According to wikipedia, Monolatrism or monolatry, is:
...the recognition of the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity. Monolatry is not the same thing as henotheism, which is the belief in and worship of one god without at the same time denying that other persons (of different nations on this earth) can with equal truth worship different gods.
Christmas is a big holiday. There's a lot that goes into it, and it means something different for everyone. I think that's great.
As a science-based sun-worshipper, I'm quite happy to take the seasonal greeting "Merry Christmas!" and place it lovingly next to my memories of snow and family, food and fun without finding some reason to be offended. I know it's meant as an innocuous way to co-celebrate our shared mirth.
Pushing Christmas as an either/or activity purely centered around the Christian canon is probably the best way to make sure your holiday will be crappy.
Therefore I offer this cartoon in the spirit of understanding: we are all builders upon the shoulders of our ancestors. In our shared history, tremendous advances happened not when we tried to force each other's beliefs, but instead converted simple respect into a win-win relationships.
Jesus is in there, for sure, but so are many other things. Together, they make up the wonderful hodgepodge of traditions we Americans experience at December's end.
Have a merry monolatrous Yule, everyone.
