Bows of holly deck the halls and a mistletoe is hung from up high while tinsel and ornaments are being wrapped around Christmas trees. The carolers are out in fashion and it’s finally the most wonderful time of the year, or is it?

Christmas is the holiday representing Jesus Christ’s birth, however, the holiday can be different if you do not believe in deities or a higher power. In my experience, the prayer and absolute admiration for Jesus gets quite tiring. 

I understand the want to praise a deity or have something to believe in, but I absolutely loathe when Christians or other sects which celebrate Christmas belittle and berate me for not believing a monotheistic religion. 

I also find annoyance in celebrating a holiday which forcefully overtook another holiday, much like Thanksgiving. The original Christmas was Yule, a Pagan holiday, however the Christians did not like Paganism and did anything to avoid it.

This led to the making of Halloween in exchange for Samhain, another Pagan holiday, and Christmas in exchange for the Winter Solstice festival, Yuletide.

To reiterate, I am open-minded to others’ religions and see only minute disdain in them, yet I feel many people do not know the true story of the Mistletoe or how Pagan holidays have influenced a majority of our holidays today, which dearly upsets me. 

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana.

 I live by this claim, and many others, so it upsets me to see those who do not wish to learn of the past, especially of holidays and their origins. 

In all of this, though, I do enjoy decorating and putting up a Christmas tree. The way Christmas has turned into a commercial holiday makes it easier to celebrate the festivities. Knowing this, I give and receive presents every year.