Culture

Reverend Pat Bailey: the deeper meaning of the holiday, part 3 of series

kicker: Final interview of series on Christmas Eve. Merry holiday.

Telluride Inside... and Out continues with its mini-series about Christmas, interviewing Reverend Pat Bailey of Telluride's Christ Church on the subject of the holiday that's becoming a hot potato, from its name to its meaning.

Despite the beliefs about Christ that relate to the birth stories – although, as Pat pointed out earlier, the earliest writings of the New Testament are the letters of Paul, and Paul seems to have no knowledge of a virgin birth – the church did not observe a festival for the celebration of Christmas until the 4th century, a date chosen to counter the pagan festivities connected with the winter solstice. In fact, the birth of Christ coincides with Saturnalia, a pagan winter solstice ritual. Solstice marks the sun's descent into darkness, heralding the start of winter. Days later, the sun starts ascending in the heavens again, where it resides for another year. In its simplest expression, Christmas is about light, whether it is the natural light of the sun that nourishes from without or the metaphorical Holy Light – or holy light –  that nourishes and heals from within. Ot is it?

Reverend Pat Bailey: The "war" on Christmas, part 2 of series

In his first post/interview Reverend Pat Bailey of Telluride's Christ Presbyterian Church talked about the myth and magic of Christmas. In the second of his three-part series parsing the holiday, the focus is on the "war" on Christmas, which has a lot to do with the different perceptions Bailey addressed in his first interview.

The news last week was chockablock with scary, seemingly insurmountable challenges to our country, one of which hit Tulsa hard: Could its Christmas parade be saved despite protests against the disappearance of the word "Christmas" from its title. (The name had been changed to The Holiday of Lights parade, which outraged the righteous state senator, James Imhofe for one.) The good news: the parade would go on, albeit without Imhofe on his high horse – at least not the carrot-chomping version.

Reverend Pat Bailey: The real "magic" of Christmas, a short series

Rev. Pat Bailey

Since Thanksgiving, Christmas has been top of mind, top of media, injecting mistletoe (and for some, holiday misgivings) into the bubble we call Telluride.

Turn on any TV and holiday chestnuts such as "It's a Wonderful Life" light up the screen. (And give the cynics in the crowd a seasonal toothache.) The glossies are packed with gift ideas, recipes for the holidays, what to wear, some intrepid souls even tackling what to believe about Christmas. Several years ago, both Newsweek and Time featured cover stories about the First Noel, articles that raised controversial questions about the Nativity: Who were the Wise Men? What about the star? Is it possible Jesus was born in Nazareth? Who exactly were the two Marys?

Christmas is surely a good deal more than buy, cry, fry, wonder what and why.

Telluride Inside... and Out has asked local religious leader, Reverend Pat Bailey, of Telluride's Christ Presbyterian Church, to shed some light on the subject of Christmas, it's meaning and real magic.