Author Topic: What irks me about the holidays  (Read 156778 times)

Offline serious crayons

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #70 on: December 17, 2010, 07:43:41 pm »
The problem we have with "happy holidays" is that many people feel compelled to replace "merry Christmas" with it in order to be politically correct. That is also insincere. If you mean "merry Christmas," say it. If you mean "happy holidays," then say that.

People who say "happy holidays" don't do it to be "politically correct," whatever that means in this case. They do it because:

1) The person they are greeting may or may not be Christian and therefore may or may not celebrate some holiday other than Christmas

and

2) Most people celebrate at least two holidays, plural, this time of year. Western Christians, for example, celebrate both Christmas and the New Year. So rather than saying "Merry Christmas and happy New Year," they shorten it to "happy holidays."




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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #71 on: December 17, 2010, 07:59:07 pm »
The most beautiful Chi Rho I know of, is in the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript dating to 800, in Trinity College in Dublin.  I was lucky to see this up close in 1980:



That is really really beautiful!! However, it doesn't look like an X to me, it looks like a P. I saw a beautiful animated film about the Book of Kells earlier this year.
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #72 on: December 17, 2010, 08:07:42 pm »
Why are you saying "Merry Xmas?"

Most of the time, I say it to someone I know who I know is a Christian.  If they're not a Christian or I don't know what they are, I say Happy Holidays.

Nothing PC about it at all.

If Christians want to celebrate Christ on his holiday without all the partying and gift-giving, colorful clothing and decorations - which is pagan - perhaps they need to look to the Puritans.  In England, they once outlawed Christmas for some of the reasons Milo pointed out.  Catholic celebrations of Christ's birth were torn from the pagan party book and considered bad.

Christ's birthday was supposed to be a solemn celebration, meant to be spent in church and in silent contemplation and studying of Jesus' life and teachings.

Apparently not too many people were down with that when everyone else was having fun, eating, drinking, dressing up and exchanging gifts.

You're fighting a losing battle Milo trying to return Christmas to Christ.  It's a battle the Puritans lost and the early Christian leaders knew better than to fight.  The celebration of the Solstice is always going to be party time and it's been that way since before Jesus and will outlast his celebration as well.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2010, 03:03:21 pm by delalluvia »

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #73 on: December 17, 2010, 08:50:04 pm »
That is really really beautiful!! However, it doesn't look like an X to me, it looks like a P. I saw a beautiful animated film about the Book of Kells earlier this year.

That's the Rho. The Greek letter Rho looks like an English (Latin) "P."

I agree that's a very beautiful image, but I have to admit I don't see the Chi, either.  :(
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Offline southendmd

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #74 on: December 17, 2010, 08:58:33 pm »
The Chi is highly stylized.  It's the giant thing that dominates the page, with a diamond-shape in the center.  The arms of the chi are very curvy and asymmetrical.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #75 on: December 17, 2010, 09:00:57 pm »
a rough approximation of the solstice conveniently designated the birthday of someone whose actual birthdate is unknown

At the time it was designated, it was believed that it was the Solstice. The Roman astronomers who revised the calendar under Julius Caesar made a big boo-boo in their calculations. They thought December 25 was the Solstice. I'm not sure when the error was finally cleared up. I presume it was before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar (our present calendar) in the 1580s, but I've never been able to find when the mistake was corrected.
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Offline ifyoucantfixit

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #76 on: December 18, 2010, 04:19:39 am »
What irks me about the Holidays?? Not much about Thanksgiving or New Years, but I am quite annoyed with the secularization of Christmas. I'm a Christian. Christmas is the day that we have selected to celebrate the birth of Christ. If you're not a Christian, or don't care about Jesus, you don't have celebrate Christmas...fine. If you want to celebrate the "season" go right ahead. But I wish people would stop attaching non-religious cultural elements to Christmas.

- Christmas trees have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus, and are a symbol of paganism and commercialism.
- Christmas is NOT about about giving. It is about humanity receiving Christ...a/k/a Emmanuel = "God with us."
- I take mild offense to the use of "Xmas." Why replace Christ with an "X"?
- Many of the standard holiday decorations like stockings, popcorn strings, evergreen garlands, etc. have nothing to do with Christ. I prefer angels, stars, wise-men, mangers, etc. I particularly like lights because Jesus is the light of the world.
- Songs like "Let it Snow," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Jingle Bells" are really celebrating winter rather than Christmas. There are thousands of songs that have been written over the centuries that concern Christ, so I don't see the need to stick seasonal music into Christmas.
- The Grinch didn't steal Christmas, he stole a bunch of objects that were purchased as part of the commercialization of a religious holiday.
- Santa Claus needs to go...and his little elves too.

People always talk about "the meaning of Christmas." Its pretty clear to me: humanity was in such a sorry state that God had to send His son down here to save us. During Christmas we celebrate that act of grace.

      I am sorry but this seems like a very narrow channeling of the words or happenings
during the Christmas season.  There are many different religions and non religious celebrations of this time of year.  Christmas is only one of those.  The Jewish religion has
their festival of lights this time of year.  The naturists or Druids celebrate the Winter
Soltice, this time of year, and there are the many other different kinds of celebrations that all seem to culminate at this time of year.  Then there are the athiests that don't have a certain holiday to commemorate, but then does that mean that they are not allowed to have a festival and as they referred to on the Seinfeld show "The Festivas for the rest of us?"
   I personally think that any of the holiday celebratory things that people choose to
adhere to.  Or not?  Its their business, it gives them pleasure, and it does after all promote the economy.  We all know that that is a deeply needed thing these days.  Or economy that we all know needs all the help it can get, heedless of the reason.  Some
years we have lots of holiday traditions we adhere to, and other years, not so much.  It usually has to do more with our finances than anything else.  I think people should be left to do their holiday celebrating as they see fit.  Not have to submit to other peoples opinions of how they should behave.



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Offline Lynne

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #77 on: December 18, 2010, 08:51:26 am »
I got out of the race years ago, first for financial reasons and then later I couldn't wrap my brain around  resuming it. For years, I tried to make sure my family had a 'good' Christmas by buying gifts ... from everyone to everyone else.

It is mind-boggling to consider how much $$$ I spent and stress I put myself through - getting gifts to everyone from everyone else.  Criminy.

It was pointless. When I stopped, all the gift-giving did.

Now I have my small tree, my small worship group (with carols this Sunday!) and community service, which goes on year-round as it should.

I like the question about where those opposed to consumerism are the rest of the year.

Mom and Chris 'need' too much and finances are too tight for me to go on a spree to meet all their needs at once, so a few small gifts will have to suffice.

We needed a hand-held showerhead for her baths - I advertised on freecycle, and within the hour I had one I am planning to pick up today. With the exception of a few precious gifts, I furnished my apartment this way - between freecycle and craigslist.

All a round-about way of saying, you can eliminate much of the commercialism if you decide you want to.

Edit to add - I think it's easier for me because my family didn't much care - I was the one who wanted the 'real Christmas' - all those Brady Bunch episodes growing up.

 ::)

And about New Year's Eve - I tend to stay home, though there have been a couple of better-forgotten exceptions in the past few years.  I like to go for a hike on New Year's Day.
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #78 on: December 18, 2010, 09:12:47 am »


http://monstrousbeauty.blogspot.com/2010/03/chi-rho-monograms.html





Chi-Rho Page
The Book of Durrow
650 - 700?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Durrow





Chi-Rho Page
The Lindisfarne Gospels
698 - 715?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindisfarne_Gospels










http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho

The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ ( Greek : "Χριστός" ), chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce the monogram ☧. Although not technically a cross, the Chi Rho invokes the crucifixion of Jesus as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ.

The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the combined letters Chi and Rho standing for chrēston, meaning "good." Some coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-222 BCE) were marked with a Chi-Rho.

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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #79 on: December 18, 2010, 11:22:07 am »
This year there will be a lunar eclipse on the solstice so it should be very exciting!

I double-checked my almanac. Not only is there a total lunar eclipse on the Solstice, but the moon is also full!  :o How exciting is that?  :D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.