Years ago, on a trip to Chicago, my wife wanted to revisit the Impressionist collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. I was quite captivated by the collection as it was all new to me. The subject matter seemed rather mundane, but the style of painting, colors, and technique were stunning. As an artist/craftsman myself, I wanted to see the brush strokes used to create such beauty. I observed the composition and color by standing back. The brushwork was revealed up close and by looking across the surface of the canvas, where light created little shadows of texture in the oil paints. In one painting of rainy city life, I could tell where one of the parasols had been painted over to correct something the artist didn’t like. I was so close that the museum staff asked me to step back. I guess I got a little carried away in my trying to understand the mystery behind those magnificent creations.
This visit occurred during a time when I was paying attention to the argument between scientific and religious leaders over the creation of the universe. The debate whether God or the Big Bang and evolution was responsible for the world we live in seemed unanswerable to me. When I applied the same debate to that one Impressionist painting, it went like this. “Was I looking at Divine Creation stirring the soul or paint and canvas understood by rational minds?” The answer was clearly both. Obviously, brushstrokes with paint on canvas were the materials and tools used by a creative genius.
What followed for me was that the Divine used the Big Bang, evolution, and other techniques to create this wondrous world we live in. The argument between Christianity and Science looked to me as a struggle for dominance of political and economic power and a wrestling match between soul and mind. The fact that both soul and mind reside in every human being is part of the Mystery. Trying to understand that Mystery is a noble quest. The world was created to contain Divine Balance, but arguing humans can really mess that up.
Solstice and Christmas occur when people living in Earth’s northern hemisphere witness daylight begin to lengthen after the long dark nights of October, November, and December. Ancient and modern people celebrate by using bonfires, lighting candles, and electric lights to symbolize the return of increasing sunlight. While the specific days and ways to mark this annual event varied, all are celebratory. These closely timed events around the world carry different names, such as Hanukkah (Jewish), Kwanzaa (African), Saint Lucia Day (Scandinavia), Saturnalia (ancient Rome), Dongzhi (China), Shab-e Yalda (Iran), Toji (Japan), Soyal (Hopi), and Dongji (South Korea). All of these ceremonies use light in some major or minor form. All involve community, food, music, and song in various ways.
Many traditions used the concept of birth and death to describe the sun’s annual cycle. The lengthening night was interpreted as a dying sun, and the lengthening daylight was described as the sun’s rebirth. It is a leaving and a returning of life-giving light and warmth. While there is no historically accurate date for the birth of Christ, it is easy to see how the tradition emerged to celebrate His birth around the time of the returning sun. It is an interesting parallel use of the English words “sun” and “son”. The words “sun” and “son” have no common linguistic origins. However, there are many literary phrases that connect the two in Christian culture. Jesus is often referred to as the “Light of the World” as the sun literally lights up the world every new day. “The Son of God” equates to the sun created by God. Can you think of others?
The traditional overlay of Christmas with Solstice is a good example of blending religion and science, soul with mind. Solstice was established long ago by careful human observations of the sun stalling out for several days in its southward movement across the shortened daylight of winter (Latin “sol” for sun plus “stit” for stopped). After this “death,” or lack of movement, the sun begins to move northward into longer daylight and warmth. This early science is now precisely determined by modern astronomers. The celebration of the birth of Christ is an expression of the religious soul of Christianity. The overlap of these two great events, Christmas and Solstice, is mostly ignored by a divided and commercialized society.
All cultures across human time have developed their own understanding of how the world came into being. Those varied creation stories are a clear testament to a universal human desire to understand the Mystery. All diverse perspectives and belief systems could be proof that the Divine speaks in many ways and are pieces of a great puzzle given to all humanity. Cultures and individuals who seek to impose their view and will on others eliminate pieces of that puzzle. Adding new perspectives to one’s own results in a closer understanding of the Mystery.
The Sun of Creation rises every morning to shine on all living things and the earth we walk on. That knowledge resides in the daytime assumptions and the nighttime hopes of all Divine Creation. Every day is a New Day.
Wishing you all joyous holidays in your own faithful traditions.
