GOI: Thanks to Nacho over at Woodmoor Village for the link to this story. I thought this post was very amusing, insightful and spot on since we non-Christians have had the very non-inclusive and non-respectful phrase, "Merry Christmas" shoved down our throats during the holiday season:
There is a war on Winter Solstice. For thousands of years humanity had celebrated the beginning of days getting longer in a peaceful and celebratory manner:... No longer. There is a war on.
Historians generally agree that the Cult of Christ started the War on Solstice. They began by coopting the symbols of this most ancient of celebrations: holly, evergreen trees and the Yule log. Those cultists even moved the date of their god's birth from summer to winter! Moreover, they outright plagarized the story of how the greek god Dionysus was born in a cave in the presence of three shepherds.
GOI: It all seems so simple to me. Say, "Happy Holidays" to those whom you do not know to be Christian. It is the polite (and from what I understand of growing up Christian) and Christian thing to do. I do not believe that I am going out on a limb by saying that Jesus Christ taught his followers to be respectful of others. Now, if you know someone to be Christian then by all means wish them a, "Merry Christmas!"
Just remember, the Christians stole Christmas from the Pagans and now many of them are trying to say that, "Happy Holidays" is stealing their holiday. How ironic.
---End of Transmission---
19 comments:
Hah, this is great. I'm sending this to all my pagan friends NOW. But I definitely agree with you on the Happy Holidays thing. Of course, i offended a Christian earlier by using it. Oh, well, can't please everybody, I guess.
To someone who is not Christian, how is this time of year a holiday? If the entymology of holiday is "holy day," how then is "Winter Solstice" holy? If it isn't, then how could you wish anyone "happy holiday?" How about "Happy Day?" Or "Happy Least-Amount-of-Light Day?"
I think the "Happy Holiday" greeting isn't so offensive as much as the move in our culture to remove the Christian meaning of this holiday. Notwithstanding, I think the focus on material goods during this holiday season works against the meaning of the holiday as well. You call it ironic (which I agree that it is), yet the whole idea of winter solstice replacing the cultural meaning of Christmas is not going to happen, as long as there are Christians around. The power and meaning of Christmas far out weighs whatever pagan idea of lightbulbs during a time of darkness. The power of the idea of Christmas will always overshadow paganism as long as there are people of faith and reason.
Hey there, UL, long time, no see!
I think you're being far too strict in your definition of "holiday". Sure, the etymology of the word is based on holy day, but I have a hard time defending, say, Columbus Day as a holy day. Holiday has evolved to mean something else, and I think we have to apply it here. For instance, I'm more of an agnostic, but I still feel that the emotion and motivation behind Christmas (yes, I celebrate Christmas based on my own traditions) are the most important things. What I'm celebrating is the possibility of harmony and peace amongst humanity, be it brought by Christ or some other vessel.
I do, however, admit that that is entirely based on faith and emotion rather than reason. That's my own battle. My agnosticism is a testament to my internal struggle over reconciling the two.
I just rambled a lot, but I think my point is that a non-Christian can certainly celebrate the holiday without it being tied to the mainstream faith that spawned Christmas; all it takes is a belief in the goodness of humanity.
Oh, and the Winter Solstice was considered holy because it marked the turning point of winter, after which the days became longer. It was a point of hope for people who were struggling.
What we need here is POWERFUL BUDDHIST AGGRESSION! Our numbers are increasing; we have the power to make it Buddhamas Day. Merry Buddhamas! Anyone who won't say "Merry Buddhamas!" will see his store boycotted. People will learn to sit and meditate under their tree, damn it.
The Christians will just have to BEND TO OUR WILL. Yes, fellow Buddhists, we can have it all. It is rightfully ours! Now, grab your rifles AND LET'S STORM THE WINTER PALACE! YEEHA!
Crimnos: Happy Holidays!!
Tom: I laughed out loud when I read your comment. On the serious side, the month of December is a very scared time for Buddhists.
Bodhi Day occurs on the 8th of December which is the day that Buddhists celebrate the enlightenment of the Buddha.
I agree with Crimnos that the most important thing during this season is to celebrate our diversity and harmony amongst men/women and all the different religions.
Peace on Earth and good will towards all!!!
You too, James. I missed chilling on GOI! I'll be visiting more often.
And watch out for those Buddhists! :)
*LOL*
An aggressive Buddhist!
Hey Crimnos!
Yes, you are right, I defined holiday quite narrowly to make my point. There is wider understanding and usage of the term, and, I know people can celebrate the season without specifically entering into the sacred meaning of the holiday.
A majority of people in the U.S. are Christian, and retail stores like Walmart to have a customer service policy to refrain from using the term "Christmas" is perceived as pandering to the minority. It is especially grievious in a cultural context of squelching or removing of anything Christian with the promoting of other religious symbols.
If you celebrate Christmas in a non-religious manner, someone saying "Merry Christmas" to you can be received in like manner. I don't think the average store clerk is wanting to ram anything religious down people's throats.
Crimnos: Welcome back bruva from anotha muhva!!
Yeah, you know us Buddhists...always militant.
Question: Was Jesus even born in December? If not, how is it that December is sacred for "Christians"?
Anyways, I think the whole thing is totally amusing--Christians whining about some “War on Christmas”? Give me a break. The stores are cashing in on their sorry asses right and left. Literally.
I have a little story I wanted to share that I thought was pretty amusing. See, my friend’s boss didn't allow anyone to put up a Christmas tree this year. (Take note: The boss is Christian and I am sure that more than half of his employees are too) Instead of a holiday tree, he put a big Buddha in the hall where a tree usually goes. Some of the evangelical rightists threw a tizzy fit so he politely told them that they could feel free to put in their notice. Needless to say the woosies didn't and that was the end of it.
My friend who happens to be atheist told me that the boss is giving “Season Greetings” bonuses to everyone with some sort of Egyptian (Set) symbol on the envelope. Nice. See that is the type of “in your face” creativity that makes the days in December fun--at least for some anyways. If the yo-yos at Liberty 4 $ get wind of it, I am sure they will send their band of cesspool attorneys to litigate. Oh no!
The sad thing about all this is that people are wasting such time on ridiculous posturing. Of course there are incidents where people fight inclusion of nativities or menorahs. But I have heard a lot more coming from conservatives suing people for calling a tree a holiday tree. What a waste of energy. “War on Christmas” How silly.
The way I see it, businesses, organizations and individuals have the right to do what they choose with regard to holidays and celebrations. I always say “Season Greetings” to everyone I meet, because I know not what they believe. I don’t see anything wrong at all with this greeting. A good portion of folks that I come across celebrate Santa Clause Christmas—Jesus never even comes into the picture. Season Greetings works for them fine.
I must say though that I am rethinking my greeting. I think I am going to start saying “Have a day this month, or December” How is that?
Well I must say we should all try to sift through all this Christmas garbage and remember our fellow human beings. A starving person can’t eat a greeting, but they could eat bread and vegetables. Save the greeting and feed the hungry.
~Amadeus
CHOICE ON EARTH!
Hey James, sorry I have been away for some time. I see that you still have your lively debates going on though. I have missed this place.
I have friends that celebrate Winter Solstice. I had never heard of it until a few years ago. I think people who exclaim that Christmas is the only holiday of the season are either narrowed minded or ashamed to admit that Christmas originated from a pagan holiday and is really a late 19th century commercial invention.
Amadeus is correct, Jesus was born in July. And no where in the Bible is the word Christmas mentioned.
Even the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution guaranteeing peoples of all faiths the right to practice any religion they so desired did not celebrate Christmas.
As a Christian I do celebrate Christmas, and my God is a tolerant God allowing patience even to those who have yet to heed his word. Meaning not everyone believes like I do and to each their own.
Happy Holidays James.
Two of you place the origin of Christmas as a pagan holiday. If you like to read more, you may try the following URL to read more of the history of Christmas:
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1993/9312fea1.asp
Although the birthday of Christ cannot be determined, it's militant purpose is clear: instituting December 25th undermined and destroyed the notion of "Natalis Sol Invicti" in Roman culture. It's the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ that is the singlemost destructive concept to paganism. If you read the article sited above, you get what I mean.
The fact that it is being attacked today is quite clear and as James has alluded, quite ironic. Yet, there is a battle for peoples' minds and there is an objective that is clear for both Christians and non-Christians: Christ is supreme, and not a collaborator with other religions. The Church shows tolerance by being patient and longsuffering with those who are in error. It is always ready to change, transform, and convert people who are willing, to faith in Christ. Non-Christians may not like this agenda, but, it's Christ's agenda given to his Church.
Paganism would view tolerance as a means to accommodate the beliefs of others as equally valid, siting the freedom of others to believe as they want as a cornerstone right for humanity. The Church views the freedom of men to believe how they want, but would never see this as a right: no one has the right to believe in error.
So, the battle lines are clear. if you reject the Christian message, the Church will tolerate you but it will never adjust its message to accommodate you or justify your belief. And vice versa, paganism would love to be justified in the eyes of the church, which would mean the Church would cease to be what it is: an agent of salvation to all who live. Between Christ and Paganism there is no win-win.
To those enlightened and sophisticated Christians who feel that they are above the fray, beware. Your cavalier attitude to what is at stake may mean you have bought the pagan notion of tolerance. Search your hearts to see if this is the case.
One thing that I think UL is trying to illustrate is the notion of martyrdom. The victim mentality that some Christians, especially those of the conservative evangelical flavor, is part of their message to develop some perverted sense of sympathy by non-followers thus creating an avenue for conversion. Of course, that is my take on it.
Although there may be resistance by atheist and non-Christians to the pro-Christian agenda, I hardly think it is anything significant. A “War on Christianity” is purely BS. Most incidents that exist are not part of some organized effort like UL and others would have non-thinking people believe. They are isolated incidents. Take the incident I wrote about on my site. (Comments included) Most of the resistance to having a Christmas cross in the square was due to it being perpetrated by Lars Larson, a right-wing talk show host. He politicized the whole thing from the very start insulting Jews, Buddhists, Muslims and other faiths with ignorant comments, hatred and political mumbo jumbo. This agitated people beyond belief and they responded. They slapped Larson down to the point that he cancelled the event.
This is exactly what the majority of conservatives are doing in this "War on Christmas" sham. Their argument amounts to nothing but political resistance to those of other faiths and needless whining about having to share the public square during December, even if Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t born in that month .
Religion as a whole is often met with resistance by atheists and agnostics. I actually have no problem with that as it is a free country. I don't need to put a Buddha in the public square because I have one in my house. Not everyone shares my faith, so why make them suffer—that is what temples, churches and synagogues are made for.
Regardless of all that, if nothing more, please notice the victim mentality that exists in the "War on Christmas" debate. Those fueling the debate are seeking to be martyrs and nothing more. That is their message to gain supporters. From my view, all they are doing is trying to ride the train of the oppressed without a ticket.
~Amadeus
Have a day in December!
Amadeus: What an amusing and brilliant story!! The Buddha idea was an excellent way to point out the hypocritical actions of certian Christians. The shoe was put on the other foot and they did not like having the Buddha forced upon them. I do not blame them as they are not Buddhist so I would expect the same respect to my beliefs as to not say, "Merry Christmas" (for example) to me if they do not know my faith. Or to shove the x-mas tree down my throat as well. Either we do many holidays or we do none. This is one nation of many, many faith's after all.
Christians may believe that other religions are in error but the Constitution does not...which guarantees our rights to choose the religion of our choice. Regardless of whether of not Christians believe other religions to be in error.
Since we have established that most Christians believe other faiths are in error then the framers could not have been Christian (or at least not the right kind of Christians according to the defintion brought up in the comments).
Otherwise they would have established Christianity as the state religion of America (which apparently many modern-day Christians would like to do.
Let's refresh ourselves of the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
O.k., now notice first of all that they state that all men are created equal. This means that ALL men...even non-Christians are equal in the eyes of the, "Creator."
This blows the doors off the arguement that "God" believes other religions (besides Christianity) are in error. If "HE" did then the framers must not be the right kind of Christians, eh?
Therefore couldn't one surmise that these certain Christians do not believe in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution? That men are NOT created equal with the freedom to choose a religion other then Christianity? If "God" says that everyone is created with the right to freedom then how can freedom to be say, Buddhist ever be in error??
With the arguement of the error of other religions I believe that these certain Christians do not believe in the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution.
Now, notice the choice of the word, "Creator." They did not choose the word, "God." "Creator can mean many things to many people. Even I as a Buddhist believe in a "Creator." I believe that the "Creator" is everything that exists and does not exist.
The "Creator" (I believe) is each and everyone of us and inside all of us at the same time. Yet, so does this mean that I'm not included when the term, "Creator" is used? Of course not.
Even the choice of the word, "God" is loaded. "God" is many things to many people as well and Christians do not have a corner on that market. They may believe that other religions are in error but that does not mean their view is constitutional or even correct. It is simply an opinion.
Their demand to have Christmas celebrated exclusively even in the work place is not in keeping with the principles laid out by our fore-fathers. It is a divise demand in the season of coming together. I do not know of a definition of freedom after all that says it only applies to Christians or that freedom means non-Christians are in error.
Moving on, "Life" means of course life and I think that we can all agree that we are alive.
So we move on to "Liberty." Liberty means freedom and freedom means choice. Forcing people to accept a Christmas tree (one by which is presided over by the Angel Gabriel, a very Christian messanger who announced the birth of Jesus) is not allowing people their freedom of choice.
After all, let's not forget that the Christians in Amadeus's story were sorely offended by the Buddha.
Therefore the reason behind "Happy Holidays," and "Seasons Greetings" in a work place environment as diverse as any American city. Surely we can agree that Jesus Christ taught his followers (at the very least) to be respectful.
This would mean to me that Christians should not force their religion upon others. Such as in the work place or in a store.
Of course, freedom also means that stores and companies have every RIGHT to display what they desire. However, the RESPECTFUL, Christ-like thing to do is to not force Christmas down everyone's throat.
Christ also taught not to pray openly in the streets so that you do not become prideful. Beating your chest about your faith and over the exclusivity of it's symbols and holidays is prideful.
Oooo and how easily these prideful Christians forget that Jesus (the man himself) said to render unto Caesar (the government at the time) what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. This is clearly a statement seperating church and state (the government).
Moving on, I have established that I am a Buddhist and I celebrate Bodhi day. Bodhi Day is a holy day for Buddhists (December 8th...well in the "holiday season.") when Buddhists celebrate the enlightenment of the Buddha.
However, because I believe in the Constitution and freedom I do not expect or demand that everyone around me celebrate Bodhi Day and wish me, "Happy Bodhi Day" if they are not Buddhists.
Is it so hard then for Christians to be inclusive and to take a break from the conversion process in this season of "Good will towards men (all men by the way...and women??)
I guess we non-Christians should be saying, "Happy HELLidays" since that is apparently where we are going. If there IS a hell, however, then I suspect there will be more Christians there then they might believe. ;)
May peace on Earth reign!!
MJ: Glad to see you back on GOI and Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings to you as well!!
UL: Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings!!
Amadeus: You make a great point...there is no need to politicize the holidays and that is exactly what the Christians are doing. The "non-believers" have reacted because it is an afront to our freedoms.
James you are right on with the Constitution and its tolerance of religion(s).
I do agree with UL that Christ is supreme and acknowledges no other religion. That is my belief too. But, again, not everyone believes that and that is their choice. That is between them and God or whatever it is that they believe or don't believe.
And just to add more rhyme to UL, it does appear that UL agrees that Christmas is a manmade holiday, never mentioned in the Bible and routinely missing throughout American history until around the Civil War.
The good thing about being American is that if you don't want to celebrate a religious holiday, then you don't have to. Separation of church and state is a Constitutional mandate. I think UL's argument neglects that church doctrine is not law here and if one does not want to follow it then it's their choice.
MJ: Amen brotha.
Hey, James: A great post re CHRISTMAS by Robert of Beginner's Mind: "Why a Buddhist has a Christmas Tree."
It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, delighting in the tradition of Old Time Christmas.
And though, it's been said, many times, many ways [well, really only ONE way], "MERRY CHRISTMAS, to you."
MJ:
You are correct that Church doctrine is not Federal law or a constitutional requirement, and subsequently, Americans aren't legally bound to follow the teachings of the church. However, for me to make such an argument is beside the point.
Also, though I make the assertion that the tradition of Christmas is one born out of the tradition of the Church and not scripture, I do not assert that Christmas is man-made. It is a necessary development in tradition that intends to inject the importance of the incarnation of Jesus Christ into a pagan culture. Call it intrusive, the dogma of the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity is to be maintained and promolgated as a dogma, not as a viable option.
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