As a Pagan who was raised Jewish, I’m obviously going to answer, ‘No!” The U.S. is a pluralistic nation, founded by refugees seeking religious freedom in the land of indigenous peoples who had practiced their own, earth-based traditions for hundreds of generations before Christians arrived on these shores.
As a child, I remember how uncomfortable it felt to sit silent while the rest of the class sang Christmas carols—and how guilty I felt when, once in a while, the beauty of the melody enticed me to sing along. That experience has made me extremely reluctant to impose my views or practices on anyone.
Christians are a large majority, and Pagans a tiny minority—but were that reversed, would I want Pentacles adorning the American flag? (Hmmm, come to think of it, there already are 50 of them on the American flag. Bad example!) Would I want Wal-Mart greeters saying “Happy Winter Solstice” to every customer? No—because it would take the meaning out of the phrase. Our Solstice celebration has its own deep, religious meaning for us—celebrating the rebirth of light, hope, and the great creative, regenerative powers of life. I want “Solstice” to evoke singing the sun up on a hilltop at dawn—not finding an especially good bargain in the third aisle down.
Let’s continue to honor the great tradition of respect for religious freedom that this country was founded on.
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