Guest Blog: Kevin Dilmore On Christmas In Trek

“Why do you guys do Star Trek ornaments? They don’t even have Christmas in Star Trek.”

Given my connections to the worlds of Star Trek and of Hallmark ornaments, I hear variations of that query from time to time. While I won’t be tackling the question specifically -- find me later on Facebook or something -- it’s fun to consider the topic. There are plenty of reasons to suspect that Christmastime continues to be very meaningful to people in the 23rd and 24th centuries. And I, for one, want to believe it does. I mean, will. I mean … oh, you know what I’m saying.

Many fans point to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s numerous quoted statements about his disavowal of religion in general as evidence enough that a holiday such as Christmas would not be observed by the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise or anyone else in Roddenberry’s vision of the future. For discussion’s sake, we’ll set aside the personal beliefs of any of Star Trek’s characters as matters for other writers to explore.

Any Christian context aside, our celebrations of Christmas certainly are filled with ceremony and tradition, and those aspects of the human adventure are ones of which Roddenberry very much appreciated the importance -- or he never would have created the Vulcans. Just think how much the Vulcans might appreciate -- or perhaps help us debate -- the ways some of us adhere to our Christmas rituals. Turkey for dinner, or ham? (Likely neither, for a vegetarian Vulcan.) Which version of “A Christmas Carol” do we watch? (Irrelevant as long as it is not performed in the original Klingon, a Vulcan might say.) Whether it is more logical to open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day might be an issue only a Vulcan could determine once and for all.

Factual evidence all, but what gives me real reason to believe that Christmas in Star Trek has meaning? You need look no further than Star Trek Generations, which for me provides one of the most heartfelt moments in all of Star Trek storytelling.

In the blink of an eye, Picard could have gone anywhere and experienced anything his heart wished to be true -- and what he wanted to do more than all of it was to go home for Christmas. And as choices for the best of all realities go, who am I to argue with the captain of the Enterprise?

Christmas is a time for us to share the best of ourselves with complete strangers, and our love with the people who matter most to us. It’s a time to celebrate hope and peace and good will toward all. It’s a time to look back on what made us who we are, and to look forward to what we can become.

It sure seems to me that there’s a lot of Christmas in Star Trek when you think about it.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Kevin Dilmore is a veteran journalist and Star Trek author, and he's currently a senior writer at Hallmark. Click HERE to follow him on Twitter.