WILL SELLERS: Christmas Casts Long Shadow |
Asked to cite the most significant event in history for an oral exam, the late great Justice Scalia thought it was a softball question and picked an event he considered important. “Wrong!” His inquisitor corrected him: “No, Mr. Scalia; it was the Incarnation.”
This seminal event on the Christian calendar is celebrated by the faithful and unfaithful alike. Some merely acknowledge it in their actions and time off, while others take the religious significance to heart and fully participate in the seasonal countdown of Advent.
And while the secular celebration with all its associated trappings now largely undermines the religious significance, even the most secular cannot deny its importance and the overarching ideas it spawned. (RELATED: Most Americans Say Christmas Most Important US Holiday, Poll Shows)
The Incarnation was a religious hurricane so powerful that it spun off secular tornados that impacted the world in very subtle ways.
Think of self-sacrifice, generosity, service to others and the unity of family. While these virtues are secularized, they are lauded as worthy and so critical to society that they form the basis for moral and civic education. So even if the religious aspects of Christmas may not be acknowledged, the secular fallout,........