The end-of-the-year holidays in the States typically include Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. These holidays are based on the assumption that most people are at least nominal Christians. Many (perhaps most) cultures have holidays based on days seen as the end of one year and the start of another.
In one way or another, the change of seasons provides the impetus for end-of- and start-of-year celebrations, including family gatherings and gift exchanges. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve/Day. In the Jewish community, Hanukkah (or or “Chanukah”) is the celebrated day. In one way or another, most cultures celebrate what is seen as the end of one year and the start of another.
The celebrations are supposed to be joyous. In the U.S. (and much of the Western world), the holidays are primarily Christmas and New Years. The celebrations are an affirmation of life: we (humans) survived another year…. I think that Matthew Arnold got it right in Dover Beach when he commented on the “eternal note of sadness” he hears in the ebb and flow of the tide. We (humans, and especially educated humans) who no longer have the sense of certainty that comes from the belief that “God is in heaven and all’s right with the world.”
Midwinter festivities have long been celebrated. Our ancient ancestors presumably felt the need to encourage the sun to return to its full summertime glory. It is not by accident our major holidays coincide with the seasons. We feast and give thanks after the fall harvest, we light candles to dispel sadness and fear at Christmas and New Year’s Day. We express joy at Easter without fully recognizing that “He is risen” is as much about the return of the sun in spring as it is about the birth and ministry of Jesus.
I am definitely not saying that religion in general or Christianity in particular “got it wrong.” If anything, they got it right. The religious impulse is as old as humanity. Over the centuries, different “tribes” of humans expressed that impulse in different ways. Jonathan Swift got it right: our religious arguments are like arguing about whether it is better to open soft-boiled eggs at the big end or the little end.
We celebrate the end-of-year holidays to avoid hearing the “eternal note of sadness” Matthew Arnold wrote about. The holiday celebrations let us believe, at least briefly, that everything will be OK and there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s basically what John Lennon said: “Whatever gets you through the night, it’s alright….” We do well to sing and dance—or at least to appreciate the singing and dancing of others.
