Groucho Marxism

For billions of people around the world, the meaning of Christmas centres on the birth of Jesus. However, Jesus almost certainly wasn’t born on Christmas day. Jesus’ birthday is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources and the evidence is too incomplete to allow for consistent dating; all that can be said with any confidence is that he was born around 6 to 4 BC. There are two main hypotheses as to why 25th December was chosen as Jesus’ ‘official’ birthday. The first is that 25th December was chosen because it was nine months after a date chosen as Jesus’ conception: 25th March. This is a clear example of circular reasoning, as 25th March was presumably chosen as the date of Jesus’ conception because it is nine months before Christmas!

The alternative and much more sensible hypothesis is that Jesus’ birthday was chosen to coincide with the winter solstice, as 25th December was the date of the winter solstice in the Roman calendar. This highlights a truth about Christmas that many Christians don’t like to admit. Christmas has roots in pagan celebrations, particularly Roman festivals like Saturnalia and the worship of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun), both held in late December. It was originally a mid-winter festival designed to cheer everyone up at the time of year when the days are shortest and things seem most depressing. Christians subsequently appropriated this traditional festival by telling everyone it was a celebration of Jesus’ birthday.

The uncertainty around Jesus’ birthday raises the question of what we actually do know about him. We know he was a real, first-century Jewish preacher from Nazareth in modern-day Palestine who gathered followers, was baptized by John the Baptist, and was executed by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. These points have near-universal scholarly consensus and are widely understood. What is less widely acknowledged is that he was also a revolutionary! He challenged the power structures of his day – the Roman and Jewish establishment – by championing the poor and marginalized, and advocating radical love and forgiveness, subverting norms through non-violence and compassion. His teachings condemned wealth and advocated for the dispossessed, directly opposing economic injustice.

If Jesus was alive today, we would call him a socialist. So it seems rather paradoxical that Christianity has become associated with the conservative right, particularly in the US. But perhaps this isn’t so surprising as conservative right-wing movements have a long history of appropriating socialism, in name at least. It is well-known, for example, that ‘Nazi’ is shorthand for ‘national socialist’. I would argue that many if not most self-designated ‘socialist’ states are really right-wing authoritarian regimes who claim to be socialist as a way to create legitimacy with the general population. Right-wing movements appropriate the term ‘socialism’ for the same reason that Christianity appropriated Christmas: because, just like Christmas, socialism is popular with the general public.

This claim – that socialism is popular with the general public – runs counter to the mainstream mantra that ‘socialism is unpopular’. It also seems to be contradicted by the fact that socialist parties rarely do well in elections, at least not in western countries. But that is because these elections in these countries are organized, run, and effectively rigged by the ruling class, with the help of their media-political lackeys. Socialism is popular with ordinary people as it involves giving them democratic power and improving their material conditions. The problem is that many are unaware of what socialism is and equate it with totalitarianism. This is partly a result of propaganda and partly a result of self-designated ‘socialist’ states not really being socialist at all (as noted above).

In more recent times, capitalism has appropriated Christmas through increased commercialization. Christmas has effectively become a tool for indoctrinating young people into the capitalist mindset, by creating a link between happiness and consumerism. As a socialist I completely agree with those who say we need to get back to the true meaning of Christmas; but I disagree with most on what that true meaning is. In my view, Christmas is not about Christianity any more than it is about consumerism. It is an ancient festival designed to bring people together and create a sense of community. If people do want to make Christmas about celebrating the birth of Jesus, they should bear in mind that Jesus was a socialist who would have been appalled by the right-wing views of many so-called ‘Christians’ today.