Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You're looking for trouble where there is none. There are millions of people who do not celebrate the religious Easter, or the religious Christmas. They celebrate the Easter Bunny, Easter basket, colored egg aspect of Easter and the Santa giving celebrating aspect of Christmas.
Those who are of the religious population have co-existed without offense with those who aren't for centuries. What is your point.
I personally have known many muslims who have celebrated the Santa, Christmas tree part of Christmas and one of those families is the family of an Imam. Their kids always have had presents on Christmas morning. ALL of them have wished me Merry Christmas. It was common to hear people wishing others Merry Christmas after Friday services just before Christmas.
I call BS. The whole concept of Christ as the Son of God is anathema to Islam-- it's considered making him partners with God, which is called شرك, or shirk. It is, in fact, the One Unforgivable Crime-- so if your friendly local imam is celebrating Christmas, he's not so much a spiritual leader as a heretic.
Funny how some are so bothered by Merry Christmas and Easter eggs when both have been around and well used and accepted for generations. Now suddenly, they are offensive and cause a stir.
I hope that teacher doesn't teach geometry. Since when is an egg shape a "sphere"?
And the funny part....the Easter egg has nothing to do with Easter. It has to do with non religous traditions tied to fertility and spring.
Its origins are Pagan. But at this point, it has everything to do with Easter, as celebrated by...well, I started to say Americans, but really, a number of different nationalities. The Ukrainians and Poles have elevated them to high art.
I call BS. The whole concept of Christ as the Son of God is anathema to Islam-- it's considered making him partners with God, which is called شرك, or shirk. It is, in fact, the One Unforgivable Crime-- so if your friendly local imam is celebrating Christmas, he's not so much a spiritual leader as a heretic.
You can call anything you want. It's true. The Imam stood in my house and said his wife was Christmas shopping for his kids. When I visited the center, most everyone exchanged a Merry Christmas with each other.
Funny, almost all of them were immigrants from the Middle East. All of them devout muslims and most gave their kids Christmas gifts. They did not participate in the religious part, just the giving part.
To me it is kind of a generational thing. As Jews, my grandparents were persecuted by Christians in the old country. They immigrated to America for religious freedom. In America they were still suspicious of Christians and did not feel safe around them. This is the reason in part for the many Jewish "ghettos" of immigrants that sprung up in the 1800's. They did not want to be with any but their own kind.
They instilled this way of thinking in my parents. They considered Easter eggs, Christmas trees,etc a symbol of Christianity no matter what their origins. We were not allowed to have them in our home or participate in school Christmas pageants which were routinely done in the 50's when I was in school. To my parents and grandparents it was celebrating someone else's religion pure and simple.
It took me into my adult years not to be uncomfortable when someone wished me a "Merry Christmas." When I was a kid and someone did that while my mother was around she would be sure to tell them we did not celebrate Christmas. When a stranger would come up to my sisters and me and ask what Santa Claus was getting us for Christmas, my mom would tell them we do not believe in Santa Claus. And so on.
Today this attitude sounds prejudice and of course it is. But one has to understand where it was coming from. I no longer feel uncomfortable about being wished a Merry Christmas. I usually reply "The same to you." I figure the well-wisher must be Christian because a Muslim, Jew or Atheist would not tell me "Merry Christmas" so it's appropriate.
If I know the what the person's religion is I will wish him or her a happy whatever but I still do not say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" unless I know the person observes that particular holiday.
I call BS. The whole concept of Christ as the Son of God is anathema to Islam-- it's considered making him partners with God, which is called شرك, or shirk. It is, in fact, the One Unforgivable Crime-- so if your friendly local imam is celebrating Christmas, he's not so much a spiritual leader as a heretic.
I call BS on this story too. I know many Muslims, some more adherent than others, and not one of them gives their children gifts on Christmas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by standupandbecounted
Funny how some are so bothered by Merry Christmas and Easter eggs when both have been around and well used and accepted for generations. Now suddenly, they are offensive and cause a stir.
Who exactly is bothered by this. I keep on asking, and yet no answer. We have had a few people say it's meaningless to them, but they don't care either way, so who are the outraged?
I don't care if people say that to me. But that's the thing. I don't care. It's meaningless to me. It's an empty statement to me. It's wishes for happiness on an event that has no validity to me. It's a routine scripted statement made by automatons who would *never* think to say "Happy Thursday!" to me in the grocery line. It doesn't really even mean anything to most of the people who say it.
Actually, I think it's more of a lack of thought. They are assuming that everyone celebrates Christmas like they do, and have failed to think about other people as individuals who may celebrate something else or nothing at all. It is the thoughtlessness of assuming that everyone is like them that some find objectionable.
I think it's lack of thought on others to assume that everyone who celebrates differently than you should keep their trap shut or make a blanket statement so Poor Little Ole You doesn't feel excluded.
It is the thoughtlessness of assuming that everyone who is different than you is somehow malicious in their well wishes towards you.
I actually know a Muslem family that celebrates Christmas with their kids. They do the tree/decorations etc. I doubt it is a religious occasion for them, I suspect they just don't want their Americanized children to feel left out. Of the Jewish families I know that celebrate Christmas, that is the reason they do so too, for the kids. I don't know why people are so quick to cry, "heretics!" when they hear of non-Christians celebrating Christmas. It's just the commercial side of Christmas these families are celebrating, even many atheists celebrate Christmas. Heck, my son wanted to celebrate Hanukkuh last year, and I considered buying a menora. I thought it would be a learning experience.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
