One of the arguments used to defend the legitimacy of a belief or practice is called the appeal to tradition. This is a view that something must have existed for a long time to be valid. This stance comes up when examining faiths outside of the "mainstream culture," such as Wicca and modern forms of Paganism. However, does this argument of appealing to tradition hold up when looking at Christmas?
In this episode, we'll examine how the celebration of Christmas has changed from its earliest roots to its modern form. What does the evolution of Christmas over the past nearly two millennia say when it comes to current attempts to revitalize earth-based religions? Is older necessarily better? And how much influence is okay before a belief system is seen as deviating too far from its core?
Get the full show notes and transcription here.
Audio listeners can snag the slides here.
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