Have a Merry Paranormal Christmas

In the spirit of the holiday season, many peoples' thoughts turn to the celebration of Christmas. This is a time of year when good will to all men, mistletoe, and perfectly wrapped presents dominate conversation.

Most view Halloween as the ultimate paranormal holiday. It is easy to see why, since the term paranormal scares up images of ghosts, dancing skeletons, and creepy houses. The fact of the matter is Christmas has a large amount of paranormal elements that make the holiday truly compelling.

What about Christmas is paranormal? Perhaps it is best to define the word paranormal. Merriam-Webster online defines the word paranormal as "not scientifically explainable."

The tale of Santa Claus definitely does not fit within the bounds of current scientific knowledge. A fat man dressed up in bright colors travels around unnoticed, breaking into homes to deliver presents (apparently now-a-days without using chimneys a good deal of the time thanks to modern heating conveniences). Santa Claus also somehow is able to fit all of the presents for Christian children across the world in one bag. This man travels by a sleigh pulled through the air by a team of flying reindeer. To top that off, the lead reindeer has a glowing, red nose. Yeah, not very paranormal at all.

Still not convinced Christmas can be considered a paranormal holiday? How about all of those symbols used so prevalently in celebration of the holiday that have pagan origins? Take, for example, the use of mistletoe. Some scholars have asserted the practice of hanging mistletoe has its origins in the British Isles' Druid rituals. Druids, for anyone unfamiliar with the group, were practitioners of magic. The exact function of the mistletoe in Druid winter ceremonies is not clear.

Even Christian beliefs surrounding the celebration of the Christmas holiday would be considered paranormal. Try reasoning with scientists that a man was born over two thousand years ago as prophesied by other men hundreds of years previously (scientists would throw them in the same group as telephone hotline psychics). This man was not only the son of a mortal woman, but also of God Himself and came into the world to take upon himself the sins of everyone else. Religious beliefs aside, science is not buying it.

So is Christmas a paranormal holiday? In keeping with the established definition of the word paranormal, yes. Does that mean the belief in Jesus and the traditions surrounding his birth are false? Not any more than anything else outside of the realm of scientific fact should be considered false.