Bridging the Holiday Divide

I celebrate the Solstice. My family celebrates Christmas. My friends celebrate everything else you could name. I got no problem with the religious aspects of it all, my quandary was always more practical – how do I celebrate the holidays with them, respecting their traditions while honoring mine? Keeping the social ‘rules’ of Christian Christmas, Jewish Hanukkah, Pagan Yule or Winter Nights, Atheist Giftmas, etc straight can be challenging. What are the traditions? What is done when? What will give offense where none is intended and how do I avoid that?

The solution came to me as I researched deeper into my own faith, Hellenismos.

We have a winter holiday called the Lesser (or rural) Dionysia. The Lesser Dionysia was held on different December dates for each village all across much of what is now known as Greece. Plays, specifically comedies, were performed for the glory of Dionysos. During the festival people drank wine, ate nuts and fruit as treats, and played silly games. The point was to gather, laugh, and have fun. It was one of the more light-hearted festivals and was open to everyone.

After much reflection I brought this festival into my life about three years go and unwittingly bridged the Holiday Divide.

After the Solstice, I make up baskets that contain a movie, a silly game or two, fruit, nuts, and perhaps a bottle of wine if the person consumes alcohol. For friends, I find an evening they have free and I bring over the basket. Or I drop it off and we raid the basket another time. For my family, I give them these baskets on Christmas eve and we spend that night or the next morning eating the snacks, watching the movies, and playing games. The basket may contain items, but the real gift is a fun time spent with people you love. I may even include a gag gift or two in their ‘Christmas’ basket. This is a video from last year. My sister is a lovely lady who goes from zero to insanely pissed off whenever Sarah Palin is mentioned. To yank her chain, I tucked a little something special into her basket.

The first year I celebrated the Lesser Dionysia, I got a very positive response to the baskets. By the second year, I was getting questions about this tradition. What was the meaning of the holiday and what was it called? What was the history behind it? Why did I do it? Would it be an insult if non-Hellenics did the same thing, would that violate some religious taboo?

The last question surprised me a bit and brought a smile to my face. Hellenic Pagans, as a general rule, aren’t insulted by what you believe or what God you worship and we sure don’t mind people joining in our traditions. A few of my friends, Christan, Jewish, Pagan, and Atheist alike, made up baskets of their own for family and friends and spent many an enjoyable evening visiting their family and friends in December. This year, even more are adopting this tradition to bridge the mix of holiday traditions among their loved ones. They are passing on the knowledge of and tradition of celebrating the Lesser Dionysia with comedies, silly games, wine, and treats. And some of their friends and family are now joining in and passing it on to their family and friends. They are finding how enjoyable and stress-free the celebration is, how easy the baskets are to put together, and that it fits most budgets.

Although it is part of my spiritual practice, the Lesser Dionysia isn’t in-your-face religious. Those that now celebrate it tell me the tradition of sharing these baskets, filled with silliness and good company, is very welcome and helps them (like it helped me) bridge the Holiday Divide.