What annoys me the most are people who are intolerant of others. I deal with this fact everyday and for the most part I ignore them. But the whole "Merry Christmas" deal has really ruffled my feathers so to speak. Listen, I could give a flying rats ass if you are a christian and this is the holiday where you celebrate the birth of your "savior" regardless of the fact he (if he was really born) would have been born during the summer. That is your right! You have the right to believe what ever it may be that you want to believe. I, personally, refuse to think that this is purely a christian time of year. My Jewish friends just celebrated their holiday and my pagan friends will celebrate theirs on the 21. I will celebrate right along with them and on December 25 will celebrate with my christian friends too. Why does this have to be a fight? And why does it bother you that I choose to wish somebody a Happy Holiday? Isn't it my right as an American to have whatever religious belief that I choose to have? How is wishing somebody a good thing such as having a happy celebration considered such a horrible idea? I don't understand this way of thinking and I've become so frustrated with the whole mentality of "I'm tired of people taking Christ out of Christmas." Well I have news for you. Nobody can take Christ out of Christmas for you unless you allow it. If you choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus...well, dammit, celebrate for christs sakes! Not everybody in this country is a christian and for that I am truly thankful. That is what makes this country so diverse. That is what our ancestors came over here for. A country where they were free to do as they pleased. I know that's why my paternal ancestors came here. My maternal ancestors were displaced from their native lands and forced to accept this country as was told to them (but that's a different story all together).
I have decided that those who complain that this "Happy Holidays" thing is so bad would benefit from a short history lesson. Since I love history so much I felt it to be in my best interest to put together this little lesson.
Lesson 1) Xmas is not deleting Christ out of Christmas. X is the greek term for Christ therefore Xmas is Christmas but in another language. No mean atheist is taking anything away from you here.
Lesson 2) Holidays- according to the dictionary the word "holiday" comes from the Old English word "hāligdæg." The word originally referred only to special religious days. In modern use, it means any special day of rest or relaxation, as opposed to normal days away from work or school. The word derived from the notion of "Holy Day," and gradually evolved to its current form.
Lesson 3) Many different holidays from many different religions occur in December.
Hanukkah starts on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.
Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States honoring universal Africa heritage and culture, observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. It features activities such as the lighting of a kinara and libations, and culminates in a feast and gift giving.
Christmas is from December 24 to December 25 unless you celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. The Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day (25 December). This period is also known as Christmastide. The Twelfth Day of Christmas is 5 January, with the celebrations of Christmas traditionally ending on Twelfth Night and is followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January. In some traditions the first day of Epiphany and the twelfth day of Christmas overlap.
The winter solstice has many, many origins. For my Pagan/Wiccan friends....In Wicca, a form of the holiday is observed as one of the eight solar holidays, or Sabbat. In most Wiccan groups, or covens, this holiday is celebrated as the rebirth of the Great God, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. Although the name Yule has been appropriated from Germanic and Norse paganism, elements of the celebration itself are of modern origin. Yule or Yule-tide ("Yule-time") is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian calendar (Julian calendar) was adopted. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt. Look for yourself how many religions celebrate winter solstice. (yes, even Christian, celebrate the winter solstice)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice
It's all right there for you. I just don't feel like typing it all out.
Please prove me wrong but the only buddhist holiday I found that sometimes occurs in December is Loi Krathong. Loi Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.
I am still learning about Buddhism so I am not completely accurate yet.
So my point being is to just learn about your beliefs before you judge. In the famous words of Rodney King....Why can't we all just get along?
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