I’ve been reading about The Problem with “Christmas” at Friendly Atheist.
I celebrate a secular, federally-recognized holiday on December 25th involving an evergreen tree, Santa, the spirit of giving, and family. I call that holiday Christmas.
I find Hemant’s straightforward explanation both comforting and amusing – and I think I know why. This is the first year that someone has actually admonished me for celebrating “Christmas,” as if I didn’t have a right to use the word.
(In a snide, condescending tone):
Haven’t you ever noticed the word “CHRIST” in “Christmas”??
The word CHRIST in Christmas should tell you that Christmas is for Christians.
What I don’t understand is why these same people bully invite non-Christian businesses to use the Christ in Christmas to sell products. Home Depot can sell yard tools for Christ; Petsmart can sell cat litter for Christ; but, I’m barred from using the word Christmas in a non-religious way, lest I sully it.
Worse still: These same people scold me for wishing others ”Happy Holidays,” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
Good headline. :)
NPR just had on an interview with Harvard’s humanist club whatever his title is — he was saying that humanists from many religious backgrounds celebrate the various holidays because it is part of their culture. Not because they believe in magical beings.
Which sounds like what you are saying or need to say to “these same people.”
And you didn’t even go to Harvard! Did you, Lynn? :)
Nance
For me, Christmas is just a time of year when life slows down and people make time for one another. It’s unfortunate that others (“these same people”) ;) waste time and energy in this way; it can be entertaining to “people like me,” though.
No, I didn’t go to Harvard. :)
Ask her if she’s Catholic. I bet she’s never noticed the “mass” in the word Christmas. Christmas is for Catholics.
Good point, Daryl. If it’s okay to keep out the “Mass,” we should be able to keep out the “Christ.” Especially when Christmas Eve falls on Thor’s Day (Thursday), as it does this year. What a mess. I’m just looking forward to April, when we all celebrate the “Eastre” in Easter in perfect agreement.
This is why, this year, I decided that I celebrate Holiday. It’s similar in appearance to the other days of celebration that happen at this time of year whether it be Yule or Solstice or Christmas or Kwanzaa or Hannukah or even Festivus. Holiday is even willing for those same celebrations and aspects of those celebrations to incorporate themselves or be otherwise incorporated into the variety of traditional Holiday/end of year celebrations. Holiday is open to a variety of cultural traditions up to and including the foods we find used whether due to tradition or symbolism. Holiday can be celebrated whether you believe in babies older than time itself or unicorns or mythical pasta based deities.
Holiday should be celebrated with some amount of drinking intoxicating spirits. Beer is of course traditional along with egg nog (not my favorite) and whiskey and tequila, my personal fave. Wine pairs well with Holiday of courses.
Another popular Holiday tradition is the taking of turns playing the new video games and/or video game systems, providing of course one realized they needed and then purchased the necessary attachment and/or wire.
And I need to go and see to the traditional moving of the cars to make room for friends.
Holly Meriday to all and a hearty CHEERS!
Mythical pasta based dieties? Mythical!!???
I’ll write that slip off to too much Holiday Cheer.
Back to my traditional dish of noodly goodness. :)
Nance
Here’s a humbuggy twist, that not only isn’t it Christmas but this isn’t even America, when our goodwill to all wish includes civilized health care:
And not on FOX or talk radio, but crazy has infiltrated C-Span for the holidays, how festive!
I just happened across an old Snook post quoting AJ Grayling’s take on why there’s “an acerbic quarrel going on between religion and non-religion today”:
Sam,
LOL at “traditional moving of the cars.” I love that game! :) I hope you had a wonderful day.
Nance,
I was amused by the term “pasta-based deities” and totally missed the “mythical” part! :O An extra serving of pasta for you for attentiveness! :P
Wow, JJ, that C-SPAN caller IS rather humbuggy, isn’t she? Poor thing has probably collapsed from all the mental anguish by now. I hope she has health insurance. :(
Hi JJ,
I enjoyed both your post and the AJ Grayling article. I guess most of what I write is an example of the “hardening of responses by non-religious folk” to the “confrontational face that faith now turns to the modern world.” :)
Rather than extend the *simple courtesy* of not presuming that everybody practices the Christian religion, many Christmas warriors go out of their way to be adversarial and confrontational. For nonbelievers, looking the other way (in the name of politeness) isn’t a good idea, given their larger goals of so-called “re”-establishing Christian government. It’s our country, too.
Also, the pretty. Momma just reminded me of another huge Holiday tradition, the strategic placement of lights and baubles on evergreen trees and houses. Another grand Holiday tradition involves the taking of longer routes to view the Holiday spirit displays. One local fave is the close fire hall with lots of lights and, for whatever reason, a number of wooden dalmatian cutouts. And here an object lesson, that while I don’t quite get the dalmatians, they are obviously part of the culture of this particular group of fire fighters, and I do enjoy the display each year.
Onward to the year’s end and more Holly Merriday! Let the champagne/sparkling wine contain itself within the glass vessels and the eyes be not put out by poorly removed corks.
Thumbs up to Holly Merriday, sam.
When Favorite Daughter was “christened” — yes, sigh — in the real world as Meredith, it became her favorite holiday greeting akin to a knock-knock joke: Merry DITH-mas!
Break out the champagne, Sam, because I found the answer to your damatians question here! Makes me want to run out a adopt a dalmatian. :)
Holly Merridays to you and Momma, too. :) And, ditto on the not “putting out your eyes with corks” thing.
Miami Herald blogs proof that Christmas is cultural power of story and belongs to us all:
I like that story. It represents the feelings of the silent majority of Americans, I think.
I also like another opinion that I hear from time to time: If “Christmas” was only a religious holiday, with only religious components, it would quickly fizzle away due overwhelming dis-interest. Iow, cultural warriors should be careful what they wish for. :)