So, now when I say, “ 'Tis the season”, I mean – 'tis the season for tamales! Forget the kisses stolen under the poison of mistletoe. You can keep the tinsel and snake wrapped garland of the flocked tannenbaum idol, and the halls decked with prickly holly. I can't stand the noise of caroling, and spending money I don't have to purchase cheap and expensive trinkets. And I care even less for the many myths regarding a fat old man who lives at the North Pole, that gorges on cookies, and wears white fur trimmed red flannel p.j's, and runs a sweat shop for elves. And what of the long forgotten demon Krampus, that used to ride shotgun with Satan Claws? Would you like getting this as a Christmas card??? The Krampus tradition still lives large in Germanic and Scandanavian lands, by the way. For a Christian, isn't it painfully obvious who this goat demon really is?
The way things are going, they should change the name of it to “Santa-day”, or “Mammon-ma$$, or "Sungod-mas"! As for Jesus' real birthday? Again, no one really knows the exact day, and I've read many well written papers, essays, and blogs to prove it, not to mention the authority of Scripture alone, which is completely vague on the matter. That alone should settle the matter in every sincere and devoted Christian's heart. The only clues we have been given are the census, which would have taken a long time to carry out, and that there were shepherds still out in the field. Which, never would, and still doesn't happen in the dead of winter! Even so, many people claim to have the right day, and they claim the day is anywhere from Passover [Mar./April] to Tabernacles [Sep./Oct], and these are all Hebrew holy-days by the way, since Jesus was born into the Hebrew nation after all. It would make far more sense for the Lord to be born on one of God's appointed Hebrew feast days relating to his forgiveness of sin, or of God tabernacling with his people, right? Right!
I find myself wondering every year, why do Christians listen to a man who has declared himself to be God on earth, and who wears a long white silky dress and dons hats that honor nature gods like Dagon and Saturn, anyway? No thank you! Our family is through with all the “Christmas” propaganda, secular and religious. “Culinarily” speaking, what it is time for, in my neck of the woods, and what I now look forward to in the winter, is tamales!
I know dear reader, you must be thinking I'm a “Grinch”, a “Scrooge” or an Anti-Christ, right? Well, I'm not. What I am, dear reader, is a devout Christian realist! So let's get real for a moment, shall we?
Since the Tower of Babel, peoples and nations that don't recognize the Almighty as their God, instead, use this time of year to worship their winter solstice gods. They go by many names: Odin, Saturn, Kronos, Apolo, Janus, Jul, Yul, Ameratasu, Ahura Mazda, Tonatiuh, Tammuz, Surya, and even the more well known Ra, and Horus. And, these gods have many rites and rituals that are employed in their wintry worship, and not surprisingly, are the basis for many of our “modern” Christ-Mass traditions, thanks to habitual syncretism of the Roman Catholic Church.
That's what I and my family do now. And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some chicken to bake, green chili sauce to make, masa to mix, pepper jack to grate, and corn husks to soak! 'Tis the season for tamales!