Non-Christians Celebrating Christmas

[jackfaire]

hallah (sp?)

Challah and some of the best bread I have ever had. I had a jewish friend in highschool one of the few I knew whose families practiced tradition.

[Lace Neil Singer]

On another board that I go to, there is a Jewish woman who often says that non-Jews are more than welcome to join them in celebration of Jewish holidays.

My father's Jewish, and celebrates Hannaka (sp?) at the same time. My Christian mother doesn't throw a fit at joining him in his celebrations, and he goes to church with her. It's part of being married in a way, rather than celebrating another's beliefs, but I don't see what's wrong with it.

[Kalli]

The bottom line here is that people are getting worked up over a label.

Using a commonly accepted word for a commonly accepted celebration does not equal hypocrisy, even if the word/celebrations origins have nothing to do with what I do with them now.

Hypocrisy would be if I said I hated Christianity and then set up a nativity scene in my loungeroom at Christmas.

The example with the days of the week and the months etc is an excellent analogy. Does that make you a hypocrite, if you call a day or month a name that used to mean "we worship xyz god on this day", but you dont worship xyz god? No, that's not hypocrisy. Neither is using the word Christmas whatever flippingwelll way I please.

[Slytovhand]

I'm pagan.

And I have to completely agree with Ree's argument.

Yes, it is hypocritical! And I've thought that since I was a little kid!

If you take someone else's celebrations and nick them - but nothing else, yes you are being a hypocrit - especially if you choose to use the same name as it!

It's just as hypocritical as all those Christians who put up 'Christmas' trees! They're a pagan symbol, FFS! Or go and do Easter Eggs during Easter (let alone how Easter is calculated!)

I don't have even the mildest problem with holding a celebration, but don't go and call it by some other religion's or culture's names if you want nothing else to do with that religion or culture.

And it's super-rude to just presume that everyone else should think the same way you do (especially if said hypocrisy is involved).

So, go celebrate what you want... but damn well call it something else that doesn't have somebody else's connotations!

(So, yes, "Merry Festivus" would be great! Perhaps, if everyone did that, it wouldn't be so damn strange anymore!)

Names of the week - hmmm... I sort of get it, but I'm not seeing hypocrisy.. not from us anymore. From the Romans, or Gregor or Julian - maybe! The same goes for those of us who go through January, February, March, April, May, etc etc... here in China, there is First day, second day, etc, and the same with the months! I like it! (too bad they also operate on 2 different calenders... bugger! Everyone here has 2 birthdays )

[Kimmik]

"Origin and development

The early Christian community distinguished between the identification of the date of Jesus’ birth and the liturgical celebration of that event. The actual observance of the day of Jesus’ birth was long in coming. In particular, during the first two centuries of Christianity there was strong opposition to recognizing birthdays of martyrs or, for that matter, of Jesus. Numerous Church Fathers offered sarcastic comments about the pagan custom of celebrating birthdays when, in fact, saints and martyrs should be honoured on the days of their martyrdom—their true “birthdays,” from the church’s perspective.

The precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear. The New Testament provides no clues in this regard. December 25 was first identified as the date of Jesus’ birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 and later became the universally accepted date. One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer. Indeed, after December 25 had become widely accepted as the date of Jesus’ birth, Christian writers frequently made the connection between the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the Son. One of the difficulties with this view is that it suggests a nonchalant willingness on the part of the Christian church to appropriate a pagan festival when the early church was so intent on distinguishing itself categorically from pagan beliefs and practices."

Snipped from

Personally I feel that it is a sucky thing to just remember Jesus on two days of the year.. the day he was born and the day he rose. I guess I am like the founders that way. I celebrate Christmas the old father Christmas way. It is a time of giving, not big shiny objects, but rather gifts from the heart. It is a magical time of year.. the elves, the raindeer, the special feeling as the year is coming to a close and all things are possible.

Strangers wishing joy to one another, a time to wonder in childhood innocence at the magical feeling in the air. To enjoy hot coco and the lights twinkling in the snow. To remember that giving is better then receiving... That a simple gift of mittens might mean the world to someone homeless, or remember that it is one time of the year that social standings have no meaning that in the big picture it is not about what you get but the act of giving that may, even for that brief moment, make a difference to someone.

[AdminAssistant]

On another board that I go to, there is a Jewish woman who often says that non-Jews are more than welcome to join them in celebration of Jewish holidays.

All of the Jewish people I know (and granted, that isn't many) have expressed similar opinions.

One of my professors (Jewish) had invited us to her house to watch a movie we didn't have time for in class. (We're a small class, and it was optional.) The movie was Mephisto, and it's excellent. At any rate, since it was Friday, she pulled out some hallah (sp?) and a dish with honey and said, "Before we begin, let's break bread!" It was a nice little thing. I always appreciate people that are so open, because I'm just really curious about other cultures and religions and stuff.

[guywithashovel]

I fail to see how simply celebrating another faith's holiday would be hypocritical.

On another board that I go to, there is a Jewish woman who often says that non-Jews are more than welcome to join them in celebration of Jewish holidays.

Though, I'm actually a lot like Lace in this respect. Every year around Christmas, I look at it as an end-of-the-year celebration for getting together with family and reflecting on the past year. Though when pressed to, I usually stick with the name Christmas so as to avoid confusion (I don't feel like explaining myself over and over again).

Though, just to consider another point, I don't think there's much doubt that there was a Jesus or at least a Jesus-like person who lived in the Middle East approximately 2,000 years ago. I guess a non-Christian could just think of it as a celebration of the birth of a very influential man, even if they didn't see him as divine.

However, I'm sure most Christians acknowledge the days of the week and months of the year (many of which were named after old pagan deities), so the hypocritical accusation could easily be reversed on them.

[BroomJockey]

I fail to see how simply celebrating another faith's holiday would be hypocritical.

No, but potentially seen as rude and dis...err. I forgot the word I'm looking for (not disrespectful), since if it isn't your faith, you're less likely to honour the holiday properly.

[kiwi]

happy festivus?

happy festivus!!!!!!

[Fryk]

Actually, wouldn't it only be hypocritical if you said you hate christianity and that it should be done away with, and THEN celebrated christmas?

I fail to see how simply celebrating another faith's holiday would be hypocritical.

[BlaqueKatt]

Exactly. Besides, where I come from telling people "Happy Winterval" or "Merry Winter Celebration" would get a "Lolwut?"

Yuletide greetings?
Happy Festivus?

[Lace Neil Singer]

That's what I'm saying. Who cares?

I mean, I agree that it's not technically "Christmas", but it's not something I care about one way or the other. How I celebrate and what I believe is my business. Same for everyone else.

Exactly. Besides, where I come from telling people "Happy Winterval" or "Merry Winter Celebration" would get a "Lolwut?" in the first breath and a query about how much you've had to drink in the second. So pardon me if I call it Christmas.

[kiwi]

Christmas has become more than a religious holiday for many cultures. It is seen among many as a day for families to gather and have fun.

It has been stated 59639373 freaking times that the date of christs birth is noth December 25th and that the Catholic church took over many pagen celebration dates and assigned their religious holidays to take place instead. So really Christmas day is much like Queens birthday, which is not celebrated on the Queens actual brithday (Victoria Day) for Canadians. It is just a symbolic refrerence that has been attached to the day.

Does that mean if you only get the day off if you are a monarchist? All the people who don't believe in the Queen has a god given right to be the ...well Queen should be at work.

thats my take on it anyway

[jackfaire]

I was raised in a non christian household by parents who thought they were Christians, OK to be fair my dad simply felt, "There is a god and she is laughing at us,", my mom dragged us to church about three times. Christmas for us was about family, love, and togetherness.

These are not things, no offense, that I ever associated with any of the christian churches my mom took us too. My family was poor and I mean one step away from living in a shelter poor. The only reason we lived in the neighborhood we did was that my grandmother bought our family a house.

I think of it now and it makes me want to cry with how lucky I was growing up. Every year my whole family would gather in the living room pass out meager gifts my siblings and I having bought little trinkets that our parents gave us the money for.

When I turned 11 my dad finally got his bachelor's degree a great job and started making good money but you know what I didn't care. Christmas was when I was 8 and my parents scrimped and saved to buy me a camera that is what Christmas is.

Not because I got the camera but because my parents loved me that much.

I say if your christian, Jewish, buddhist or even Spaghetti Monster Christmas is a holidy for togetherness, love and family no matter where you find it or how poor you are because you know what George Bailey got it right in the end.

[Flyndaran]

No, but Ree specified that her company specifically calls the gifts "Christmas gifts". The paystubs say "Merry Christmas". The money is specified as a celebration of Christmas.

Then I would be angry at the company for christmas-crapping on my gift pay. I would still take it.
Turning down legal money is dumb.