surgeon; Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; former senior medical officer of the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital; former president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association. @dr_aldawes. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and adawes@ilapmedical.com.