Last week, the National Council of Churches (NCCS) have expressed deep concern that the Orchard Road Christmas celebrations are all about Disney properties rather than the Christian meaning of the season itself.
Now, Humanist Society Singapore (HSS) is deeply concerned about the NCCS’s concern through a parodic letter of concern to all Singaporeans, deconstructing the very nature of Christmas to its pre-Christian meaning. It’s by no means an attack on the NCCS, but a droll message of unity that calls for everyone to celebrate the season any way they choose to — in an ethical, humanist manner of course.
In case you’re not up to speed, the NCCS aren’t that happy that Orchard Road’s Christmas light-up has become super commercialized, especially so for this year in the Singapore Tourism Board’s collaboration with the House of Mouse. “The original meaning of Christmas has been effectively buried under the thick layer of this extensive and sophisticated brand promotion exercise,” noted Reverend Dr. Ngoei Foong Nghian, the general secretary of NCCS.
Finding the funny side of the complaint, HSS expressed their own concern by providing a history lesson of sorts about the “deeper meaning” of Christmas. “Do not monopolize December for yourself, NCCS,” the caption accompanying the letter urged on the HSS website.
“We are concerned that the light-up, with a heavy leaning towards emphasis one religion, may detract the historical significance of the days surrounding every December,” wrote the HSS executive community in jest.
“Since Earth stabilized its wobble through the help of its oversized satellite – the moon, and maintaining a 23.5° tilt off the elliptical path around the Sun, the northern hemisphere’s been observing these shortest days of every year since time immemorial. Druids, Pagans, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Arabians, Babylonians, Sumerians, Akkadians, Persians, Indians, East-Asians etc have been observing the rebirth of the winter sun, coining it Winter Solstice, to Saturnalia, to 冬至 (‘winter has arrived’).
In pre-Christian Rome, Saturnalia involved gift giving and the associated role reversal between servants and masters; and other parts of Europe, Yule time and god Odin (雷公 Thor’s father) were celebrated at this same season. The character Santa Klaus was Sinterklaas in Europe, and uncannily based on or imbued with qualities from Odin and Old Man Winter.”
HSS, being a group for local humanists, atheists, agnostics, skeptics and generally non-religious but ethical folks here, would of course be presumed to be anti-religion, but what it noted about Christmas does have some historical truth. The annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ has pagan origins, with December 25 being the date chose to appropriate festivities by the Romans in honor of the Sun god Sol Invictus. Here, have a nicely animated explanation of Christmas’ unchristian origins.
But HSS is not having a little fun without a point. The message they’re driving is that Singaporeans should celebrate the winter solstice anyway they want to, be it through Christian-appropriate ways or Disney-sanctioned decor.
“All we ask is we all cut down on wastage, reuse wrapping paper, reduce plastics, recycle the old and used, re-gift unwanted gifts; think of, and help the needy and downtrodden; use less sugar in Yule-log cakes, puddings and egg nogs, eat less meat, and refrain from driving when drinking.”
Wise words that we all can abide to. Happy Festivus, everyone.
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