Why might a Roman Catholic martyr be celebrated in a predominately protestant country at Christmas time? May I suggest the following for consideration. Assuming that the protestant country referred to is the Netherlands, one of the reasons has to do with Reformation history and the formation of the various protestant churches. What must be realized is that the Reformation did not consist of an absolute and total repudiation of Christianity before the 16th Century. The Reformed or Calvinistic Reformation was a restoration movement that intended to restore Christianity to its Biblical roots in part by removing the unbiblical accretions instituted by Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthdoxy. Some and even much of pre-16th Century Christianity was retained by Protestantism. I was going to write more on differences within Protestantism to explain the existence of differing practices and traditions connected with Christmas -- but will not for now.
Vaughn Hathaway
