Yesterday Deb and I met our son halfway between our houses (we live 40 miles apart), stood outside wearing masks, and exchanged boxes of Christmas presents. This year, for the first time ever, Deb and I will spend Christmas alone (just like we did on Thanksgiving). We are doing so because we are responsible people, and that’s what responsible people do during a pandemic. Also, almost any religious scholar will admit that December 25th was chosen as the date for Christmas solely to compete with Yule, the Pagan holiday that happens today.

Is it really worth risking getting sick, dying, or adding to an already full hospital for a day chosen by one religion to damage another? If you must get together with a big group for Christmas, do it sometime this coming summer, after everyone has had a COVID-19 vaccine. Whatever date you pick will have as much of a chance of being “historically accurate” as December 25th.