As always, I am humbled by the wisdom and humanity and kindness you all bring to a discussion like this.

I don't usually get involved with personal stuff here at the Mudcat, but I want to tell you a story...

I was raised Catholic, can still sing in Latin with the best of them. Well, maybe not with Joe ;). But I always, even very young, had this thing about the Nicene Creed. I just didn't get it, and felt real hypocritical and left out. When the time came for confirmation, I went along with the crowd, 'cause what else can you do? But that was it for me. I mentally left the church, and as soon as I was old enough, stopped going to Mass.

But here's the thing: I love Christmas as much as the next guy, and Jesus, too! It's just that whole divinity and Virgin Birth thing that got me. So, does the baby get thrown out with the bathwater? Or the Great Teacher with the hypocrisy?

So I'll evangelize. I found the Unitarian Universalist Church, discovered that I could be a "christian with a small 'c'" as a friend calls it, and began to sort out all that holiday stuff. Getting to know some really fundamentalist Pagans and Christians helped some, too! Neither of which I'd ever met until moving to NC, strangely enough.

So over the course of years, I've learned to separate the holidays, and to allow them to converge. I love the beautiful story of the Nativity, and am happy to share it with my daughters in the same way we share LOTS of stories that were written to teach important things. And I love the celebration of Yule, the evergreens in the house, the candles and fireglow. We honor the mistletoe AND the shepherds. Both have things to teach us.

I think Pagan and Christian carols and hymns dovetail nicely. There's just that verse or two that I choke on about redemption from Satan's power, but hey, not all our patriotic songs go down easily, either.

Now, let's have them both be holy-days. Let's have plenty of holy-days, and keep them holy. I, too, hate that schools have whitewashed all the life out of EVERYONE'S holidays in the name of political correctness. I encourage ours to go ahead and let the kids celebrate Christmas.... and give me a chance to tell a story or share a song that celebrates the solstice, the Yule, etc.

Our country never was a melting pot. It's a messy, lumpy, delicious stew. Only a curmudgeon would pass up a bowl. The rest of us know how to pick out the stuff we don't like, put it aside for someone else, and go on celebrating around the table! ADESTE FIDELIS, LAETE TRIUMPHANTE!!

With love to you all, and best wishes for your beautiful date with Christina tomorrow, Joe!

Dani