To start with, this latest post (it's been a long time since I written anything) comes on the heals of something that I posted in Facebook. This is what I put...
"X-mas!!! Don't remove Christ from HIS birthday!!! Post this if you agree...Please don't X out the Lord!!!!! (I'd love to see this on everyone's wall!!!) Jesus is the reason for the season... Repost if you agree..."
This has stirred up a hornet's nest and I'm sitting down to answer a few things that have been brought up in several responses to my original posting. Please, I ask anyone who is going to read this to read the entire thing because there are going to be points where I'm going to sound like I'm not for Christmas as a religious event, even though I am.
But before I get to that, I'm going to post a link to a web page that I made dedicated to Christmas. In it, you will find information on both the Christan celebration as well as it's roots. Here's the link.... http://www.mypeacelovehappiness.com/holiday/christmas/christmas.html
Now... on with the rest of this post... :-)
I had a family member remind me that Christmas has roots in the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, in which early Europeans celebrated the beginning of winter on the shortest day of the year in hopes that they would survive winter. Let's not forget that in those days, humans were closer to animals in that they didn't have the stores like we have now. They had to store their own food and if possible, hunt for food they couldn't. If you go to that link above, you can learn more from the History Channel.
It's true that in 350 A.D. Pope Julius I designated Decemberer 25th as the birthday of Christ to convert pagans. He used it as a "gimmick" in order to convert as many of the pagans as he could. He used it as a way to say that we Christians ALSO have similar celebrations that you pagans have.
It's also true that no one really knows when Jesus was born. It's also true that a person could argue that there was no way that Jesus could have been born in December. Why?
There's really only one good clue that I know of. In the story of Jesus' birth, we are told that heaven's angels came to shepards who were tending their sheep in their fields at night to tell them that the Son of Man has been born. There's a problem with this in the month of December, let alone the 25th. It would have been too cold outside for the shepards. They wouldn't have been outside overnight during that time of the year. They would have been at any other time of the year leaving us to wonder exactly when Jesus was born.
What about Santa Clause?
Hate to tell those who think Santa is a purely non-Christan figure, but you couldn't be any more wrong. He's based on the Christan saint, St. Nicholas, who was known for his generosity to those in need and his love for children. Sound familiar?
So the question that needs to be asked is.... What's the big deal? Why is the religious side of Christmas being attacked? Is it out of jealously? Out of hatred?
Let's not kid ourselves.... Christians in America are attacked. Maybe not physically, but in other aspects such as verbally, very much so.
We are told that because we have religion, we are stupid sheep blindly going about our lives and other things that I will NOT repeat here because this is a public form. We are told that there's no way God could exist because science cannot prove it. We are belittled because we believe even though we have not seen. We are called weak minded because we cling to something that this world tells us is a myth vice a truth.
Getting back to Christmas.... This is a posting to my original post.... "What I have a problem with are Christians that claim that Christmas time is only for THEIR religion. What I wanted to point out is that Christmas time was originally NOT for Christ but for celebrating the winter solstice. If Christians are going to complain for Christmas not being celebrated the way they want it to be, they should make their own holiday in the fall without trees or presents ect."
My answer.... sorry, but Christmas IS for Christans just as Ramadan is for Muslims and Hanukkah is for the Jewish. Christmas might have its roots in the pagan religions, but it's not the winter solstice anymore or we would be wishing each other "Merry Winter Solstice" and the word Christmas would have never come to be. Besides, why should we have to change? Why should those who don't like the religious side of the holiday get their way? Why can't they just leave us alone?
Another response to my original posting... " I don't see anyone biting anyone's head off for saying 'Merry Christmas.' In fact, Christianity is OBVIOUSLY dominant in our western culture and it's only paranoid Christians who feel persecuted when they actually have more power than any other religion in our country!"
It's true that Christianity is the dominant religion in America, but.... Just ask some employees or possibly Christian college students in a liberal school and they'll tell you that yes in deed, they have been at least verbally attacked for saying something as simple as "Merry Christmas." Please see my comments above concerning the attack on Christians in America. In fact, I'll have to remind the person who posted this... Don't forget that you called me weak minded because I have faith. Let me tell you, it's A LOT easier not to have faith because it's easier not be believe in something that you haven't seen for yourself. It's like believing or not believing in Santa Clause. It's easier not to believe because you haven't seen him. It takes someone of a strong mind and comment to ignore the world and remind faithful to one's beliefs.
So now the question is.... Who? Who will be responsible for killing Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Jesus? Is it up to the people? Is it up to the government?
If it's up to the people with majority rule, I don't see a significant change coming. If up to the government or minority rule, then we can kiss the religious holiday good bye just as we've already done with things like open prayer in public schools.
God bless America and her people!
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