> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Merry Christ myth just won’t go away - URL: https://www.smdp.com/merry-christ-myth-just-wont-go-away/ - Published: 2007-12-26T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T01:32:06.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import YESTERDAY WAS CHRISTMAS, A DAY THAT once meant celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Now, like him or hate him, believe in him or not, it’s hard to say that he didn’t have an effect on the world. If he existed, and if he was the messiah, he deserves to have at least a day of remembrance. If he existed, and he wasn’t the messiah, he still deserves a day of remembrance for the message of peace that he taught that so many do still practice, although generally not from the pulpit. If he didn’t exist, then he’s still a major marketing coup for all the world’s religions that pay homage to his fictionalized life, not to mention the manufacturers of those candles in a jar that sell so well around the scene of any car crash. If he was just a cobbled together Mr. Spirituality Head, then I say thanks for the message, and yesterday is a great day to stop and think of what the message of his manufactured life is supposed to be. Whether or not Christ existed isn’t really the point anymore. I know that James Cameron wants to believe that he did, but honestly, the myth is more important than the reality. The myth of Christ is much more valuable to church leaders, store retailers, toy salespeople, and those who want to use Christ for some purpose other than what he is supposed to have said, believed, and served. Christ is supposed to have been a “savior,” a man of tolerance and peace. In fact, he is called the “Prince of Peace” by many. His words, so often quoted, but more often misquoted, are a message of love and tolerance for those who offend us. Every spiritual guide that I’ve read, and I’ve read many of them, has said that one must forgive those who do us harm, not for their sake, but for our own. For my own peace of mind, I must forgive those who offend me, who are snippy with me, who cut me off on the highway, who jump into the 10 items or less line with 15 items. This is the message that Christ taught. Along with a few others about belief in self and belief in a God. How this became a story about a fat man in a red suit, who brings gifts to good children and coal to bad children, is a mystery to me. It makes as much sense to me as how the Easter Bunny is related to a newly risen Christ from the dead. It’s myth. Myth is important, particularly in this town. Myths make morality stories enjoyable. Myths are good things, they teach, they bring light and joy. They are message carriers. Christ has become myth. Whether he existed or not, his meta-message, his purpose in being, has become the stuff of myth. It is used to teach children to behave according to societal norms. It is used to sell tchotchkes, candles and “miracle water” that will save your soul, and cure your arthritis. Yesterday is a day that is dedicated to remembering the myth of Christ, and as we go about our day, let us pause for a second to think about what the myth is really about. It is really about finding peace and love on this earth. It is about being happy to enjoy the day for what it brings. Christmas day is not about whether or not you got the right gift from your spouse, or whether your largesse exceeds that of your neighbors, it is not about being perfect in everything you do. It is about stopping to appreciate those in your life, the good and the bad, for what they bring to you spiritually. Sometimes the best teachers are those we have the most anger towards. For it is from them, that we get to learn the joy of forgiveness. I don’t mean the smug sense of moral superiority that many of us like to feel, but the sense of real forgiveness that comes from accepting others as they are. This is the point of the myth of Christ. So when you are at dinner with your great aunt Vera, the one who annoys you to no end and always remembers to get you exactly the wrong gift, forgive her, and know that you are celebrating Christmas in the spirit of what it is supposed to be. Hey, it’s the Christian thing to do. And maybe Santa Claus will be good to you next year if you do. DAVID PISARRA is a family law attorney in the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He or (310) 664- 9969. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 26, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/122607.pdf?ref=smdp.com)