A New and Ancient Christmas Story

video | 3 min — in honor of the divine feminine

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Part 3 of my Reinventing Christmas series.

Backstory

Years ago around Christmastime, I noticed that in our culture there is no archetype of the holy girl child. I thought, What if Jesus was a girl? I knew there must be, dwelling somewhere in our hearts, a feminine counterpart to whatever it is that Jesus represents. How could there not be?

Something shifted in me. That sense of holiness was invited into my body in a way that was warm, deeply personal, and relatable. There was much less distance from that innocent, pure, and radiant holiness because I could relate it directly to my own feminine form.

That’s when the first two stanzas of this rhyme came to mind. And it was clear to make this holy girl child a twin of Jesus, rather than retell the story with a girl in the center. Why? because that spirit of divine feminine would have zero desire to dethrone baby Jesus! Zero interest in downplaying the divine masculine. There is a clear sense of balance, a yin and yang of equal worth. So, twins it became — along with the beautiful interplay of not being identical twins.

Suggested Inquiry

What if Jesus was a girl? I posed this question at a holiday concert in 2018. I invited people to break out into groups of three, with time for each person to share their thoughts. Then I invited a few to share with the larger group. Some of those beautiful insights and reflections are echoed in the later stanzas of the rhyme.

I welcome and encourage you to ask this question for yourself. I also invite you to share the inquiry with others. I’ve shared this poem and question at a few gatherings around Christmastime, and I have been pleasantly surprised by how deep some of the reflections go. And I have appreciated the power of this inquiry to bring us closer together.

On one occasion, a Catholic friend revealed that whenever she makes the sign of the cross, she does it twice:

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In the name of the Mother, the Daughter, and the Holy Spirit.

I was so glad to know my friend better in this deep and sacred way. And it revealed to me even more clearly that there is a collective movement toward honoring the divine feminine, even if a lot of that happens in the silence of our hearts for now.

If you share this poem or inquiry with others, please be sensitive that some people’s belief systems would not at all welcome such a re-write of the Christmas story. Each of us is on a custom-balanced path. I honor each person’s wisdom to guide their own way, irrespective of what rings true for me now or was relevant on some previous part of my journey.

Truth is not a static thing. The ring of truth is what I orient toward in my creative work: First, does it ring inside me? If so, maybe it will ring for others. Maybe — if it’s the right time and place for them. There are so many factors in the ringing of our inner truth bells.

If you are in the mood for a more lighthearted and more shareable Christmas jingle-bell ringing, I invite you to enjoy this song. Or for an even different-er holiday mood, check out my Christmas rap.

Free PDF

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Enjoy!

❤ 2018-2020 | Maja Apolonia Rodé

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