Chawlk

1. Drawar
2. Fenxy
3. Decaflon
4. Two Credits
5. Wriging
6. Loose Suits
7. Chixe
8. Dud3s
9. Wing Colors

 

Christmas provides the thrill of hope that there's a better tomorrow coming. When you hang on to that hope, cherish it and let it be your foundation, than nothing that the retailers, or politicos, or courts do will have any affect on you on the only level that matters -- your heart.

Merry Christmas to you.

^^^

What the old man said above.

It's all about perspective. If we let the bad and the perverse define an entire holiday or the whole of one religion or another, then nothing about what is good will change our minds. If we take it at face value that so-and-so is doing this in the name of this god or that god simply because they said so and not even question that then where has our BS meter gone? IMHO that's just adding to the propaganda.

When will the Christians start standing up and start taking this world back??

I wasn't aware christians ever owned the world. Wasn't it the meek that were going to inherit it? That wasn't a very meek statement so I think that rules you out.

But really. You're upset about a tree being renamed? Do you realize the tree is a pagan tradition, not a christian one? I think distancing a conflicting religions customs from christmas would be a step in the right direction from a fundamentalist christian point of view.

Santa? What does that have to do with the christian view of christmas? Sure, there's the gift giving aspect, but are you honestly complaining that a magical mythological (and non christian) figure is being distanced from your religious holiday?

It seems to me you're complaining about removing two of the most un-christian aspects from the holiday. Maybe you should go re-examine what is important to you about it before you start griping about what the politicos are doing to it, eh?

Last I heard, Christians were being fed to lions and Romans were still ruling the place. Guess I had better get with the times.

Seriously though, Christmas is a time for family and hope and cheer and not worrying about all the little petty things that make us different.

Pegan symbology and Santa aside, it DOES bother me when someone who declares themselves to be atheist or of a non-Christian religion imposes upon me and mine how WE should celebrate Christmas.

Regardless of HOW or WHERE we adopted what icon or symbol is irrelevant in that at its CORE, Christmas is still OURS as Christians a way to celebrate the birth of Christ and a time to reflect on the years to come and those past and hope for prosperity and good will to come.

You wouldn't catch me hopping on the Kwanzaa bandwagon seeing as I'm NOT of that group that it's intended for, nor would I celebrate Hanukkah or Ramadan or anything else for that matter.

I have Jewish friends that get a kick out of Christmas Trees in secular households or when they're mixed in with a Menorah or other religious symbology. It HAS gotten commercialized and I feel when someone says that we need to take it "back" they're not implying we owned anything other than the REAL meaning behind the holiday.

Oh and yes I'm one of those Christians that puts up a tree and tells my Children of Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and all that Jazz... hell we even had Santa show up at my Church every year... Doesn't bug me a bit, religions evolve and part of the evolution of Christianity when it absorbed Pegans was to adopt symbols so those who were assimilating could find it more attractive than dumping their beliefs.

When will the Christians start standing up and start taking this world back??

They did, and look what happened. Do you not read the news?

Christmas brings the hope that maybe one day we won't have to worry about christians or anyone else taking the world back. This world belongs to all of mankind no matter what religion or faith. I still choose to believe in the possibility of peace on earth. Christmas is the time when even adults can BELIEVE!

At work, there are many religions and cultures. Both the students and staff have a variety of traditions. The thing everyone has in common is the value of treating people with respect. Awareness of this is heightened during this month or so. This is especially obvious in the Music Department and the many concerts. It probably has no specific religious meaning to any specific celebration. Frankly, it very well could be just the public school's response.

I'm with Ozone on this one.

As a Christian, I find it difficult to comprehend what your point is. You're using a disappearing Christmas tree, and Santa phrase, to argue the point that Christmas is becoming commercialised, when those two things couldn't be any more irrelevant to the 'Christian' aspect of Christmas.

I imagine you should be aware of this, but just in case; Christ wasn't born on December 25th. He wasn't even born in December. In fact, if you really want to separate from festive commercialism/paganism, it's a shaky ground for Christians to celebrate the birth of Christ anyway. It's unsupported, unlike the death and resurrection of Christ.

The true meaning of Christmas has become buried in the retail world.

Actually, it became "buried in the retail world" during the time of Constantine, when it was officially made to be celebrated at the same time as Saturnalia. (This, "coincidentally", was around the same time as the Egyptian 5-day celebration they made up because they couldn't explain why the year had 360 days instead of 360, or the degrees in a circle). The celebration was moved from one of its original dates (September 25, January 6, or sometime in March, IIRC, depending on who you talked to, though most agree it would have been September) to the time of Saturnalia when it became obvious that the newly converted Christians still wanted to celebrate Saturnalia with their families, and who of course where "technically" not allowed because Saturnalia was a pagan celebration, something to do with the birth of Mithras, who was apparently born in the same manner as Christ, diety-impregnated-virgin and all. (By the way, the wreath you put on you door? Yeah, that comes directly from Saturnalia. The circle has a significance, something about the Sun, though I can't quite recall what.) Anyway, once the celebration was moved by Constantine (who was a pagan pretty much until his near-to-deathbed conversion), Christians could celebrate at the same time as everyone else, which eventually led to a convergence of the traditions. Of course, this doesn't take away from the root meaning of Christmas, it just adds to the traditions celebrated at the time.

As for "Santa Claus" and his laughter... well, now, that's a longer story. But, basically you have the modern day incarnation of Odin, mixed in with the legends surrounding St. Nicholas of Myra. During the reformation, Martin Luther (and I may be wrong here, but it WAS an early Protestant leader) who made up the character of Christkindl, which is where the name "Kris Kringle" comes from. Christkindl was a child who brought kids gifts during the time of Christmas. He was created in order to stem the usage of St. Nicholas among the protestant people. (St. Nick, of course, being a Catholic, though I think he came around before the split between the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Catholics, though I think he was technically Easter Orthodox). The whole "flying with his reindeer" thing came from the same place as his looks: Odin, who was said to ride his horse on the rooftops of houses. He was described as an older, white-bearded man. The red suit, I think, didn't come in until later, though I don't remember how much later. I'm not entirely sure it was a 20th Century thing, but I may well be wrong here.

Anyway, this whole "War against Christmas" isn't all what it's cracked up to be. (Remember that time during the 1600's when it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in England? Now THAT was a war against Christmas!) In fact, if anything, Christmas has been on a bit of a warpath with everything else. Now it's sort of like the Borg, except a lot jollier and without the implants or the killing.

But if we're to speak of blasphemy, I think the most blasphemous thing I've seen was a Japanese depiction of Santa Claus on the cross. Nice guy and all -- and I love him to death -- but I don't quite believe Santa would be up to the task of dying for all the world's sins.

Do you think that God( Jesus' father and Allah) would want his children killing each other off?

No.

@ Liza:
You so right I love you!

You know? I dont even like Christmas bc I feel idk very bad but, just seeing how children are so exited and how my family is so so so excited making all preparations and all and how ppl are so hopeful next year will be best that makes me happy and then I join the celebration.

yes, maybe you dont care about Christmas, but care about the ppl YOU love and they do love thru their happiness you will be happy and then everything will make sense.

Merry Christmas to you all.

ps (ask for my direct link for my christmas wishlist huahua lol just kidding)

it's a sweet reunion of all in my family. We pray, sing and dine together.

I dislike the media interpretation of this festival. They seem to tell us that the primacy of materialistic gains is always over love and faith.

@efarey:

Now i heard that Santa could not say Ho Ho because women will feel hurt because it is aim at them- wait not all women are or think of them selves in that way and think is so wrong.

=Sigh, another thing has fallen prey to political correctness. It has happened to many of my favourite shows.

Do you think that God(Jesus' father and Allah) would want his children killing each other

Any clash between the two is caused by human factor--instigation by the treacherous media maybe the main cause.