Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re going to be
discussing RELIGION and Christmas in Harry Potter- peeling back the layers to uncover
if Christmas means the same thing in the MAGICAL world as it does in the MUGGLE world.
We’ll also be more broadly addressing the topic of religion in Wizarding Society- including it’s
prevalence, diversification and whether or not witches and wizards celebrate GOD-like figures.
We’re going to start with Christmas then segue in to religion.
Let’s get in to it.
Christmas time at Hogwarts meant that it was time for Hagrid and the other
professors to outfit the Great Hall with Christmas decorations. Twelve large decorated fir trees,
mistletoe, and holly were among the decorations that Hagrid and
the other professors helped put in the Great Hall for the Christmas holidays.
On the surface, Christmas in Harry Potter appears to be celebrated very much the same way that it’s
celebrated in Muggle Society- with eggnog, carols, lights, trees, presents and Christmas feasts.
"Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat,
roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas;
tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick,
rich gravy and cranberry sauce — and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table…”
In fact, the emphasis placed on Christmas traditions in Harry Potter is so significant
that the franchise (in some ways) has transcended the page- becoming immortalized in the real world
as a story that’s become synonymous with Christmas itself. As soon as the snowy-season hits,
it’s inevitably time to hunker down in some blankets and throw on Harry Potter.
But besides all of the warm jumpers, gingerbread houses
and Christmas pudding- what is the ACTUAL significance of Christmas in Harry Potter?
Is Christmas in Harry Potter driven by religion, or is it a secular holiday?
First I’m going to take a look at what Christmas means to witches and wizards,
then I’m going to dive in to the role of religion in the wizarding world as a whole.
From our perspective, pretty much everyone in Harry Potter seems to celebrate Christmas. If
there was a character from another faith that celebrated some other form of Winter Holiday,
you’d expect that Harry would have heard about it.
But provided that Christmas was traditionally a RELIGIOUS holiday- and that seemingly EVERYONE
celebrates it in the story- does that mean everyone’s a..Christian?
This is going to have a multi-part answer.
The first thing I’d like to point out is that Christianity IS mentioned in Harry
Potter- the story is certainly not devoid of any religious references.
For example, the Fat Friar (Hogwarts ghost) was a wizard and part of the church who was
executed when senior churchmen grew suspicious of his supernatural abilities. Specifically,
his ability to cure pox by poking peasants with a stick,
and his habit of pulling rabbits out of the communion cup.
JK Rowling has also alluded to the fact that the books explore Christian themes of Sacrifice
and Resurrection- specifically referencing the tombstones found in Godric’s Hollow.
"To me, the religious parallels have always been obvious," Rowling said.
"But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because
I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going."
At the end of her latest and final installment in the series,
there are specific references to Christianity and themes of life after death and resurrection.
At one point Harry visits the grave of his parents and finds two biblical passages
inscribed on two separate tombstones. "They are very British books, so on a very practical note,
Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones," she said.
"But I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones ...they sum up,
they almost epitomise, the whole series."
The tombstone for Harry’s parents reads: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."-
and Ariana Dumbledore’s reads: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
These are bible quotes on the tombstones of witches and wizards. Yes, Lily Potter
and Kendra Dumbledore were muggle-borns, but their funerals were held by wizards
in the wizarding world. The fact that there were religious citations on their
graves is likely indicative of religious prevalence in wizarding society. However,
it could ALSO simply be wizards choosing to honour the known religions of the deceased.
I could read in to these quotes all day but that’s not the purpose of today’s video,
all I wanted to demonstrate is that there are obvious references to Christianity sprinkled
throughout the story, which makes sense given that Rowling is in fact a Christian.
With that said, it is highly likely that there are Witches and Wizards in Harry Potter who
follow Christianity. Whether these beliefs were adopted from the Muggle world is anyone’s guess,
but given the proximity of these two co-existing worlds, it’s not surprising that one would rub
off on the other. Furthermore, plenty of Hogwarts students come from the
MUGGLE world- which means they would bring their belief systems with them to Hogwarts.
Supporting this is the fact that EASTER- another religious
holiday-is ALSO celebrated in the Wizarding World.
But does that mean CHRISTIANITY is the ONLY religion in Harry Potter?
And does it mean that all Hogwarts students are Christians? Certainly not.
What we have to remember about Christmas is that these days it’s less a religious holiday,
and more just a cultural tradition- especially in Britain. Since the early 20th century,
Christmas has become a secular holiday that’s observed by Christians and non-Christians alike,
devoid of any kind of Christian elements.
Those who follow Christianity may celebrate Christmas the way it was intended to be
celebrated, but for everyone else it’s more about what it has become CULTURALLY-
a time to get together with family, exchange gifts, put up a tree, and sit around the fire.
Okay, so Christianity IS prevalent in Wizarding Society. But what about OTHER religions?
The first direct quote from Rowling on the religion of witches and wizards
was in 2007 where she revealed that "Hogwarts is a
multifaith school," never specifying what those faiths may or may not be.
Following that, she responded to a Tweet in 2014 where she confirmed that there was
a Jewish Ravenclaw student by the name of Anthony Goldstein.
And following that we got the biggest piece of info on Wizarding religion yet, where she revealed
that there is room for EVERY religion/belief system at Hogwarts OTHER than Wiccans.
“To everyone asking whether their religion/belief/non-belief system is
represented at Hogwarts: the only people I never imagined there are Wiccans.”
For those unfamiliar with ‘Wicca’ here’s the definition from Encylopedia Britannica:
“Wicca, the largest of the modern Pagan, or Neo-Pagan, religions. Its followers,
who are called Wiccans, typically identify as witches and draw inspiration largely from
the pre-Christian religions of Europe. Having publicly emerged in England during the 1950s,
Wicca is now found primarily in Western countries,
and the number of Wiccans is probably in the low hundreds of thousands. Followers often
use the pentagram, or five-pointed star, as the main symbol of their religion.”
I believe that by condemning Wiccans,
Rowling is simply trying to further distance herself from them- namely due to the flak she
gets for her story (and the magic in the story) being an affront on Christianity.
There are many references to witchcraft in the bible- with almost all of them directly
condemning it. And provided that one of the key thematic elements of Harry Potter IS witchcraft,
it has been unsurprisingly opposed by certain religious groups.
For example: Deuteronomy 18:11-12 condemns anyone who "casts spells,
or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is
detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will
drive out those nations before you", and Exodus 22:18 states "Do not allow a sorceress to live".
JK Rowling has insisted that magic in Harry Potter is secular- a product of
science and not religion. It does not depend on active intervention by a god or gods. This
is consistent with her condemnation of WICCA- which believes magic to be spiritual in nature.
Even though Wiccans use terms like ‘wizard’ and ‘witch’,
it is NOT the same as what’s present in Harry Potter. Rowling spoke on this:
“It's a different concept of magic to the one laid out in the books,
so I don't really see how they can co-exist.”
However, regardless of Rowling’s statements and reassurances that the magic is SCIENCE based,
the books are still a no-go for many religious families. Hopefully,
as time goes on, Rowling’s comments on this topic will alleviate some of the
fears experienced by religious groups and open up the story to more fans.
Okay- so we’ve confirmed the prevalence of Christianity and we’ve also confirmed that
the ONLY religious group excluded from wizarding society are Wiccans. I mean,
it makes perfect sense that there would be a plethora of wizards with
VARYING religious beliefs present at Hogwarts- especially if we consider
the fact that muggle-born wizards have been around since Hogwarts was founded.
But what evidence do we have of these other religions?
If we hone in on Hogwarts in particular,
it doesn’t seem like being actively religious would be all that easy.
There’s no mention of students attending a church or school chapel on Sundays. And
there’s no mention of Bar Mitzvahs or Muslim student’s prayer time.
Perhaps these things ARE prevalent in the magical world, but merely excluded
due to the fact that we are looking at the Wizarding World primarily through
the lens of Harry- a muggle-raised boy with a fairly narrow perspective.
And that’s it for today’s topic! I hope you enjoyed it.
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Until next time
Remember
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.