Well, It depends on how much spiritual emotion you put into the holidays. Do you want to celebrate the Christian holidays for what they really stand for, or do you want to get together with a group of people and have a good time? A Wiccan is a pagan, and a pagan is someone who believes in more than one god, so one of those gods could very well be the Christian God, and/or his incarnate on earth, Jesus Christ. This however, may be a paradox of sorts since the Christian God says to worship Him and no other. So then you have to contemplate exactly what parts of the Christian doctrines you are going to incorporate into your life, if indeed you want to celebrate Christian holidays for what they truly represent spiritually.
There are Christian Wiccans or Christian witches who celebrate the Christian holidays, and obviously acknowlege Christ, but perform the Wiccan rituals (like full moon rites, and the solar holidays) and magick. These people do follow the light of Christ, but don't usually belong to any organized Christian religion, thus allowing them the inner freedom to still practice Wicca on some level. As for me personally, while I don't celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter, I do provide Easter baskets for the kids on Easter, not Ostara, and egg hunts just for fun. Our "Christmas" tree is a Yule tree, and celebrates Yule (The longest night of the year and the welcoming of the lengthening sunlight of the days to come and the promise of the return of Spring), not the birth of Christ. We still attend family gatherings on the Christian holidays, as I view these times as opportunities for everyone to get together in merriment and love, and the majority of my family is Christian, if any religion at all. I don't mind stopping by to acknowledge a special day for them, just as long as they respect the fact that what they believe and practice isn't the same as what I believe and practice. In fact, we've had a lot of interesting and educational discussions during these times!
So, to answer the question, if you do want to celebrate the Christian holidays in order to gather with family and friends and have a good time, by all means, go for it! Your Gods/Goddesses won't "punish" you for having fun or celebrating at a different religious holiday. Your Gods and Goddess support perfect love, and however you go about expressing this and expanding it is wonderful. If the Christian holidays have the same meanings for you as they do to Baptists, Catholics etc...then my first tip would be to re-evaluate your circumstances and decide if Wicca is the right path for you. If you decide that it is, but still feel bound to Christ, you may feel more comfortable with Christian Wicca (you will indeed find Christian Wiccans). In that case, the Christian holidays would still be a spiritual part of your religion, as well as the Wiccan solar holidays and esbats. Perhaps you would not celebrate the solar holidays and just but incoporate the Christian holidays into your Wiccan spirit. However, instead you would incorporate the Christian God into your celebration where the other Diety representations would be for Pagan Wiccans. You may find that some Wiccans staunchly disagree with Christian Wicca, as they feel it is a hypocracy or paradox of sorts, but in the end, it's your heart you have to deal with and what feels right for you. No matter what, nothing you choose is etched in stone. You may find that your opinions, practices and spiritual needs change many times throughout your life, so experiment and see what feels right to you! No matter what, enjoy your spiritual path, and it's holidays, for if it causes you stress or inner turmoil, that may be a sign to rethink your choices.
May you find your path easily and always in the Light!
Please do not reprint without my written permission.
©1999 Medea Moonfire |
