The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. It represents long and cold nights. It symbolizes darkness and despair as the sun hangs low in the evening sky for the fewest number of hours. It brings with it the fear that the sun may never rise again and we are destined to a live in darkness. It is no coincidence, therefore, that Jews celebrate the Festival of Lights and Christians celebrate Christmas at a time of year that we need the most love, devotion and hope.
Where did this darkness come from? For it is not just the absence of light. It is an active force against everything we know to be good. It obstructs, it destroys and removes all hope. It wasn’t always like that. Once there was a great light that permeated all existence. At a time when there was no shadow, peace and harmony ruled the land. Darkness didn’t enter the world until Adam and Eve took their first bite of the forbidden fruit.
Man’s arrogance and hubris shattered the once great light into a million pieces. It allowed darkness to enter and grab a foothold in our world. Ever since then, we have known things like shadow, despair, fear and death. Our own selfishness created a world, crestfallen and alienated from God. The words of separation remain painful to our ears. We are no longer whole. We are no longer a part of the great light. We have fallen and are broken.
Christmas is a time when we attempt to put the pieces back together and fix what is shattered in our hearts. It is a sacred time of year when existential questions about our meaning and our faith are put to the test. We use light as the uniting condition to make us whole again. The holiday favorite, “O Holy Night” presents us with an opportunity to understand better our dilemma—and gives us reason for hope.
The beauty of language is that it helps us to understand the traits of our conscious and our subconscious. Words have a history and we may not even know that ancient meanings influence our current thought. For example, the word holy comes from the German Heilig. It is the word that is also used and has derivatives of the meaning to heal. To make whole. The words “holy” and “whole” are therefore interchangeable and used to describe the act of bringing together, healing what is broken or ill and making us one again. A wound is said to have healed when it comes together. Things are holy when they are one with love and devotion. It is the very word that describes our desire to be one with God and with each other. O Holy Night indeed.
What caused our Fallen-ness? Can we point to a specific event or date and time? Though it is popular to blame the Old Testament and point fingers to people of the past, we know that can’t be it. It wasn’t just Adam and Eve who ate the fruit of temptation; it was you and me. We see it everyday in our own arrogance, gluttony, avarice, hypocrisy, covetousness, the list goes on. We are just as much to blame for the darkness. We are a people and community broken with our own arrogance in the name of “doing what is right” and “I know what’s best” meanwhile lining our coats, if not with gold, then at least with self-absorbed power (talk about gluttony). Like a bad habit we can’t quit, we keep aiming for more, and as you know, greed is an act of constant repetition.
Let’s take a little humility this Christmas season to slow down and reflect. Christmas gives us the opportunity to break our cycles of dysfunction. Use it as the siren song to bring all good things together. Let us seek the light. Incredible lightness. Lucidity. Clarity. The opposite of despair. That is Christ. That is the Festival of Lights, for light is hope and love.
Nothing makes us whole like becoming one with each other. Part of our healing takes shape when we take part in traditions passed down through the generations. Making biscochitos, stirring the chile and steaming the tamales: those are the things that bind and connect us. When we share a posada, our favorite recipe or a plate of pumpkin roll and fudge—that is the divine. That is whole-iness. This Christmas, take pride in the traditions that unite your family and your community. It will bring you closer to the Light. It will break through the darkness of a cold winter solstice. Merry Christmas everyone. And God Bless you.