A War on Christmas? (With a twist of racism and ignorance)
Dec 19, 2013 10:15:09 GMT -5
mitch9234 and rey713 like this
Post by saskabronco on Dec 19, 2013 10:15:09 GMT -5
I have been hearing so much discussion about the war on Christmas and I am wondering what some of you guys/gals think?
Here are some things I have heard lately that seem to get me a little worked up:
- Fox news. Yes, that is pretty much enough to get me worked up.
- An african-american woman made a comment about how Santa should be portrayed as black. A Fox News correspondent came back saying Santa is white and so is Jesus, and that is a fact children. (If you still believe in Santa, don't click the spoiler).
- A radio news correspondent on a local radio show had a rant the other day regarding the phrase Merry Christmas. He basically said that he refused to shop anywhere for Christmas gifts if the store used 'Happy Holidays' or some other pagan slogan that attempts to thwart Christmas. Apparently being kind and inclusive to non-Christians is a slap in the face to Christians. Also, he made the comment "to those of you who say 'Happy Holidays', to which holiday are you referring? It's Christmas and you are more than happy to take the time off of work to celebrate, so at least have the decency to acknowledge the holiday." That may be a bit of a paraphrase, but that is the gist of his point.
To clarify, I am an atheist. I don't believe that Jesus Christ existed, or at least not as the son of God. But if someone says Merry Christmas to me, I am not offended. I will smile and say it back. If someone said Happy Hanukkah, I would also smile and say it back. I don't think you are a bad person for wishing me good tidings based on what you believe, and by the same token you should not take offense to me for not believing that Dec. 25 is a time to celebrate the birth of a man who was not born on this day, or maybe at all. I love the holiday season because I get to spend a lot of time with my family. I don't need to thank Christ for the time off, I thank the government of Canada because they opted to deem this day a national holiday. And I actually have no choice to work over the season, because my office shuts down for a week so I can't work. And if Christmas wasn't a holiday, the government would deem some other day a STAT holiday because they try to maintain a certain number of STAT holidays. In my province, because there was too large of a break between New Year's and Easter with no holidays, they created Family Day... a provincially accepted STAT holiday.
So a few things about Christmas:
It is widely accepted by historians that Jesus could not have been born on Dec. 25th. He was more likely born sometime between June-September, based on the social and weather conditions at the time of the story in the bible. The 25th of December was not applied to Christ's birth until several hundred years after his birth. Many attribute this link to the fact that pagans at that time had a large celebration at this time of year for the Winter Solstice and the Christians, rather than fighting to stop the celebrating, worked their Messiah's birth into the story into the celebration so they could convert more people to Christianity. Many traditions that are prevalent during Christmas season, like the trees, yule, gifts, Saint Nicholas, songs, etc. stem from other cultural or religious holidays and have absolutely nothing to do with Christ.
So my conclusion here is that there is no WAR on Christmas. There are other people who don't believe what Christians believe and many Christians believe it is OK to shove their beliefs down our throat. Then they get mad if we decide to close our mouths? I am not saying you can't have Christmas, I just don't look at it the same way you do and that is perfectly acceptable and within my rights. The holiday season is a part of everyone's life, whether we believe in Christ or not, and I am sick and tired of hearing Christians getting mad at the rest of us for not acting Christian. So Happy Holidays to everyone out there, whatever your beliefs.
Here are some things I have heard lately that seem to get me a little worked up:
- Fox news. Yes, that is pretty much enough to get me worked up.
- An african-american woman made a comment about how Santa should be portrayed as black. A Fox News correspondent came back saying Santa is white and so is Jesus, and that is a fact children. (If you still believe in Santa, don't click the spoiler).
Considering Santa Claus is not real, he is not any color. So people can look at him as whatever color they want. He could be green and made out of gingerbread to a person; that doesn't change the fact that if you go to the North Pole there will be zero evidence of the Jolly Fat Man. And why does another person's interpretation of a myth have to be taken as offensive to another? (Obvious answer, bigotry and racism). But if you really want to look into his skin color, the myth of Santa Claus is derived from the Greek Saint Nicholas, who lived in what is present day Turkey, and likely would have looked more middle eastern than anything else. But I bet if a mall Santa in Jackson, Mississippi was played by a middle eastern guy.... well you can imagine I am sure. And seriously people... don't get me started on Jesus. If you honestly think Jesus was white (if you think he even existed at all, which is still completely up for debate), then you are truly ignorant.
- A radio news correspondent on a local radio show had a rant the other day regarding the phrase Merry Christmas. He basically said that he refused to shop anywhere for Christmas gifts if the store used 'Happy Holidays' or some other pagan slogan that attempts to thwart Christmas. Apparently being kind and inclusive to non-Christians is a slap in the face to Christians. Also, he made the comment "to those of you who say 'Happy Holidays', to which holiday are you referring? It's Christmas and you are more than happy to take the time off of work to celebrate, so at least have the decency to acknowledge the holiday." That may be a bit of a paraphrase, but that is the gist of his point.
To clarify, I am an atheist. I don't believe that Jesus Christ existed, or at least not as the son of God. But if someone says Merry Christmas to me, I am not offended. I will smile and say it back. If someone said Happy Hanukkah, I would also smile and say it back. I don't think you are a bad person for wishing me good tidings based on what you believe, and by the same token you should not take offense to me for not believing that Dec. 25 is a time to celebrate the birth of a man who was not born on this day, or maybe at all. I love the holiday season because I get to spend a lot of time with my family. I don't need to thank Christ for the time off, I thank the government of Canada because they opted to deem this day a national holiday. And I actually have no choice to work over the season, because my office shuts down for a week so I can't work. And if Christmas wasn't a holiday, the government would deem some other day a STAT holiday because they try to maintain a certain number of STAT holidays. In my province, because there was too large of a break between New Year's and Easter with no holidays, they created Family Day... a provincially accepted STAT holiday.
So a few things about Christmas:
It is widely accepted by historians that Jesus could not have been born on Dec. 25th. He was more likely born sometime between June-September, based on the social and weather conditions at the time of the story in the bible. The 25th of December was not applied to Christ's birth until several hundred years after his birth. Many attribute this link to the fact that pagans at that time had a large celebration at this time of year for the Winter Solstice and the Christians, rather than fighting to stop the celebrating, worked their Messiah's birth into the story into the celebration so they could convert more people to Christianity. Many traditions that are prevalent during Christmas season, like the trees, yule, gifts, Saint Nicholas, songs, etc. stem from other cultural or religious holidays and have absolutely nothing to do with Christ.
So my conclusion here is that there is no WAR on Christmas. There are other people who don't believe what Christians believe and many Christians believe it is OK to shove their beliefs down our throat. Then they get mad if we decide to close our mouths? I am not saying you can't have Christmas, I just don't look at it the same way you do and that is perfectly acceptable and within my rights. The holiday season is a part of everyone's life, whether we believe in Christ or not, and I am sick and tired of hearing Christians getting mad at the rest of us for not acting Christian. So Happy Holidays to everyone out there, whatever your beliefs.