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.
That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. We need a PC version of "Easter Bunny" and "Easter Egg?" Good grief, they aren't even religious symbols or in any way controversial.
What's next? Does the "Winter Solstice Obese Elf Slave Owner" deliver gifts on the evening of December 24th?
EDIT: This was a joke, wasn't it? And I just missed it...
You're sort of stating the obvious, like saying nobody dies without being born. Your factoid is a misleading portrayal of the Eastern Orthodox Lent. There is an emphasis of Jesus's death during Lent, but it is by no means central to what the season is all about... Not just Lent, but for them every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection. Sure the services for a few days leading up until Midnight on Saturday do focus on the death but that's because those are the days when he was supposed to be dead. The single most important event in world history, from an Orthodox perspective, was the day of resurrection.
What passes for Easter in the West is completely baffling to someone from an Eastern Orthodox country...to them if you are doing the Easter bunny and only things like that, you aren't celebrating Easter at all. Easter is their biggest holiday of the year.
That's what I was getting at earlier; I just misworded it. I meant to say that when it comes to Easter, the Orthodox Church focuses on Jesus and his resurrection, and treats the "fun" elements, like the dyed eggs and the Easter bunny, as an afterthought. Come to think of it, I'm not sure they even have an Easter bunny in their tradition; it seems to be a Western thing. I do know they have a tradition of dying eggs on Holy Saturday, then taking them to church to be blessed by a priest. Then they eat them at the Easter dinner.
Last edited by MillennialUrbanist; 03-20-2018 at 11:34 PM..
So is your husband planning to prohibit the child-centered customs of Christmas and Halloween? I mean even just the names of those holidays have religion built right in.
Over the my many decades of being a teacher, I have had parents and students of many different religions as well as agnostics and atheists. And, yes Easter Bunny to some people does have a religious connotation and yes, to some parents using that phrase in the classroom is not just controversial it is completely wrong.
I learned pretty quickly that you don't want to face the wrath of a parent who is (for example) a Jehovah Witness complaining to the principal or school board if you innocently handed out a coloring sheet of a rabbit and eggs and without thinking referred to it as an Easter Bunny and Easter eggs. Ditto with many other religions. Trust me your bosses will throw you under the bus so fast that you will get whip lash. It is just better to avoid as many religious/pseudo-religious words or phrases as you can manage.
Although I have received the impression from various posts in other threads that acknowledging any aspect of Christianity is now avoided in those public schools with a large number of non-Christian students, and I know that there have been some posts about parents objecting to facts about other religions being taught but Christianity being ignored, I did not think that this is now the policy in ALL public schools.
I debated whether or not to just DM you about this, but then I thought that other people might want to know the answers to the following questions, also.
1. As far as you know, is there now a national policy regarding the religion-in-public-schools issue, or is that now determined on a state or local level?
2. Is it now the policy in ALL public schools to simply ignore the Christian religion -- even the secular aspects of Christian holidays -- altogether? And what is the policy now about teaching about non-Christian religions?
As I said in an earlier post on this thread, I am a Deist (in short, someone who believes in some kind of God-as-Creator, but not in a "personal" God who is concerned with any particular planet or person in particular), and I have no personal stake in the religion-in-school issue, but I am just curious to know what the general current policy is now regarding religions/holidays in most public schools.
(So, to emphasize, I am not trying to start any kind of debate, but just looking to be better informed!)
Although I have received the impression from various posts in other threads that acknowledging any aspect of Christianity is now avoided in those public schools with a large number of non-Christian students, and I know that there have been some posts about parents objecting to facts about other religions being taught but Christianity being ignored, I did not think that this is now the policy in ALL public schools.
I debated whether or not to just DM you about this, but then I thought that other people might want to know the answers to the following questions, also.
1. As far as you know, is there now a national policy regarding the religion-in-public-schools issue, or is that now determined on a state or local level?
2. Is it now the policy in ALL public schools to simply ignore the Christian religion -- even the secular aspects of Christian holidays -- altogether? And what is the policy now about teaching about non-Christian religions?
As I said in an earlier post on this thread, I am a Deist (in short, someone who believes in some kind of God-as-Creator, but not in a "personal" God who is concerned with any particular planet or person in particular), and I have no personal stake in the religion-in-school issue, but I am just curious to know what the general current policy is now regarding religions/holidays in most public schools.
(So, to emphasize, I am not trying to start any kind of debate, but just looking to be better informed!)
At least in my area, policy depends on the local school district. As an example, forty years ago I taught in a district that was in a college town with a very diverse population, including thousands of international students. I recall that they had one elementary school located near the University had something like 25 different religions represented by their current students. Needless to say this district was VERY strict that teachers not favor one religion over another religion even in minor ways such as calling winter break "Christmas break" or spring break "Easter break". I believe that this district still follows the "no religion" pattern in schools.
A few years later I started teaching in a school district in a predominantly Christian area. I was shocked that teachers were allowed, even encouraged, to decorate their rooms with Christmas trees, make Christmas gifts for parents, sing religious Christmas songs at the Christmas program in the public school. I was horrified that just because there were only a handful of students in the entire school who were other religions we could trample over their rights and their feelings. Over the last almost 40 years it changed in that district, in part by parents standing up and saying "Why should my child, who is Jewish, sing Religious Christian songs in the Christmas Program in our neighborhood public school?
At least in my area, policy depends on the local school district. As an example, forty years ago I taught in a district that was in a college town with a very diverse population, including thousands of international students. I recall that they had one elementary school located near the University had something like 25 different religions represented by their current students. Needless to say this district was VERY strict that teachers not favor one religion over another religion even in minor ways such as calling winter break "Christmas break" or spring break "Easter break". I believe that this district still follows the "no religion" pattern in schools.
A few years later I started teaching in a school district in a predominantly Christian area. I was shocked that teachers were allowed, even encouraged, to decorate their rooms with Christmas trees, make Christmas gifts for parents, sing religious Christmas songs at the Christmas program in the public school. I was horrified that just because there were only a handful of students in the entire school who were other religions we could trample over their rights and their feelings. Over the last almost 40 years it changed in that district, in part by parents standing up and saying "Why should my child, who is Jewish, sing Religious Christian songs in the Christmas Program in our neighborhood public school?
My dd graduated from high school in 2009, and she both played in the concert band and sang in the chorus.
It's a small town in NJ, not that diverse, mostly Christian-ish but there are a couple of Jewish students and some Hindus, but again, it's NJ, which is extremely diverse religion/cultural-wise overall.
Both the band instructor and the chorus teacher were Jewish. I was initially surprised to hear a couple of actual religious Christmas songs played and sung at the concerts, but they also included a Chanukah song or two as well as an unusual piece from maybe an African culture. I came to learn that both instructors treated the music as art, not religion, and wanted the kids exposed to music of different cultures, including the traditional American seasonal music. It was always balanced and very well done.
Although I have received the impression from various posts in other threads that acknowledging any aspect of Christianity is now avoided in those public schools with a large number of non-Christian students, and I know that there have been some posts about parents objecting to facts about other religions being taught but Christianity being ignored, I did not think that this is now the policy in ALL public schools.
I debated whether or not to just DM you about this, but then I thought that other people might want to know the answers to the following questions, also.
1. As far as you know, is there now a national policy regarding the religion-in-public-schools issue, or is that now determined on a state or local level?
2. Is it now the policy in ALL public schools to simply ignore the Christian religion -- even the secular aspects of Christian holidays -- altogether? And what is the policy now about teaching about non-Christian religions?
As I said in an earlier post on this thread, I am a Deist (in short, someone who believes in some kind of God-as-Creator, but not in a "personal" God who is concerned with any particular planet or person in particular), and I have no personal stake in the religion-in-school issue, but I am just curious to know what the general current policy is now regarding religions/holidays in most public schools.
(So, to emphasize, I am not trying to start any kind of debate, but just looking to be better informed!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by germaine2626
At least in my area, policy depends on the local school district. As an example, forty years ago I taught in a district that was in a college town with a very diverse population, including thousands of international students. I recall that they had one elementary school located near the University had something like 25 different religions represented by their current students. Needless to say this district was VERY strict that teachers not favor one religion over another religion even in minor ways such as calling winter break "Christmas break" or spring break "Easter break". I believe that this district still follows the "no religion" pattern in schools.
A few years later I started teaching in a school district in a predominantly Christian area. I was shocked that teachers were allowed, even encouraged, to decorate their rooms with Christmas trees, make Christmas gifts for parents, sing religious Christmas songs at the Christmas program in the public school. I was horrified that just because there were only a handful of students in the entire school who were other religions we could trample over their rights and their feelings. Over the last almost 40 years it changed in that district, in part by parents standing up and saying "Why should my child, who is Jewish, sing Religious Christian songs in the Christmas Program in our neighborhood public school?
I'm going to take these two together. Not a teacher, but I've been very involved in education issues in my district/state for many years.
1. In most states, education is a local issue. Here in Colorado, with our fiercely independent population, it's very much local control. So, ironically, is my home state Pennsylvania. So no, no federal rules about religion in the schools, except to follow the constitution of the US re: freedom of religion/freedom from religion.
2. In my locally controlled district, which includes a university community (U of CO) within its boundaries, schools can have secular holiday decorations, and even a Halloween party. I recall my kids' elementary allowed 4 parties a year, the kids voted on which ones to have. They had and still have IIRC a Halloween costume parade.
My kids' high school music department did, probably still does, a December holiday concert which included music from Christianity, Judaism, and solstice music. The December break is called "winter break" and spring break is called "spring break" and does not always coincide with Easter.
Likewise, in social studies classes, they learned about various religions and religious beliefs, presented academically, that is no right or wrong in any religion.
A few years later I started teaching in a school district in a predominantly Christian area. I was shocked that teachers were allowed, even encouraged, to decorate their rooms with Christmas trees, make Christmas gifts for parents, sing religious Christmas songs at the Christmas program in the public school. I was horrified that just because there were only a handful of students in the entire school who were other religions we could trample over their rights and their feelings. Over the last almost 40 years it changed in that district, in part by parents standing up and saying "Why should my child, who is Jewish, sing Religious Christian songs in the Christmas Program in our neighborhood public school?
Hmm... I went to a K thru 8 school in Chicago. Chicago is largely secular, but has a strong Catholic influence due to its large Irish, Italian, and Polish populations. So Christmas was very noticeable in school every winter. Social studies classes went on a tangent about the history of Israel around 1 A.D.; Jesus was prominently mentioned, but wasn't taught as the son of god. Lower grades went to a party in the gym. Upper grades pitched in for a homeroom party. (Easter, on the other hand, wasn't covered very much: a 20-minute discussion in social studies and making greeting cards in art.)
My high school, on the other hand, was in the suburbs, in an area with a strong Jewish presence. Its Christmas celebrations were more subdued during the day, although teachers still wished their students "Merry Christmas" (some, but not all, appended "or happy Hanukkah"), and there were small-scale Christmas celebrations after school. But no one complained about "having to sing Christian songs".
Factoids:
1. "Jingle Bells" was originally a Thanksgiving song, not a Christmas song. (Presumably, it was written in the region that already had snow in November, hence "dashing through the snow".)
2. "Let It Snow" was written by a Jewish songwriter, and was meant to be a romantic song, not a Christmas song.
Hmm... I went to a K thru 8 school in Chicago. Chicago is largely secular, but has a strong Catholic influence due to its large Irish, Italian, and Polish populations. So Christmas was very noticeable in school every winter. Social studies classes went on a tangent about the history of Israel around 1 A.D. Jesus was prominently mentioned, but wasn't taught as the son of god. Lower grades went to a party in the gym. Upper grades pitched in for a homeroom party.
My high school, on the other hand, was in the suburbs, in an area with a strong Jewish presence. Its Christmas celebrations were more subdued during the day, although teachers still wished their students "Merry Christmas" (some, but not all, appended "or happy Hanukkah"), and there were small-scale Christmas celebrations after school. But no one complained about "having to sing Christian songs".
Factoids:
1. "Jingle Bells" was originally a Thanksgiving song, not a Christmas song. (Presumably, it was written in the region that already had snow in November, hence "dashing through the snow".)
2. "Let It Snow" was written by a Jewish songwriter, and was meant to be a romantic song, not a Christmas song.
I've heard many people say a variation of the bold. Back when my 75 year old BIL was an elementary school student in the Omaha public schools, they actually put on a Christmas pageant, and my MIL said the Jewish kids didn't mind acting in these plays. I was shocked! I don't know how my MIL knew that, either. (By the time DH, who just turned 70, was in ele school, they didn't do that any more, so I'd guess perhaps someone complained, or they had an "Epiphany" moment and stopped such nonsense.)
Factoids:
1. Almost every major holiday, someone or someones on CD takes it upon themselves to give us poor uneducated slobs the "real deal" about various holiday traditions, songs, etc, as if we'd never heard this stuff before. Cultures borrow from each other. Big surprise.
2. Much Christmas music has been written by Jewish songwriters. Big whoop!
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.
