Why do wizards celebrate Christmas?
Christmas is a Christian holiday, which commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Later, with the rise of capitalism, this holiday was transformed to accommodate the economic system.
In the canon of the wizarding world, there are no records of wizards professing any religion, and capitalism in the wizarding world took a different form than in the muggle world. So why do wizards celebrate Christmas?
There are two possible explanations. The first is that Christianity somehow became relevant in the magical world, thus leaving behind the tradition of celebrating Christmas. The second is that Christmas is celebrated due to the rise it had in consumerism culture, thus prioritizing the exchange of gifts over religious festivities.
Considering the first explanation, we should ask ourselves why there are no religions in the wizarding world. Perhaps it is because magic itself is a miracle for Muggles, but for wizards it is just a spell. We might think that any religion is born from a base of myths shared by a group in a certain time and space. Myths try to give meaning to natural phenomena, to seek an explanation for life events. From this point of view, magicians, like any social group, would have encountered questions about human existence. If we take the culture of the United Kingdom and Ireland, Celtic mythology served as the foundation of their spiritual beliefs.
With the arrival of Christianity to the islands, we can think that the wizards distanced themselves from this religion, preferring to maintain their Celtic culture. But, if this is the case, how did they adopt the celebration of Christmas? Perhaps, what for the muggles meant an abrupt cultural change, the arrival of a kind man who performs miracles; for the wizards he was just another wizard. On the other hand, the importance that Jesus had for Christianity went beyond his miraculous abilities, it was the message of eternal compassion and love for others that placed this man in the memory of the people.
If the wizards, upon hearing the story of Jesus, only recognized him as an equal, the decision to celebrate his birth could have been to remember that man and his works of kindness towards humanity. Now, from Christianity, various liturgies and other religious ceremonies are celebrated. But, if the wizards are not religious, and therefore do not attend these celebrations, how do they celebrate Christmas?
In the Harry Potter saga we have evidence of how this date was celebrated, at least in the 20th century: exchanging gifts, Christmas decorations, a banquet on the night of December 24. All these rituals are the same as Muggle Christmas.
For the second explanation, we must go back to the Protestant Reformation, which took place in the 16th century in Northwestern Europe. Some Protestant churches banned Christmas, due to its connection with Catholicism and ancient paganism. After the Restoration in 1660, the ban was lifted.
In the 19th century, Christmas was dying out in the UK. Some writers, concerned about this, made efforts to revive the holiday. They did not want to lose it, as they imagined Christmas as a time to be with family, foster goodwill and compassion. Charles Dickens played a major role in reinventing Christmas through his work, “A Christmas Carol.”
If we take the evidence into account, the magical celebration of Christmas probably has its roots in the 19th century, in the Muggle world. The inevitable cultural exchange between Muggles and wizards brought the celebration of Christmas to the latter, the question I now pose is why do “pure-blood” families celebrate it too?
Perhaps they do so from a materialistic point of view, leaving aside the humanistic message established in the reinvention. It is likely that, for pure-blood families, or those of the highest classes of magical society, the objective is to show off their wealth.
For me the answer is even more complicated. I propose that, in the 19th century, there was a radical change in the magical world, both in aspects of politics, economics and society. There must be some reason for ignoring the Muggle origin of Christmas, among other celebrations that both worlds share. Let us not forget that it was in that century that the final transition to a constitutional monarchy took place, in the reign of Victoria.
This is not the first time we have noticed the impact that the Muggle world has on the magical world; throughout the book we will delve into other issues on the subject.