After the contentious election, it appears some are making Christmas a big issue this year. CSpan this morning, had the topic, "Is Christmas a Battleground?" based on articles in the New York Times.
"Does Christmas Need to be Saved?
"By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: December 19, 2004
A pastor in Raleigh, N.C., took out a full-page newspaper ad in November exhorting Christians to shop only at stores that included "Merry Christmas" in their promotions.
In Mustang, Okla., parents last week voted against an $11 million bond for schools, after the superintendent excised a nativity scene at the end of the annual Christmas play. They then erected their own manger outside the auditorium, with signs saying "No Christ. No Christmas. Know Christ. Know Christmas."
And in Kansas, The Wichita Eagle published a correction this month, noting that the tree lighted at Winterfest was the "Community Tree" not a "Christmas tree." After protests, the mayor last week declared himself "not a politically correct person" and announced that next year there would be a Christmas tree. "
and further in the article...
"...But the demands to bring back Christmas are not simply part of an age-old culture war, with the A.C.L.U. in one corner and evangelicals in the other. There is also a more moderate force, asking whether the country has gone too far in its quest to be inclusive of all faiths. Why, they ask, must a Christmas tree become a holiday tree? And is singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in a school performance more offensive than singing "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel"? "It's political correctness run amok," said Lynn Mistretta, who with another mother in Scarborough, Me., started BringBackChristmas.org. "I'm not for offending anyone, but we're excluding everyone, and everyone feels rotten about it."
Over the years, schools, governments and even department stores have toned down the mention of Christmas after complaints from Jews and others who felt excluded by a holiday they did not celebrate. "The basic proposition is that people have the right to send their children to the public schools without having them evangelized for someone else's religion," said Douglas Laycock, a law professor at the University of Texas in Austin. Those opposed to even secular celebrations of Christmas, he said, "see the increasing strength of the religious right and worry about everything they've gained over the last generation being rolled back."
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Many folks are saying that the country was founded on the Christian religion.
In 1797,just a little more than 20 years after the Declaration of Independence, the then president of the United States, signed a treaty called The Treaty of Tripoli, which declared that we were not a nation against Muslims. To quote from article 11 of that official statement by the United States government
http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/treaty_tripoli.html
"Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."
(note, "Musselmen" and "Mahometan" were Anglicized spellings of Muslim and Mohammedan)
Christmas has become a merchandizing holiday. It is that aspect of Christmas that is really being "celebrated" by the MPAA, RIAA, and other entertainment product vendors who are counting on the pressure on people to buy, especially for the youngsters, to "move product".
It is widely believed by many biblical scholars, and others, that Jesus was probably NOT born on or around December 25th.
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/7515
"The actual birthday of Jesus was forgotten by the early Christian movement. in those days, various groups celebrated his birth on JAN-6, APR-21 and MAY-1. By the 4th century, the church selected the approximate time of the winter solstice as the date to recognize Jesus' birth. They picked up this date from Pagan sources. As luck would have it, the autumn equinox might have been a more accurate choice.
The winter solstice occurs about DEC-21 each year. It is the day of the year when the night is longest and the daytime shortest. Using the crude instruments available, ancient astronomers were able to detect by DEC-25 of each year that the daytime had become noticeably longer. This date was chosen, and remains, the traditional date for followers of many different Pagan religions to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. Following the solstice, each succeeding day has slightly more sunlight than the previous day. It was seen as a promise that warmth would return once more to the earth. Numerous pre-Christian Pagan religions honored their gods' birth or rebirth on or about that day. Their deities were typically called: Son of Man, Light of the World, Sun of Righteousness, Bridegroom, and Savior. Some examples are:
Roman Pagan Religion: Attis was a son of the virgin Nana. His birth was celebrated on DEC-25. He was sacrificed as an adult in order to bring salvation to mankind. He died about MAR-25, after being crucified on a tree, and descended for three days into the ... (read full answer)"
For more references to the pagan origins to things like "the Yule log", kissing under the misiletoe, etc., check out:
http://paganwiccan.about.com/cs/aboutyule/a/paganxmas.htm
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http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Dec2004/Wiseman.asp#F5
"You are correct that the Bible does not say that Jesus was born on December 25. Christians chose that day to counteract the pagan Saturnalia, the celebration of the day when the northern hemisphere has the least amount of sunlight.
Linking Jesus’ birth with sunlight reaffirms that all creation is good and reveals God, that Christians have a right to use whatever will reinforce God’s universal love and desire to share divine life with each person. In choosing December 25, Christians gave a completely new meaning to the pagan expression sol invictus (unconquered sun celebrated during the Saturnalia). "
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One of the most widely used symbols of Christmas, the Christmas tree, has really, very little to do with the birth of Jesus.
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/xmas/treehistory.html
"The exact origin of the Christmas tree seems under debate, but it is safe to say that this symbol evolved from Pagan tradition.
The Norse pagans and Celtic Druids revered evergreens as manifestations of deity because they did not "die" from year to year but stayed green and alive when other plants appeared dead and bare. The trees represented everlasting life and hope for the return of spring.
The druids decorated their trees with symbols of prosperity -- a fruitful harvest, coins for wealth and various charms such as those for love or fertility. Scandinavian Pagans are thought to be the first to bring their decorated trees indoors as this provided a warm and welcoming environment for the native fairy folk and tree elementals to join in the festivities. The Saxons, a Germanic pagan tribe, were the first to place lights on the their trees in the form of candles. Ancient Romans decorated their homes with greens at the Festival of Saturnalia, their New Year and exchanged evergreen branches with friends as a sign of good luck.
The first Christian use of the Christmas tree symbol is credited to 16th century when devout Christians also brought decorated trees into their homes. German born Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, is credited with starting the trend in England in 1841 when he brought the first Christmas Tree to Windsor Castle.
While Europe had already been celebrating Christmas for some time, the first recorded sighting of a Christmas tree in America came in 1830's Pennsylvania. It seems a local church erected the tree as a fundraising effort. Christmas trees were generally not thought kindly of in early America, as many people saw them as Pagan symbols, which is in fact, their origin. By the 1890's, however, Christmas ornaments were being imported from Germany and Christmas trees were in high fashion."
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And, Santa Claus , usually said to be a derivation of Saint Nicholas, a priest in Asia Minor who was exiled in prison for a time, though superficially may seem to have a Christian connection, his "gift giving" may have pagan routes.
" It is held by some scholars that the legends of Nicholas as gift-giver drew in part from pagan, preChristian sources. For example, the Teutonic god of the air, Odin, would ride through the air on a gray horse (named Sleipnir) each Autumn - so did Nicholas; Odin had a long white beard - so did Nicholas; a sheaf of grain was left in the field for Odin's horse - children left a wisp of straw in their shoes for Nicholas.4 Others claim that attributes of the Germanic god Thor, the god of thunder, were transferred to Nicholas. Thor was supposedly elderly and heavy with a long white beard; he road through the air in a chariot drawn by two white goats (called Cracker and Gnasher); he dressed in red; his palace was in the "northland;" he was friendly and cheerful; he would come down the chimney into his element, the fire.5 No definitive correlation has ever been found between the "visit of St. Nicholas" and pagan gods such as Odin and Thor. However the similarity is striking and some relationship seems likely.6
After the Reformations of the sixteenth century the Feast of St. Nicholas was abolished in many countries. Throughout northern Germany, for example, the Protestants encouraged veneration of the Christkindl (Christ-child) instead, who, it was said, brought gifts to children on Christmas Eve. As an example of this, a Protestant Pastor of the seventeenth century complains about parents who put presents in their children's beds, telling them that St. Nicholas has brought them. This is a bad custom, he says, "because it points children to the saint, while yet we know that not St. Nicholas but the holy Christ Child gives us all good things for body and soul, and He alone it is whom we ought to call upon."7 Despite this new emphasis, the Nicholas legends prevailed in many places, especially among the Dutch."
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Thus, I think it is fine to celebrate Christmas as a "gift giving holiday", and give myrhh, incense, gold, or even an X-box if you want, but to say that just sticking the word "Christ" in Christmas you are making it a celebration of the birth of the founder of the Christian religion, is a bit simplistic if you ask me.
Christ, from the Greek "Christos" means "the annointed" or "the first one raised"...
"http://www.biblestudy.org/question/christos.html
...the word "Christos" (Greek: CristoV, Strong's Concordance #G5547) in relation to Jesus being called the Messiah. Both the Greek word "Christos" as well as the Hebrew word that comes out "Messiah" mean the same thing: "The anointed One." One allusion to this title is that a king would be anointed with oil when made king. Samuel did this with David when he was first chosen to be king while the prior king, Saul, was very much still alive (see I Sam. 16:12-13)."
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Christ is not the name of Jesus, which in Hebrew, is "Yeshua" or more fully,
"Yeshua ben Joseph" (Yeshua, son of Joseph). I think it is interesting that people are using a Greek word to identify a Semitic man.
Why, for example, can't we put the "Yeshua" back in Christmas?
So, when people are griping that the Christ has gone out of Christmas, does that mean they will be taking down the lights, throwing out the tree, and praying in private on December 25th, or does it mean that they will be ripping open presents under a decorated tree early in the morning of Christmas, upset that Joe gave them a cheaper present than they gave him ?
And, for all the "faith based" organizations griping about putting Christ back in Christmas, in name only...
From James 2:14-26 (King James version of Christian Bible)
"What good is it, my brothers, is a man claims to have faith but has no deeds ? Can such faith save him ? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it ? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
So.......
I'm cool with refining the focus at Christmas on it's true meanings....so,
no giving RIAA or MPAA products as gifts. Share some food with the homeless on 25 December...that's the REAL way to "Put Christ back in Christmas".
~Just my personal reflections.
CodeWarriorz Thoughts