It's hard to get away from seeing posts all over social media that highlight the pagan roots of winter solstice celebration, and describe how Christians "appropriated" this celebration to promote the birth of Jesus.
Some of these posts represent legitimate efforts to educate regarding Christmas traditions. Some of them are cases of thinly-veiled condescending mockery of foolish Christians who think they are celebrating Jesus. After all - how can Jesus be the "reason for the season" when pagans traditionally celebrated the event in which daylight began to increase? Christians getting upset that "happy holidays" is replacing "merry Christmas" or that nativity scenes are becoming controversial just shows how closed-minded they are... especially since they appropriated most of their traditions from others to begin with... right?
I don't want to dig into the details of Christmas traditions... rather, I want to address the broader issue of Christians appropriating other cultures to further the message of Jesus - because this is perhaps one of the most important Christian traditions there is.
In the Book of Mormon, Ammon tried to speak to King Lamoni about God, but the Lamanite King did not understand the term "God." Ammon then asked the king if he believed in a "Great Spirit," a concept with which the king was familiar. Using the concept of a "Great Spirit," Ammon taught Lamoni about God, and about his son Jesus Christ, who had power to save him. (Alma 18)
The Apostle Paul famously stood on Mars hill in Athens and described his observation that these pagan peoples had created a monument to "the Unknown God," to be sure they had not overlooked honoring some deity. He used this pagan and superstitious concept to teach the message of Christianity:
"Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:23-27)
Jesus himself found ways to use things familiar to those he sought to reach. To the woman at the well, he described himself as "living water." To those who wanted a free meal, he described himself as "the bread of life." He described his association with sinners by saying "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." He described his love for us by comparing the affection of a hireling with that of a "Good Shepherd."
The Old Testament frequently uses the symbolism of marriage to describe the relationship between God has his children... and an unfaithful spouse to describe our part in that relationship.
Ultimately, it is good that Christmas traditions stem from things that were not originally Christian. That really is the entire point of Jesus... to transform individuals from being selfish, misguided, and sinful into being humble, wise, and divine. The process of salvation is not limited to one type of individual... the hope of redemption and salvation is available to all.
At Christmas especially, it is good to find traditions (new and old) that bring us closer to the source of goodness, light, and wisdom. Don't let the fact that trees, lights, gifts, and celebrations during this time of year were not a part of the birth of that child in Bethlehem keep you from using them to seek him now.
Decorate that tree! Turn on those lights! Give gifts to those you love! Sing those carols! Appropriate every good thing!
Part of being Christian is recognizing that Jesus is (and always has been) close by... that traditions that bring joy, foster love, and promote peace can help us find him.
