I have been a staunch Beatles fan for close to 67 years! I have been an ardent fan of each of the Beatles for most of these years, but most definitely a John Lennon fan since he was denied immigration into the USA.
Most Beatles fans, early on, took a strong dislike to Yoko Ono; no doubt they felt that she was at least partly responsible for the breakup of the group. I'll say what I think about that another time, but, you know, people can't go on being the same as they always were (ask David Byrne!) ... sooner or later you have to accept that, if you had to choose between what you want, and what the fans want, you can't choose the fans every time.
Yoko certainly had a huge influence on John Lennon. She was probably instrumental in urging him to stand for himself, and not to succumb to the group---thing. In addition to that, she made John Lennon aware of what was happening in Vietnam---things that many of us have come to accept. The US military and the US congress was determined to stop the spread of communism. It wasn't our job to halt this spread, just as much as it isn't the job of the Christian Church to stop the spread of alternate lifestyles. Thoughts and prayers will have to do. It was the military might of the USA that prevented the Vietnamese nation from prosecuting the illegality of the war in the international court. On a personal basis, many Americans have made their peace with Vietnamese citizens whom they have come to know, but as a nation, we have taken the principle of "Never say sorry!" too far.
Given the confluence of Christmas, the (imminent) end of the Vietnam War, and John Lennon's immigration status, I feel that the song (two songs, really: So this is Christmas, and Give Peace a Chance!) is an amazingly gentle piece of persuasion. You can see the influence of Yoko, in the strong rhetorical points, and the gentleness, which comes from nowhere: whose is it?---that moderates the severity of the tone of the lyrics:
[John Lennon, Yoko Ono]
So this is Christmas!
And what have you done?
Another year over,
A new one just begun.
Most of my readers very likely know these words. They're essentially an introduction to the rest of the song. ('And what have you done?' probably comes across as a bit sanctimonious.)
And so this is Christmas,
I hope you have fun;
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young.
This verse captures an important characteristic of the feast, namely the gathering of the tribe, the old and the young! During Covid, of course, we couldn't do the traditional thing, but in the mid seventies, we did, and Lennon / Ono embrace the full spirits of the festival.
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fearAnd so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
...
[chanting]
War is over over
If you want it
War is over
