With the biggest Christian bash only a few weeks away, I thought it necessary to discuss why Christmas brings out the best worst in so many people. As a kid I remember Christmas as one of the most anticipated events of the year. Sure I was raised Catholic, but Jesus was the last thing on my mind. I was more interested in the blizzards (aka get out of jail school storms), all the beautiful decorations strewn about our town, and of course the toys. No matter what anyone says, whether you’re religious or not, toys rule every kid’s Christmas. Everything from GI Joe to Transformers and Legos I wanted it all. Sure Christmas is a very "sacred" day being the birthday of Jesus and all, but if you’re a kid, none of that matters. As a kid, you’re oblivious to the true meaning of Christmas. Your parents tried to teach you about baby Jesus, Mary, and even those wise guys… blah blah blah. It didn’t matter, because Christmas was simple. It was all about Santa and his big bag of toys. Christmas was having a few weeks off of school, decorating the tree, baking cookies with your family, and sledding.
Looking back on that, I really have to admit that it was a surreal experience and one that I will cherish forever. It doesn’t matter that I’m not religious anymore because religion had little to do with it in the first place. Whether that’s a good thing or not, you decide. But what I do find disturbing now is the battle taking place between Christians and Atheists and who ever else is pissed off at the world.
I remember last year in my own city when an Atheist complained that a firehouse in the city had Christmas decorations that could be viewed from the sidewalk. He raised a stink and actually got them taken down. What’s amusing is that a few non-Christian firefighters defended the display. This year, some goof in Miami decided to hang a blindfolded Santa from a noose in his front yard. The Santa also has his hands and legs bound with wire. Now I actually find it rather amusing and I would never ask him to remove it, but what the hell? I don’t remember seeing that when I was a kid.
Before you Christians get all high and mighty, you need to stop with the stupidities as well. I’m tired of seeing Christians pissing and moaning about how "Merry Christmas" is being attacked by "Happy Holidays". The Crazy Christian Coalition American Family Association, with nearly 3 million members, has launched a boycott against Target and Walmart for their use of the phrase "Happy Holidays" in place of "Merry Christmas". It didn’t take long for Bill O’Reilly of Fox News to hop on board and push the boycott on his show. Don’t these people realize that Christianity isn’t the only religion the country? Sure, they are the most numerous, but there are people here representing damn near every religion on this planet. If privately owned business feels it can attract more business by appealing to other customers who celebrate Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, it’s their choice. Their main goal is to boost revenue, not cater to just Christians.
Christians should focus their efforts on restoring the "true" meaning of Christmas and less on the commercialization of it. Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of Jesus and family. And if I remember correctly, Jesus was about tolerance and forgiveness, none of which is exemplified anymore during the Christmas Holiday Season or any other time of the year for that matter.
Related posts:
- The Jew That Ruined Christmas
- Island Of Recalled Christmas Toys
- Christmas Cheapened By Pornaments–Christians Outraged!
- Merry Christmas Everyone!
- Marine Corps Declares Kids Find Jesus Boring
December 9th, 2005 at 12:56 pm
I heard an older woman at the post office yesterday bitching and moaning about how everyone’s trying to “take Christ out of Christmas”, etc. etc. So it seems like there are a number of idiots out there who agree with O’Reiley and his ilk.
I am consistently amazed at the lack of considertation shown to those of non-mainstream Protestant Christian beliefs in this country. These people go on and on about how “Christianity is under attack” when they control the House, the Senate, the Presidency, and a large portion of the judiciary. It just makes me ill. You know what is really “under the attack” in this country? Atheism! I can’t read my hometown newspaper without reading some foolish diatribe against the atheists and the ACLU, or hearing our fool of a President talk about atheism.
What do these Christians think they are, with all this talk of percesution. Jews?
Speaking as an atheist, I can say that all I want is to be left in peace. I don’t mind seeing a few Christian symbols out there as long as they aren’t forcibly crammed down my throat. I don’t want to have to see the fucking 10 commandments when I go to the courthouse. I don’t want to have to listen to a bunch of ignorant fucks bellyaching about how they are being oppressed, when they wouldn’t know real oppression if it slapped them upside the head.
I didn’t mean for this to turn into a rant. I just wish that these people who are so eager to turn the US into a religious state would study some European history and realize that just about every war faught in Eurore up until WW1 was at least partially religiously motivated. Is that what they want? Many of the early Puritians didn’t even celebrate Christmas because they believed that a) the Bible doesn’t mention a date of birth for Jeses, and the Dec. 25th date was just taken from a popular Pagan holiday and b) excess celebration is evil. Some places PUNISHED people for observing Christmas. Christmas didn’t even take off in the US until businesses started supporting it. So I really wish these people would stop watching O’Reiley long enough to read a book or preferably several and come to a more accurate understanding of the world.
Happy holidays, everyone.
December 9th, 2005 at 1:21 pm
reminds me of Monty Python… *Help! Help! I’m being Repressed!*
Oh well. They feel threatened. They truly believe that we are wrong and evil, and the only way you can be a good person is to believe exactly as they do and if you don’t then too bad. sometimes I think they intentionally try to piss us off to force us to display our less plesent nature. That way we prove them right. When a Funduhmentalist (misspelling intentional, Dilbert fans) burns down a Abortion clinic they are prefectly sane and moral; but when an Atheist tries to remove a display from a public place, we are trying to subvert their culture.
December 14th, 2005 at 5:49 pm
Naa, it’s just that as a Christian country (yes, the founding fathers were overwhelmingly Christian), we can see the general trend from religious freedom to persecution that has taken place in history. Many of the things we are experiencing today in the way of “happy holidays” and junk like that are subtle ways to gradually bleed Christianity out of the fiber of our society. Personally, I’m sick of political correctness… everybody (Christians and others) needs to get over it and stop getting so freaking offended by everything that is said, done, or thought. If we all spent half as much time loving people as we do crapping from our mouths then we would see some real change in our world. Just my opinion.
December 14th, 2005 at 6:08 pm
I agree with you.
but our goal is not to leach Christianity from the US. What I want is for people not to assume that I am Christian. Telling someone that you are not one when someone says ‘Merry Christmas’ just isn’t fun, especially when you are in a predominantly Christian envirnment (such as my University). Having to deal with this day after day really wears on you.
Would you like it if everyone you knew wished you a Happy [insert favorite non-Christmas winter holiday here]? I generally use wish other people I know that belive similarly to myself a happy winter solstace. Thats what all the other holidays are clustered around.
December 17th, 2005 at 2:32 pm
Nothing against you, but you are jaded. The fact remains that all religions (including Humanism) can be safely displayed except Christianity. If someone, say a firehouse, decides to put up elements of all religions, the one that is attacked is the Christian symbols. That speaks volumes as to the attitude in this country.
That is fine…it just proves a point.
December 19th, 2005 at 12:45 am
And that’s why i LOVE the Québec (in Canada)!
Since the main religion ’seems’ to be the quite passive christian catholic and religiosity is rapidly declining with our province’s tolerative behavior, being an atheist never seems to bother anyone here.
Know what? I recently began searching websites for atheist information (mainly religious incoherence to argument against my father) and I would never have thought for a secund that atheism could be badly viewed in some place other than, say, the very grotto with Bin Laden…
Eh… Wanna have a cool vacation? Come do the abandonned churches tour, about half we have are empty or serve as bingo places for the elderly hahaha.
Seriously, I still can’t belive atheists are… persecuted? WOW… talk about weird, in this time and age, having logic is badly viewed? wow.
Vincent
March 8th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I put the real meaning back in Christmas. I celebrated Saturnalia by drinking egg nog and hanging mistletoe and decorating with pine branches just like all the pagans did thousand of years ago.
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:35 am
healthcare management system…
instituted internalizing!lovably affluent …
April 28th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
i love watching GI Joe, both the cartoon series and the movie. I am hoping that they would make a sequel. :