Here we are 12 days until Christmas and, after 20 centuries, it seems everything that is old is new again.

We learn that early Christians, in the attempt to convert more pagans to their new religion, took the rites, rituals and superstitions of the pagans and adapted them to early Christianity. So, we have a midwinter holiday celebrating rites by decorating evergreen trees, kissing under the mistletoe, caroling and a rotund mythical being who mysteriously travels the world at night delivering gifts.

None of that is in the Gospel stories that tell of the birth of Jesus, the reason for the season. We’re not told the date or the time of year. There were no Christmas trees, no holiday songs, and the only gifts were delivered by wise men, weeks and maybe even months after the birth of Jesus.

In a way, we have come full circle, from the early Christians adopting the pagan rituals to the new faith to today, where we won’t say the word “Christmas” and we decorate holiday trees. The playlist of holiday songs on the radio is rather short. Why? No songs with religious themes. OK, but I can only take Jose Feliciano and Mariah Carey once or twice a day.

The divine and the secular will always be in conflict with one another whenever they come into such close proximity. That’s why the angels always greet humans with the words, “Be not afraid.”

This is the most holy time of the year, but also the busiest and most distracting time of the year. I find myself turning the holiday into this burden of decorating the house the day after Thanksgiving when the weather is always warm and then shopping like mad beginning on a day called “Black Friday.” You don’t have to be religious to hate that particular pagan ritual.

Enter the 41st Annual New Iberia Downtown Christmas Parade. It was cold, it was windy and, for me, it was magical.

I was asked several months ago by the Downtown Business Association if I would accept the honor of serving as the queen of this year’s parade. I immediately accepted and preparations began. There was the float to rent, apparel to decide on and candy to buy. More business in an already busy season.

We made the decision (admittedly rash) that it would be enjoyable for five grandchildren to ride on the float. “The theme is Santa’s Workshop,” we told ourselves. “They will make adorable elves,” we told ourselves. That the oldest is 5 did not occur to us to be an issue at all!

So, we climbed on the float with the adorable elves and, for the first time in weeks, I took a deep breath. The parade had not begun, but bands were warming up and music filled the air. Then we were moving and the magic began. My job was simple — just wave and shout “Merry Christmas!”

I knwq I could handle my job, but what I did not count on were the stars in the eyes of the children lining the streets. Many tykes were too busy chasing after candy to make eye contact, but others stood as if transfixed and the joy and wonder on their faces brought tears to my eyes. I was reminded as I have not been in years why we go to the trouble to carry on the traditions, pagan as they may be. It is all for the children, for the magic that only they can see.

Christina Pierce is the publisher of The Daily Iberian.