I’m sick of religious media commentators being up in arms about the perceived secularization of Christmas. I agree that materialism is out of control in our culture, but humans all over the world have been celebrating the winter solstice time since long before Jesus. Roland Martin recently said, “we should continue to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.” Well, no; the reason for the season is the axis of the Earth being tilted on its orbital plane. Humans are cyclical by nature, and it makes sense for us to have a big party during the coldest, darkest part of the year as a kind of psychological rebirth and comfort. Martin and others need to remember that solstice celebrations touch something more primal than religion and that the early Church designated this time for Christmas in reflection of that (no one knows when Jesus was actually born). For me, saying “happy holidays” has nothing to do with political correctness, and everything to do with acknowledging our natural human cycle and the seasons. We’re not taking the Christ out of Christmas, we’re taking the Christmas out of Winter Solstice, and that’s the kind of fundamentalism I can get down with. — jstn