Pagans, priests and presents battle for Christmas

The lights are up in the high streets. Carol singers are rehearsing their festive tunes. People are planning their parties and family feasts, digging out old recipes for mince pie and pudding and wondering how not to overcook the turkey this year. Christmas is coming. And with it, as familiar as holly and ivy and Santa's reindeer, comes the old controversy: what does Christmas really mean? First comes the traditional salvoShooting multiple weapons at once, often with the aim of bringing down a target in a single blow. of articles about atheists "declaring war" on Christmas. The US city of Santa Monica is the target this week, after traditional nativity‘Nativity’ really just means ‘birth’, but is now almost always used to refer to the birth of Christ. This took place, according to Christian doctrine, in a stable in the town of Bethlehem in Roman Judea, attended by shepherds and three wise men. Recreations of that moment, painted or modelled, are called ‘nativity scenes’. displays were replaced with a poster calling Jesus a "myth". "So what," reply secularistsSomebody who believes the state should be separate from religion or religious institutions. ? Most people in Europe and many in the US either believe in no god or in a different god from the Christian one. That doesn't mean they can't celebrate the winter festival, which anyway, they point out, dates back ton long before the birth of Christ. "Quite right," say nervous owners of recessionA period of economic decline. A recession occurs when a country’s Gross Domestic Product falls for six months in a row. -hit department stores. Christmas isn't about God; it's about shopping. For weeks already, the glossy seasonal adverts have been urging us to translate love into money; to shower our friends and families with expensive gifts. Struggling businesses are counting on present-buyers to keep them alive. "Not so fast," the churches pipe up from the wings. "However you dress it up, Christmas starts with Christ." Some religious types go further: all this gift-giving, they argue, is a distraction from what should be a moment for spiritual contemplation of heaven — and good deeds on earth. A quiet legion of churchgoers will be on the streets this Christmas, trying to bring a little cheer to the homeless and the poor. Bah! Humbug! As this choir of conflicting voices reaches its cacophonousOriginally a Greek word, it means horrible to listen to. crescendo, there are some grumpy spirits who wish Christmas would just go away. It is, they say, a ridiculous festival, combining paganSpiritual beliefs other than those of the main or recognised religions. Often used in a historical context. and Christian traditions with capitalistRelated to an economic system based on private ownership of businesses and goods. excess and over-eating. The only way to survive the season is to keep your head down and wait till sanity returns in the New Year. Defenders of Christmas admit that the season is full of difficulties and irritations. Even so, they say, there are good reasons to appreciate what is, for most people, the only major festival of the year. On a personal level, Christmas is the moment when scattered families must reconnect and relearn, for a day or two, how to get along. More important still: Christmas unites people across nations, despite their differences, for a shared celebration. Q & A The only major festival of the year? For many in Britain, yes. Americans have Thanksgiving, and there are things like Easter and Guy Fawkes Night, but Christmas is the only one which reliably brings people together for celebration. It's not very much over a whole year. How do other cultures compare? In somewhere like India, for example, there are many more festivals throughout the year, especially for Hindus. Jewish people celebrate festivals like Hanukah, Purim and Passover. Eastern Orthodox Christians in Greece celebrate many Saints' days and national holidays with dancing and public feasts. And if you go further back in time, there were even more. Really? The ancient Romans celebrated so many festivals that there was, on average, one every three days. It's a miracle they got anything done at all.KeywordsSalvo - Shooting multiple weapons at once, often with the aim of bringing down a target in a single blow.