Quote:IF WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY
OFFENDS YOU, I HOPE YOU CAN GET
OVER IT. IT IS TIME WE FOLLOWERS OF
CHRIST UP AND SAYS SOMETHING
BEFORE IT IS TO LATE! THERE ARE
PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE CHRIST
OUT OF CHRISTMAS BECAUSE IT
MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE. WELL,
HOW ABOUT ALL OF THE
CHRISTIANS?...YOU ARE OFFENDING
US BECAUSE YOU ARE TAKING OUR
CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS?...CHRIST
IS CHRISTMASL..IF YOU AREN’T
CELEBRATING CHRIST THEN WHY ARE
YOU CELEBRATING?...CHRISTMAS IS
ABOUT THE BIRTH OF OUR
SAVIOR!...CHRISTMAS IS ONE OF A
FEW HOLIDAYS LEFT THAT CELEBRATE
“MY” CHRIST!...LEAVE “MY” HOLIDAY
ALONE!...AND TELL EVERYONE MERRY
CHRISTMAS, NOT HAPPY
HOLIDAYS!...RE-POST IF YOU’RE NOT
ASHAMED.. JESUS IS THE REASON
FOR THE SEASON!
Dear fundamentalist friend, I see from your FB post that it is once again time for the seasonal rant. Please understand that no one, absolutely no one is trying to stop you from saying Merry Christmas. By the same token you should not try to stop people from using Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings if that is their preference.
In the first place, Christmas, December 25, is highly unlikely to have been the birthdate of Jesus. The Bible says absolutely nothing about the date, but it does mention that there were shepherds out in the fields with their flocks. Apparently in Judaea the period December-February has the worst weather of the year, cold and rainy, when shepherds would try to get their flocks under shelter. Some biblical scholars also make a complicated argument that Jesus' birth occurred in late September, based on what Luke says about the conception of John the Baptist followed six months later by the conception of Jesus.
In the second place, and more importantly, Christianity does not have a patent on winter festivals.
The actual reason for the December 25 date is that the church co-opted the ancient Roman festival of Saturanlia, which was observed centuries before the birth of Jesus. The Romans also observed the birth of the god Mithras around that time.
It's not too surprising that other ancient cultures also observed festivals around the time of the winter solstice. The Celtic peoples with their Druid religion were one such, and another was the pagan Germans and their Nordic cousins who observed Yule, a word we still use today.
Modern non-Christian festivals which are still observed today include the Jewish Hanukkah and the Hindu Diwali. So when you don't know people well, it's perfectly reasonable to wish them Happy Holidays and let them apply the version they prefer whether Christian, Jewish or Hindu.
And then there are the modern Japanese who enthusiastically celebrate Christmas even though less than 10% of them are Christians.
Finally, there are the people like me who you might call cultural Christians. I do not believe one bit of the Christian religion any more, but I grew up celebrating Christmas as a time to reconnect with friends and family, to exchange gifts and to have a festive meal. I intend to have my Happy Holidays this ear, thank you very much.
