Thanksgiving marks the start of a season filled with traditions; the family gatherings to share a meal of traditional foods; traditional stories; traditional football games; traditional shopping sprees; and so on. Some traditions can give us warm fuzzy feelings and that's one reason why we hold on to them. There's not much controversy about being thankful, most of us are. If you live in this country, you probably are thankful that you do and with good reason.
There is controversy about the rest of the season because Christmas is a Christian holiday and not all of us are Christians. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who was born into a Jewish family and lived among Jews. There were no Christians until Christ enlisted disciples and they converted gentiles and Jews. Early Christians were a small minority in the world and had a pretty tough time, often having to go underground to survive. The catacombs of Rome attest to that. They wouldn't gain a real niche for a couple of centuries after the birth of Christ.
In the fifth century, a young Roman boy, Magonus Sucatus Patricius, went to Ireland as a slave from his home in England and later as a man, converted the pagan Irish and became Saint Patrick. One thing the early saints had was zeal for bringing the teachings of Christ to the world. The story of the patron Saint of Ireland had much in common with that of others who became saints; Francis of Assisi, Benedict, Thomas Aquinas, Joan of Arc, and others, many of whom were martyrs as well. They taught Christianity to a mostly illiterate people.
Many Christians of today are nominal Christians with little in common with the zealots of old, not willing to die for their faith. Some not willing to even admit their "faith" much less go to church on Sunday. This doesn't necessarily make them "bad." I've known people who were the "salt of the earth," kind, loving, generous, with the attributes that Christians aspire to, who weren't active in any organized religion.
But somewhere in life they acquired the qualities that they felt made them and the world better. Conversely, I've known religious people who will have a lot of explaining to do when it comes time to meet their maker.
As this holiday season moves forward, hopefully we'll enjoy the traditions that bring us together. That in itself makes it worthwhile. For some of us, the opportunity to participate in traditions, whether secular or religious, is centered in the holiday season. Listening to some of the most beautiful and inspiring music ever written, hearing the story of the Savior, watching children recreate the Nativity scene, and time spent together with family and friends are the glue that holds us together, renews our spirit, and makes us one people. These traditions are a source of our American spirit.
A question to ponder is whether this spirit can continue in a nation that becomes more and more diverse in ethnicity and religion and with a more secular outlook. We have centuries of experience of being a "melting pot" where people of diverse origins and beliefs come together as one. There are those in America who firmly believe that the very existence of our nation is predicated on retaining Judeo-Christian values.
The question may become whether or not our nation can remain viable if we lose sight of those values and lose our American spirit and whether or not those values are the only ones that will support the spirit of national unity.
We can't predict the future, but it's not too much of a stretch to see a future America where Christians become the minority, even forced to go underground to retain their beliefs. We are becoming more secular every year and it becomes more difficult to make the case that we are a Christian nation, even a religious nation. It is clear that the founders of our country were religious men and women who wanted to guard against the defects of a national religion and who wanted also to ensure that freedom of religion would always be a basic tenent of this country.
That responsibility now lies squarely with us. Have you examined your American spirit lately? Now might be a good to do so.
Reynolds lives in Pleasant View. He is a retired businessman and member of the Kiwanis Club of North Ogden.
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