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P.S. I finally gave up with the candle search, and bought some birthday candles... they're too small, and actually cause a fire-hazard because they fall out. Walgreens got a very angry email from me, LOL.
That's wierd. Are you originally from SF? I know you can get them here. The difference though what type of candles. Some are nicer than others. Why didn't you get them off the net?
How about this: Christmas gets lots of attention, in part, because people can have fun, it is a time when families can plan to be togehter - to share with one another the happenings of the past year. A chance to see someone you have not seen for a while. A chance to slow down and reflect on all the special blessings in your life -
Bottom line, if you're still with me, is that religion is something that should occur in private and not in publicly funded locations. No one is saying that you can't have Christmas parties in your house. No one is saying that you can't say "merry christmas" to each other. But, private businesses do have the right to require their employees to be PC and say "happy holidays", and publicly funded establishments do not have the right to endorse any religion.
Keeping in mind that publicly funded establishments are not limited to pulbic schools, these institutions do not endorse any religion by mentioning Christmas, by celebrating Christmas, or by observing a two-week vacation at Christmas time, which is a secular and cultural observation inculcating, among others, Roman (Saturnalia), Zoroastrian, druidic, and other ancient traditions, in addition to the later, Christian characteristics. If we are to somehow eschew all traditions and history which have religious overtones, we might as well just start grunting at each other and gnawing on bones.
The Constitutional "establishment" clause, which is used by some to defend the branding of Christmas as somehow discriminatory or otherwise harmful to the Republic, states only that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion...". Having a Christmas holiday in a public school does not constitute the Congressional making of a law.
Contemporary thinkers who argue against the celebration and observation of Christmas have some unsavory antecedents. In 1659, a law was passed by the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony requiring a five-shilling fine from anyone caught "observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way." It was not until 1856 that Christmas Day became a state holiday in Massachusetts. For two centuries preceding that date, the observance of Christmas — or lack thereof — represented a cultural tug of war between Puritan ideals and British tradition. Sound familiar? Today's anti-Christmas folks probably would be horrified to think of themselves as latter-day Puritans...
People who feel strongly that there is something culturally or socially wrong with celebrating Christmas ought to forego the holiday time off to demonstrate their sincerity, though they would still be widely regarded by people of good will as revisionist killjoys.
Keeping in mind that publicly funded establishments are not limited to pulbic schools, these institutions do not endorse any religion by mentioning Christmas, by celebrating Christmas, or by observing a two-week vacation at Christmas time, which is a secular and cultural observation inculcating, among others, Roman (Saturnalia), Zoroastrian, druidic, and other ancient traditions, in addition to the later, Christian charateristics. If we are to somehw eschew all traditions and history which have religious overtones, we might as well just start grunting at each other and gnawing on bones.
The Constitutional "establishment" clause, which is used to defend the branding of Christmas as somehow discriminatory or otherwise harmful to the Republic, states only that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion...". Having a Christmas holiday in a public school does not constitute the Congressional making of a law.
Contemporary thinkers who argue against the celebration and observation of Christmas have some unsavory antecedents. iIn 1659, a law was passed by the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony requiring a five-shilling fine from anyone caught "observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way." It was not until 1856 that Christmas Day became a state holiday in Massachusetts. For two centuries preceding that date, the observance of Christmas — or lack thereof — represented a cultural tug of war between Puritan ideals and British tradition. Sound familiar? Today's anti-Christmas folks probably would be horrified to think of themselves as latter-day Puritans...
People who feel strongly that there is something culturally or socially wrong with celebrating Christmas ought to forego the holiday time off to demonstrate their sincerity, though they would still be widely regarded as the revisionist killjoys.
Good grief. I took all that time to write out what I meant, and you're implying that I'm saying Christmas should be banned. Please reread what I wrote.
Again, nothing wrong with celebrating a religious holiday...everything wrong with imposing it as the only religious holiday in locations that are publicly funded and/or where people are obligated to be (schools, for example).
Second, many traditions were taken from pagan roots, etc, yes it's true...but like I wrote, if you had read it, are we no longer talking about the word Christmas vs. Holiday? If you're not, I am. Since that is what I am talking about, let me point out a pretty obvious detail about the word "christmas": it has the word "christ" in it.
However, "holiday" does not, though one could say that it came from "holy day", which is true.
Semantics aside, I actually would rather be associated with puritans, minus some of their negative aspects, than with modern day christians (many of them) whose idea of celebrating the birth of their savior means spending oodles of cash on junk, whose idea of spreading good cheer has more to do with saying the appropriate greeting to people than spending some time cheering up someone who is down on their luck. At least the puritans stood ground on moral values, and not just tinsel and sparkly things that make your head spin.
I guess I just prefer substance.
But anyway, I will be be spending Christmas with my family, and I will most certainly be of good cheer, so don't assume I'm anti-Christmas just because I don't see anything wrong with businesses choosing not to use a religious word, or using an inclusive word in schools rather than favoring one religion over another.
Good grief. I took all that time to write out what I meant, and you're implying that I'm saying Christmas should be banned. Please reread what I wrote.
Again, nothing wrong with celebrating a religious holiday...everything wrong with imposing it as the only religious holiday in locations that are publicly funded and/or where people are obligated to be (schools, for example).
Second, many traditions were taken from pagan roots, etc, yes it's true...but like I wrote, if you had read it, are we no longer talking about the word Christmas vs. Holiday? If you're not, I am. Since that is what I am talking about, let me point out a pretty obvious detail about the word "christmas": it has the word "christ" in it.
However, "holiday" does not, though one could say that it came from "holy day", which is true.
Semantics aside, I actually would rather be associated with puritans, minus some of their negative aspects, than with modern day christians (many of them) whose idea of celebrating the birth of their savior means spending oodles of cash on junk, whose idea of spreading good cheer has more to do with saying the appropriate greeting to people than spending some time cheering up someone who is down on their luck. At least the puritans stood ground on moral values, and not just tinsel and sparkly things that make your head spin.
I guess I just prefer substance.
But anyway, I will be be spending Christmas with my family, and I will most certainly be of good cheer, so don't assume I'm anti-Christmas just because I don't see anything wrong with businesses choosing not to use a religious word, or using an inclusive word in schools rather than favoring one religion over another.
That's all I'm saying. Tired of repeating myself.
And I'm tired of saying that schools aren't Congress. And that Christmas is a universal holiday with a broad range of connotations and origins. Your objection seems to be with a word: Christmas, which contains the word "Christ." Well, it also contains the word "mas" which is short for "Mass."
And I'm tired of saying that schools aren't Congress. And that Christmas is a universal holiday with a broad range of connotations and origins. Your objection seems to be with a word: Christmas, which contains the word "Christ." Well, it also contains the word "mas" which is short for "Mass."
Oh, the horror.
Christmas is not a universal holiday. I am not horrified by the word or the event, but I like all people of all religions, or non-religions, to be included in society, and especially in environments where there is legal obligation (kids in school, for example). I guess anyone who isn't Christian could just be homeschooled.
I grew up in Northern NY and we had Christmas parties every year until I went into Jr high school, and I am 30 years old by the way
Also I am a teacher, and my school is not allowed to have a CHristmas party, instead it is called a winter party and we are not allowed to have a Halloween party because the liberal say it is celebrating the devil.
I think you mean conservative Christians, dear.
Given that my class was more Jewish than not, it would have been kind of stupid to have a Christmas party...don't you think?
Christmas is not a universal holiday. I am not horrified by the word or the event, but I like all people of all religions, or non-religions, to be included in society, and especially in environments where there is legal obligation (kids in school, for example). I guess anyone who isn't Christian could just be homeschooled.
Christmas is a universal holiday in most Western nations. The fact that it has (among others) Christian historical origins is not the point.
Christmas is not "society", nor is there any legal obligation attached to it, either in school or elswhere. It is a synthesis of centuries of human hopes and aspirations, from a variety of cultures and religions.
I repeat: if we eliminate every cultural observation or tradition which has a religious connection or connotation, out of fear of excluding (for example) people who find Monday (Moon-day), Tuesday ("Twiga's-day", Norse), Wednesday ("Woden's-day", also Norse), ThursdaY ("Thor's-day" also Norse), Firday ("Freya's-day", Norse), Saturday ("Saturn's-day", Roman), or Sunday (self-explanatory), offensive and exclusionary because they are not Norse or Roman, much of Shakespeare (becuase it relies on Christian symbolism, plots, and language), the art of Michelangelo (all those saints and virgins), the music of Bach (gasp! "The B-minor Mass"!!!!), Native American art and ecological symbolism, and all the other rich and lovely creations inspired by the spiritual traditions of this or that culture, we might as well go back to living in caves and grooming each other's fur for bits of salt.
Here are your Christmas facts, because wikipedia is not acceptable to some...
According to recent polls,
95 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas (Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, 2005).
69% of Americans now use the “Merry Christmas” greeting compared to 56% previously (USAToday/CNN/Gallup Poll, December 20, 2005).
61% of Americans now oppose generic “Happy Holiday” greetings, compared to 44% in 2004 (USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll, December 20, 2005).
69% of Americans prefer “Merry Christmas” over “Happy Holidays” (Rasmussen Poll 2006).
90 percent of Americans recognize Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ (Gallup, 2000).
88 percent of Americans say it is okay for people to wish others "Merry Christmas" and the majority of Americans are more likely to wish someone they just met "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays" (CNN/USA Today/Gallup, 2004).
87 percent of Americans believe nativity scenes should be allowed on public property (Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, 2003).
"ADF's goal once again this season is to inform, educate, and help protect the rights of the 95% of Americans who celebrate Christmas," ADF President Alan Sears explained. "It's a sad day in America when you have to retain an attorney to wish someone a Merry Christmas. The fear, intimidation, and disinformation spread by the ACLU and its allies over the years will not be changed overnight. That's why ADF wants to dispel the myths about religious expression at Christmastime that have prompted wrongful acts of government censorship of religious speech."
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