Sure, I can mutter "Bah, humbug!" as well as the next sceptic - ardently, as far as the commercial farce capitalism makes of it is concerned - but even if the very wise man whose birth the day honours did not exist, the message to come down from that time does.
As a humanist I would prefer to believe that he did exist, and would even go so far as to endorse him as a messiah.
For if "messiah" means an enlightened person who fully embraces every aspect of the human condition in concert with the immensity of the universe and is able to inspire others with transcendental insights then yes, from what fact we can glean, Jesus of Nazareth was such a person.
I do not have to believe in the gods, God, or no god - or in any "godhood" for Christ - to absorb and revere his message.
Indeed I prefer to believe Jesus was "simply" an extraordinary example of the heights to which human beings can be raised if circumstance and passion and inquiry allow. Being myself far short of such standard, I cannot say whether a little extra-terrestrial assistance plays a part.
And the message? One word: Love.
"Love your neighbour as yourself" is as needed and relevant and inherently inclusive today as it ever was or will be. Truly, love is all you need.
Sadly love is missing in many people's lives, in every place in this world. Not that it's in short supply - love is boundless, and always there should you reach for it - but because it's ignored or downplayed as a frivolous "minor" emotion, so much less use than greed or self-importance or hate.
And these "more important" states hold sway to the extent many people don't even love themselves! Let alone their neighbours.
If Joseph, with his pregnant wife on a donkey, arrived at one of the 676 Israeli checkpoints in the occupied West Bank today he could risk being shot on sight; and even if he proved they were Jews might not be allowed into Bethlehem.
In working so assiduously to destroy ourselves and our planet, we humans are proving our race insane, and I would not be surprised if any god we once had has now forsaken us.
Yet salvation is one simple and intrinsically healing step away. All we need do is open our hearts to the magnificent chaotic beauty of creation and enfold it with love.
As every major religion espouses at its base, all solutions flow from there.
Try it. You'll be awed. And the manifestations of death will no longer be our focus.
-Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet.
His column will resume in its Friday spot from January 1. -Ana Apatu is taking a break. Her column will resume on January 12.
