Newsweek: Candy Canes BANNED by School Principal "Shape is J for Jesus"
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And you apparently do not realize that there is more than one holiday. In a span of about 6 weeks, there's Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years. I say Happy Holidays because I am referring to plural holidays. If you want to be stingy with your well wishes and only refer to one holiday, then you do you, Scrooge.
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Originally Posted by Tonyafd
When 80 to 90 percent of a country celebrates a Christian holiday, you claim that it's not OK to stand by and just be tolerant? No one is demanding that you stand up and say a Hail Mary.
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Originally Posted by steiconi
Christmas is YOUR holiday. Nearly every culture and religion has a holiday late in the year, including the very secular new year's eve.
People who insist that the only holiday is Christmas seem contemptuous of the beliefs of others. Shame on you.
75% of American adults identify as being "Christian." And a lot of people who aren't Christian celebrate Christmas. I don't think it should be taken offensively when someone says "Merry Christmas," and one definitely shouldn't be offended when they hear, "Happy Holidays!"
Plus, I believe that many people -- even those who don't necessarily celebrate a certain holiday -- are willing to share in the good cheer of the holidays that are traditionally celebrated among those in the United States. For example, I stop in the convenience store right by my house on a daily basis. The owner of the store, as well as the employees who work there, are Muslim immigrants from the Middle East. All have happily told me, "Happy Thanksgiving!," asked me about my Thanksgiving, talked to me about the holiday lights in our town, asked me about my Christmas plans, etc. One guy has even been wearing a Santa hat to work for the past week or so.
Christmas is a christian holiday, a religious celebration of the birth of Jesus into a human world.
For non-christians, the holiday is N/A (not applicable).
I always laugh at those folks that make it a point to say 'Happy holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas'...they do not realize Christmas IS THE HOLIDAY!!
On a recent shopping trip to the local mall last weekend, one of my sisters kids said it best, (upon seeing all the christmas stuff), she is 6 yrs old btw, she said " WOW, these stores must really love Jesus"
When two stewardesses wish a man a merry Christmas and he gets so angry that he is removed from the plane, that's anti social behavior. There are other examples of this antisocial behavior toward Christians, some experienced by me as a Roman Catholic who worked in New York City.
It goes both ways. At least once a year, I wish somone "Happy Holidays" and they angrily snap at me saying "NO! It's MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!"
I shop in a Muslim owned store and they always wish me a Merry Christmas this time of year. They are first generation immigrants so it isn't like they have become Americanized over several generations.
There is no such thing as a secular symbol of a religious holiday. Yes, the trees and eggs themselves are secular but they are inextricably tied to a holiday that is religious in nature. As a Jewish person, this is an ongoing struggle every year. My child doesn't celebrate Christmas, period. Trees, candy canes ornaments, Santa Claus, none of it is applicable.
I am no fan of the conservative news media. I am confident that the amount of fake news that they disseminate in a daily basis is staggering. By calling the Christian celebration of Christmas an ongoing struggle for you, are you suggesting that there may be some credibility to their claims of a war on Christmas?
One Christmas tradition website I read said the origin behind the candy cane was to remind people of the crook carried by the shepherds who visited Mary, Joseph, and newborn Jesus in the Bethlehem stable. That was also my vague recollection from childhood too. Well, leave it to the present day to get upset about the shape of a piece of candy. Everything seems to provide fodder for the much-too-easily-insulted, the much-too-easily threatened, the much-too-easily panicked.
And here I always thought it was to make it easier to hang on the Christmas tree.
Here's an interesting explanation from one of the comments given.
Different interpretation.
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Jennifer Sinclair is a perfect example of a christian trying to be "tolerant" from a place of utter ignorance, and not doing the research.
The shape of the candy cane is NOT a "j", and has NOTHING TO DO with Jesus.
Its a sacred staff of a priest of the temple of Saturn.
Saturnalia is december 25th.
The victorians added a curl to the end to hang it from their YULE trees, which honour the Alfather Odin.
The colours are symbolic of the Holly berries and leaves, which keep their colour into deep winter, and are also sacred to the Celtic PAGAN tradition.
Seriously. Christians spent centuries trying to stamp out these symbols precisely because they WERE pagan.
Well, I know everyone is criticizing this but the reality is the school is totally missing the point anyway
There is no such thing as a secular symbol of a religious holiday. Yes, the trees and eggs themselves are secular but they are inextricably tied to a holiday that is religious in nature. As a Jewish person, this is an ongoing struggle every year. My child doesn't celebrate Christmas, period. Trees, candy canes ornaments, Santa Claus, none of it is applicable.
If they are doing a unit on holidays in general and include discussions of Hanukkah, Eid al-Fitr, Kwanzaa, Diwali or whatever, then of course Christmas can and should be included.
But when you observe ONLY Christmas but claim it's ok because you are using secular representations, then trust me, a Jewish or other non-Christian child is being discriminated against and being told they are supposed to be observing a Christian holiday.
Interesting. We always studied the Hanukkah traditions, along with the Christmas ones, when I was in school.
I remember singing the dreidel song in school chorus. And that was 40, 50 years ago! Maybe it was because of the area I grew up in.
So, I guess now none of the celebrations of the "Holidays" should be discussed or studied in school. We're left with shopping, snowmen, and hot chocolate. How very blah.
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