As I was reading stories about the secularization of Christmas on WorldNetDaily, I got to wondering if the secularization was actually the paganization. Think about it. If you're secular, what reason is there to celebrate anything this time of year? Who would want to celebrate Winter with the snow and cold? I myself like Winter and prefer it to Summer, but I don't celebrate it. The only people I know of who celebrate Winter are the pagans: Witches/Wiccans, Druids, etc. Today they are celebrating the winter solstice. If this is true, wouldn't the "secularization" actually be as much a violation of the Constitution as they claim Christians publicly celebrating Jesus' birth is?
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Ok, for the last fucking time:
We don't care if YOU celebrate christmas. We just don't think people should be forced, or cajoled, into celebrating christmas because the government does!
Pagans don't celebrate winter, they celebrate the day that marks the end of decreasing daylight. They celebrate the victory of light over darkness.
Secularization would be telling everyone that they have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of gifts for everyone they know.
If you live in a pre-industrial society, you can tell when the shortest day is by every evening aligning two sticks with the position of the sun at sunset. This method isn't terribly accurate though, so you have to allow an extra two or three days to be sure the sun is 'returning'.
Hence Xmas, based on the pagan 'Return of the Sun' festivals is a couple of days after the real 'shortest day'.
Jinx, let me tell you an "adult" secret. The period between 24Dec to 02Jan is a secular holiday. You can paint it in any gaudy theme you like but it is secular - like DST.
"We, the people" decreed it to be so in order that families and friends may gather and celebrate each other, get re-acquainted, catch up on family news before the onset of the new year.
Winter was chosen because things generally stop during this time. In primarily agricultural societies, the fields are fallow and waiting for spring, most animals go to hibernate, etc. We, humans, take this time to gather together.
Any excuse to do this - winter solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa etc. - will do. But don't mistake the trimmings for the tree.
Since you say you read WorldNutDaily, it is likely that you have neither friends nor family and I feel sorry for you.
The federally recognized holiday is "Christmas."
Of course, people celebrate a variety of things during that time, but the holiday that is closer to the violation of the Constitution would be Christmas - as it's the one that could be argued as "making a law to establish a religion."
Pagans would say just the opposite. To most of them, it was the Christians who stole their "faith" and turned it into something it wasn't suppose to be. - FrankBeMe
I'm gobsmacked. He stumbled on to it. Now, let's hear them admit that the people who conducted a real war on Christmas were Puritans.
reading stories about the secularization of Christmas on WorldNetDaily
And there's major fail right off the bat.
Who would want to celebrate Winter with the snow and cold?
And the fail just keeps on coming. But expecting a fundie to understand the idea of a solstice was always a vain hope. Good thing the church founders who stole these holidays weren't as stupid as Jimxmchue -- they actually understood the symbolism of these dates. Which is why they appropriated them the way they did, moron!
Silly rabbit, Christmas WAS a Pagan holiday. It just got Christianized by the Roman Catholic Church during the dark ages.
@anevilmeme
To a fundie, Pagan and Secular are pretty much synonymous.
Well, just goes to show what happens if you use WingNutDaily as a source...
It is sad that a rich and valuable part of Western Europe's history and culture has been re-written by fundie dickwads.
I don't "worship" the winter solstice, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, sharing gifts, eating way too much, having time off from work and school. Any excuse for a party, you know?
Christmas WAS pagan at its origin, stupid, before the Christians hijacked it in order to convert the pagans to the new Thing in town. They even moved the Birth of Jesus from spring to winter to fool the pagans to join. Apparently it worked.
The reason to celebrate anything that time of year is because it's at its darkest and coldest point, and is now turning towards light and warmth again. At least in the northern hemisphere...
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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