That headline may offend some Christians and some Americans, but hear me out.
Both holidays celebrate the birth of something that stood against something evil. Both holidays celebrate the birth of something standing against injustice and against the cruel tyranny of the rich and powerful over the common people. Both holidays commit our being to the common good and welfare of our people. Both holidays celebrate the inherent worth and divinity in each of us, our birthright to a life of freedom from unjust oppression, from injustice, our right to equality. They celebrate our right to pursue an abundant and happy life. They celebrate the truth that life, in harmony with the creator, is naturally filled with joy and happiness and abundance. They celebrate life, free of the evil that separates us from that abundant happy life. They celebrate our persistence and insistence in that struggle, and nothing less than victory in that war of good over evil, right over wrong, justice over injustice, healing over suffering, abundance over poverty.
We need to continue that stand, that struggle, that victory.
Celebrate it with unbridled joy and the deepest reverence and thankfulness.
William Anderson is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who specializes in weight loss, eating disorders and addictions. He was an obese heavy smoker and workaholic until his early thirties, and burned out, but survived and changed direction. He changed in many ways, among them, losing 140 pounds permanently. Health, in a holistic way, is now his mission. He is the author of The Anderson Method of Permanent Weight Loss.