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It's disrespectful to science to lump it with all those superstitions. Well, Buddhism doesn't trade on as much superstition, but the others are no way to try and interpret reality -they are all equally false.
Well here's the thing about religion. You can't prove it true and you can't prove it false.
Hence the controversy over it.
I am neither christan nor an athiest. I'm wiccan. Go ahead, I don't celebrate christmas. I celebrate Yule.
Cities shouldn't favor anyone for the winter holiday. Either they all can have a space (of equal size) or none.
Why don't we offically have a winter holiday celebration and if you want to stick religion in it, good for you. The schools have 'winter' break and 'spring' break and nobody has a problem.
Not exactly persecuted, but as you see Christmas is not being celebrated in some places, just as some Atheist want.......Didn't this same thing happen in a place called "Whoville" just who lived there????
We don't want you to disappear.... You all just need to lighten up and enjoy life....Athesits put all Christians in a box, just as Christians put all Atheist into a box, we're not all the same.......
Kind of getting old hearing Christmas was stolen from a pagan tradition......when much of whats said is untrue. Christians added pagan tradition to Christmas in hopes of bringing pagans to the faith........so most should get over it and enjoy the day or not!!!
I am going to put a big Happy Yule on my door and celebrate it in the twenty first. They didn't add it, they deliberately stole it after people were *forced* to convert. Big big difference. What I dispise is how christans of some stripes are so LOUD about how their 'traditions' must be honored but they can trample all over anyone else.
As a family gathering, the twentyfifth is okay, but I do not say merry christmas anymore. Thanks to the above zelots.
"96%" celebrate christmas, not because they are religious but because of the gifts, food and festivities.
I'll celebrate the winter solstice. Family is a good reason. Just getting together with friends is too, since its the start of the longer days. We've evolved a meaning which can leave out religion. That's what the majority celebrate, not the stolen celebration used by one religion.
When I lived in the States, a Jewish friend and I would slowly walk around on christmas eve, just sauntering, and drive people crazy.
I always wanted to say: I'm not in your hurry.
Side note, I finished sending all of my holiday boxes Stateside today.
When I was a kid, one of my best friends was Jewish, but her family went to a church which include both Jews and Christans. They officially celebrated both holidays. Her grand parents, orthadox Jews, showered their only grand daughter with huge piles of presents for their holiday. Then she got gifts for both from parents, though they were generally more practical. Then there were gifts from friends. She made off with a gigantic and impressive haul each year. The rest of us were dazzled. I think all the lets shower the granddaughter and kid spirit mostly taught her that she had lucked out and got it was all about getting more than most.
I myself like a mid winter holiday which celebrated family, and connections and leave all the religious connections to individuals.
"Christmas" was made to celebrate the birth of Christ, but pretty much everything else that has to do with the Christmas season was already in place and used in celebrating Saturnalia before early Christians took over the holiday.
The tree is Norse Pagan. It symbolized the bringing back of life as the days slowly turned warmer. The decorating of the tree was also done. Presents were given. Odin brought presents for well behaved children. These things, and pretty much everything about Easter, were Norse Pagan in derivation.
Santurnalia was an older borrowing, basically the date, to tie the new forced religion to the old most popular one. The same was true of the norse traditions. The king converted so everyone had to convert. The entire celebration of Yule was coopted since that way there was more cooperation. At one point, the christan holiday was moved up a day since yule celebrants would still celebrate on the solstice and they could tell them apart. Kings are big on people doing what they were told.
The norse tradition didn't come into general use until MUCH later.
But the symbols make sense for solstice. Not for what the christan occasion is supposed to be about.
Note in both occasions the conversions were not voluntary but *forced*.
Bah, you Christians with your tinsle, and your trees, and stockings and most of all.....
fun!
I must say I do take a Larry David "Curb Your Enthusiasm" stance on the tree. I hate having them in the house.
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