Let’s experience Christmas philosophically!
Does a person need a mystery? What is Christmas all about and how do we find its meaning in times of excess? On the occasion of Christmas, we speak with dr Paweł Wróblewski – philosopher of religion, researcher of early Christian culture, who directs the activities of the UWr Institute of Philosophy and Centre for Prognostic Research on Religious Changes.
– E.K.: Did Christians of the early centuries attach importance to remembering or commemorating the birth of Jesus in any way? They certainly commemorated his death, but what was it like with his birth?
– Dr Paweł Wróblewski: A strict liturgical calendar begins to form, as sources say, only in the fourth century. All dogmas have their hierarchy. For Christians, the first truth of faith is the Resurrection, or Passover, and the uniform criteria for determining the date of this holiday was not established until the year 325 in Nicaea, twelve years after Christianity was given legal personality in the Roman Empire. Christmas could not function as a common holiday at that time. However, it is important that at the First Council of Nicaea, the descent, embodiment, and humanization of God’s Word was recognized as the standard of faith. It can be said that this is the first definition of Nativity, the full meaning of which, after many heated controversies, is only included in the interpretation of the Chalcedonian Council Fathers from the year 451, regarding the relation between divine nature and human nature in Christ. It should be emphasized that the life of the first Christians focused on initiation rites such as baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist, which accumulated all the relevant content for believers. The preserved liturgical sources construct some analogies between Passover and the birth of Jesus. Nevertheless, Christmas as an independent holiday separated from the celebration of Christ’s baptism, which is Epiphany.
– Wasn’t giving significance to Christmas and setting the date of this holiday on December 25 largely dictated by practical considerations and an intent to push back the rituals associated with solar worship? It seems that historians cannot decide whether Jesus was born on 25 December.
– Dealing with the reception of philosophy in the early Christian context, I know that pagan culture has, to some extent, a constitutive character for Christianity itself. The problem is that it is impossible to prove what was first: whether Christianity actually tried to create a competition for Sol Invictus, or whether Sol Invictus, as a Roman pagan holiday, was created as a response to the increasing Christianity. The historic testimonies do not allow for a definite answer. Neither will we decide the exact date of Jesus’ birth. It seems to me that a certain parallel can be pointed out here between determining the date of Easter and the Nativity: take notice that in both cases we are dealing with criteria based on astronomy. Time orientation in ancient times was acquired through such natural references as spectacular arrangements in the sky. No one was wearing a watch. Thanks to this approach, Christians were able to celebrate certain important liturgical events at approximately the same time – all they needed was to look at the sky.
It seems to me that the practice of community building in Christianity was the first criterion, more important than the precision of what historical day Jesus of Nazareth was born. Christianity is highly practical. I wouldn’t even try to give any theory to this, because it goes against Christmas, against the simplicity of this holiday and its great meaningfulness.
While preparing for our meeting, I wondered how to summarize this symbolic dimension and I decided that it is not the word that is proportional to the importance of this event, but the silence. The silence of Christmas interrupted by a baby’s cry is more meaningful than the artistry of theological or philosophical speculation. Christians were aware that Nativity was a turning point in history, not only in the history of salvation but also in the history of the creation of the world. The point that at the same time exceeds this history is due to the fact that the one who was born in Bethlehem actually ties together all the components of space-time, that is, past, present, and future.
This breakthrough involves an attempt to create a definition of who a person is in relation to himself, and whether this relationship is sufficient to create existential comfort. Christianity attempts to define the maximum proximity of divine nature and human nature, or, to put it another way, to define how a man, without failing to be himself, can participate in the nature of God, and at the same time, how God, without failing to be himself, can participate in the nature of man. Neither Plato nor Aristotle provided sufficient answers to the symbolic question “why?” stretched in all possible dimensions. As a result, philosophy capitulated, gave up the intention to construct a relationship with theology over time. On the other hand, it can be said that it was God in the Christian concept who did not stop looking for man and something so groundbreaking happened. I believe that Christmas is a positive fulfillment of very difficult words carrying ballast that was originally demonic: You will be like God (Genesis 3:5). This is the promise of the serpent expressing the unmatched desire of mankind, which leads the whole race to downfall, to the degradation of nature, to metaphysical loneliness and incompatibility with itself. Here echo certain funerary sentiments: death is also encountered by man in the context of identifying the meaning of Christmas because in early iconography one can often see the Baby situated in a crib stylized as a sacrilegium that is a place prepared for burial. It is a symbol of the connection between birth and death, indicating a certain human balance that the Newborn must overcome through the Resurrection in order for any human being to follow him more peacefully. You will be like God – this demonic promise in unity with what Christ brings, becomes a component of salvation in Christianity.
What else is Christmas about? Basically, that God wanted to be so close to man out of love for him that, as we read in the ancient creed, he literally humanized himself, and this holiday is a certain invitation to bring God into oneself. What does this have to do with philosophy? I think that it is a genetic point for philosophy in general. Aristotle said that “it is through wonder that men (…) began to philosophize” (Metaphysics 982b). In the original text, the term being used is thaumazein, and it’s not just astonishment, it’s a wonder, something extraordinary. Philosophy begins where a certain standard pattern of reference to oneself and to the world ends, that is, transcending own nature to be more, better, more mature. It can be said that in this sense, the Nativity is also the birth point of philosophy.
I think Christmas needs to be disenchanted and shown to have a broader value, more than just a Christian one.
– I wanted to ask you about how the nature of Christmas has changed in recent decades, but I came to the conclusion that this is a rather trivial question and the answer is obvious: it is losing its religious aspect and is increasingly secular. So let me ask you as a philosopher, does it make sense to celebrate Christmas nowadays? What point can it make to non-believers?
– So you are talking about Christmas without the proper substance? These trends are not particularly new at all. Sometimes it seems to us that religious sensitivity violates the comfort of non-believers…
– Yes, that’s right.
In this context, maybe it would be a good thing if this man who was born in Bethlehem was subjected to some sort of classification, anonymization, or even consider him a public threat? Maybe it’s not worth talking about at all, so it’s best to keep quiet? Maybe even religious issues are so conflicting that we should not share them, but keep them in private? I believe that this is an incorrect assumption due to the fact that authentic attitudes of tolerance require confronting what we personally do not like; they require the ability to look through “other” eyes at the world and always draw positive conclusions. That’s probably what philosophy teaches in general. So even if we don’t want to experience Christmas theologically, let’s experience it philosophically. We should learn to create an atmosphere of mutual respect in the community, which is based on the understanding of differences.
I was inspired at some point by the text “Der eigene Gott” (“A God of One’s Own”) by the well-known sociologist Urlich Beck, published in 2008. Beck points out that, in general, religious formulas are being subjected to deinstitutionalization, as a consequence of this, and also to non-standard definitions – more individual and less communal. Religiousness, however, is indeed a certain primal need, even if it is not theology. In this context, Christmas should in an age of atheism, draw attention to the fact that in an era of globalization, nations, cultures, and religions are starting to unpredictably share a common present. This also means that the future of such an understood society is put at risk of danger that threatens everyone. Beck argues that we must include the marginalized in our world in order to survive because where there is marginalization, there comes violence, fundamentalism, and wars. Christmas can be our common testimony of a certain maturity in abstaining from demonizing religion, as well as in its individual expression.
Individualization makes it possible to practice peaceful coexistence of truths that are absolute, and it shows that we need some stimulation to cultivate together the existential space where different traditions exist. And it is absolutely not about forced inter-religious dialogue, ecumenism, or syncretism. It’s about being ourselves in this diverse space.
It is worth taking a broader look at Christmas, especially in the university space, which is very diverse. So that no one feels excluded and that everyone can manifest who they are.
– It’s a good approach. It is difficult to keep one’s religious beliefs locked up in the private sphere.
– Let me tell you right away what are the implications, because these concepts were already in place, mainly in the Francophone tradition. This is the legacy of the French Revolution: heads were being cut off. Whereas, of course, it was later suggested that religion should somehow be included in the state’s policy strategy. The state has taken control over religious entities while pushing private religiousness to the margins. The absence of these individual components, while individuality in any religion is built in the community, resulted in very large identity “margins.” It turned out that the state got rid of some of the proper interactions with a significant part of the religious components, trying to build relationships based solely on areas common to all religions. For example, the phrase “we are all children of one God” was promoted in an attempt to refer to the monotheistic foundation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Nevertheless, the concept of God in these three religions is different, and if we stop talking about it, we cease to be authentic in interreligious and social relations. At the same time, it seems to us that we should not manifest our identity if it is not accepted. This creates a large susceptibility to the creation of mutual stereotypes. Political correctness, in turn, allows us to communicate in a very limited way. Lack of education about distinct religious traditions and fear of difference prevails. Meanwhile, it turns out that when we get to know people who authentically share themselves in the context of a religious tradition, then it turns out that our impressions are similar, they are in many ways simply existentially the same.
– Could wishing a Merry Christmas offend non-believers? Should we avoid doing it in public spaces?
– I will honestly admit that I am personally in favor of a healthy approach to neutralizing public space from the religious context. This is not because I am against religious symbols, but actually, because I believe that too much of their exposure in a space not dedicated to this symbolism is counterproductive. Therefore, if there is a sacrum in a public space, it ceases to be itself – it becomes profane because it does not find the target audience. However, I believe that the state should take special care to protect the religious space of various traditions and, in this sense, develop religious freedom, based on a mandate related to basic constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech and religion.
It seems to me that in Poland we still lack the social maturity to neutralize this public space, which is intended to protect religious freedom, not violate the right to it.
– When I was living in the Czech Republic for a while, where my son went to kindergarten, I participated in a Christmas procession that resembled a liturgical procession, and it consisted of a procession of children with lanterns setting off from the kindergarten, circling around the kindergarten just as you circle a church, and the procession ended by the Christmas tree, which was ritually lit. Why, despite the fact that culture is changing, is ritualism still important in a secular society?
– There were various drastic forms of fighting against religiousness, but it turned out that the need for a certain degree of ceremonialization of social life was very high. Also, philosophy, trying to move out from the sphere of myth to logos, meaning full rationalization, to purely empirical references, to legitimize only what can be measured and weighed, ultimately adopts in its discourse some non-empirical and often even irrational components. During the Stalin era, even if Santa Claus was gotten rid of, his place was taken by Ded Moroz (Father Frost). This shows that man needs mystery and this need is of a purely anthropological nature, although manifested differently in different time and space. Other historical forms of polemics against religiousness also took on the character of a cult, such as the French Revolution – Temples of Reason. Even in postmodernism, which attempts to wrestle with classical metanarratives, Jacques Derrida accepts the superiority of language, attributing to it a religious character. We are dealing here with the sacrum dimension, which often seems to violate the dimension of religious tradition, creating in fact a new dimension to it. Religion, even if it nowadays no longer holds a certain traditional content, it is based on the accumulation of attitudes that have a culture-forming character, bringing positive social effects. Even if we have a full McDonaldization of Christmas, which means it’s a birth, but we don’t know exactly whose birth it is, yet we still expect something extraordinary to happen in our lives, some kind of positive transformation to take place. Not only that, we wish the same for others. So that’s about the magic of every Christmas, even if God is not being born in Bethlehem.
– And how to experience Christmas philosophically? How to find that silence to hear a baby’s cry? I was greatly struck by this thought because nowadays it is extremely difficult to find that silence.
– It is difficult, due to the fact that in an era in which mass media has taken over the role of interpersonal communication, it is not easy to hear oneself. The word as a tool of communication has become a product of commerce, enhancing the negative effects of consumerism.
When we use the same concepts on the level of shallow communication, we are able to admire the fact that we create a certain community of meaning. But when we already refer to the more specific definitions of terms circulating in society, we find that this experience is highly individual, unique, contextual, and sometimes even non-communicative. The philosopher is gaining a certain resilience to the changes associated with, among other things, the transformation of modern culture. He observes it and examines it at a certain distance. He is looking for an anthropological foundation above the multitude that reaches us from outside. What do we discover? Something we strongly dislike, often stripping ourselves from the emperor’s robes. It’s the simplicity of self-definition and this nakedness often doesn’t suit us.
What else could a philosophical Christmas experience be about? On valuing the lack, which is often something more noble than the excess. The excess makes us unable to wade through all that content that is around us and unable to live in harmony with ourselves. Often there is a need for such a reducing shout. Sometimes it’s shock therapy that allows us to get into our own nature as it is. Therefore, Christmas in this philosophical sense would be about self-acceptance, about trying to identify one’s own shortcomings.
There are quite a few case studies that can be discussed in the context of these holidays. Does Christmas scare us, philosophers? I don’t think so. After all, we even come to various Christmas gatherings, break a wafer, and succumb to the belief of the potentially positive causality of this custom.
– And doesn’t loneliness during Christmas scare us? It seems to me that, especially during these holidays, it is very important that no one is left alone, and we take care of that.
– This is a very complicated thing, because God’s Logos, having embodied itself, created with man the most perfect form of community. So those who seem lonely to us in the world, having communion with God enjoy the best form of communion, called holiness in theology. Each saint shares this form of communion with other people, showing that it is constitutive for being human. And philosophical loneliness? It can be a destructive loneliness: when human reason dominates, pretending that emotions do not concern him. And in fact, often when we assume that certain things are not real, they affect us even more. This is the loneliness of the philosophers, who are affected by their own selfishness. Christmas is the opposite of this – it shows how to go beyond one’s apparent comfort zone and share one’s humanity at its ontic foundations. It is also a certain prototype associated with man as a mikrotheos, or “minor god,” externally recreating his own microcosm. Therefore, if we have certain introspective skills and discover something godly in ourselves, then we will be able to look at the surrounding reality according to the state of harmony we discover in ourselves. If we discover peace in ourselves – peace will be shared and we will see truth, beauty, and goodness in others.
– Thank you so much for the interview.
Date of publication: December 20, 2024
Added by: E.K.
Translated by Emilia Bukieda (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
