The truth would be most meaningful, and it would be a significant departure from what many young persons are told.

The truth is that the holiday is a seasonal celebration existing long before any religious dogma tried to tie it to their particular superstitious beliefs. The reason for the seasons is the tilt of the earth's axis of rotation relative to the plane of its orbital revolutions; i.e., the earth is tilted a bit more than four tenths of a radian as we travel around the sun. In the northern hemisphere, we are tilted toward the sun from late March to late September--that would be from the vernal to the autumnal equinoxes (when the days and nights are of equal length). That situation is reversed the other six months, with the southern hemisphere being tilted 0.4+ radians toward the sun.

During these months the days are darker for most of the people of the world. Life on our planet is dependent upon the star at the center of our solar system, and we came to celebrate the day the sun "stood still" as the solstice. Winter solstice was celebrated on December 25th and marked the end of the days growing shorter and darker. Because of changes in calendar conventions and the fact that the earth does not rotate by an integral number of days during our orbit about the sun, the cosmological solstice has become separated by a few days from the twenty-fifth. Never-the-less, the real "reason for the season" is the tilt of the earth, and too few persons are aware of this.

This holiday has been marked in dozens of civilizations by many, many cultures around the world for many thousand years. The importance of the Winter Solstice and the celebration surrounding it survived attempts by religious leaders to stop it. Christian churches in both the "old world" and the "new world" tried to ban its celebration. Ultimately, Christmas merged into the Yule celebration with logs burning, trees brought indoors and decorated, and gift-giving. Today there are some who would try to disconnect the holiday from its true roots and claim ownership of it. They fantasize that one of their religious icons was born on the solstice--in spite of problems with scholarly evidence.

Push for your local public schools to use the seasonal holiday break to properly educate the young children--teaching them the facts behind the "reason" for the seasons. This would bring the most meaningful significance. They could also be told that persons are free to make up whatever fantastic fables they like about anything. The reason for such stories can be used to teach moral lessons (Aesop). Within your own family you can emphasize the importance of giving over receiving. Stress the reasons behind giving i.e., love and caring. Some families celebrate the twelve days between the astronomical new year (solstice) and calendrical new year (January 1st) by giving a single gift each day (instead of a big blow-out on one day) and having a theme for each of the twelve days related to a civic or societal value (such as responsibility, honor, truthfulness, etc).

Be creative. Pass along the values you wish to the young persons under your care. There are two things I would recommend against, however.

# do not try to insist that others should share your beliefs over their own

# do not value ignorance over knowledge, even when the facts are against you

You will rear persons who will enjoy greater respect for their views if they do not use sledge hammers to pound huge signs into their yards declaring dogmatically that it is their religious icon who is the reason for the season every time the solstice approaches. Teaching them about the significance of the holidays, reasons, and beliefs of others can help make not only Christmas but also Vesak, Three Pure Ones, Diwali, Eid Al-Adha, Hanukkah, Maghi, and others more meaningful to them.

Tolerance for the truth is just as significant as tolerance for the beliefs of others. The significance of Christmas is very different from person to person. There is a truth behind its late creation as a holiday, and, for some, a meaning that is capitalistic, while others hope for a broader meaning which would involve love and acceptance of others. Good luck acheiving your desired significance.

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