Art’s right in that Easter is more important, but quite wrong in that Christmas isn’t a major religious event.
For that matter, one could argue, I guess, that it wasn’t the Resurrection that was the really Big Event, but the Crucifixion, in that it was Christ’s death for our sins that gained us redemption, and not, strictly speaking, His Resurrection.
I had a sixth grade teacher once- Franciscan sister- who said that Easter is definitely more important than Christmas because God could have chosen to come down to earth and redeem humanity without being born, actually, at all. I don’t think the theology of it all is that clear, or enables one to so easily seperate one from the other. You have to take into account Christ’s real humanity as a means effective for the Redemption of the human race- it seems necessary that He became man in order to be able to offer Himself as a real sacrifice for man, no? That being the case, Christmas, and the Incarnation it celebrates, remains a rather big deal, even if secondary to Easter, which I grant.
Oooh…real metaphysics! Be careful, though. I see Matt over in the corner foaming at the mouth over our taking this myth so seriously, and it could real ugly, real soon.
And don’t most historians say that Christ was most likely born in October? I know the reasons for why the date was fixed in the Church calendar as being in December, but would it really matter, nowadays?
Come on now, sure you do. Same reason why Easter is celebrated in its time. Christian tradition scheduled on and thus replacing pagan holidays. You knew that.
It’s not the statement itself that’s getting people fired up. It’s what the statement says about our sensibilities, and the so-called ‘political correctness’ that the statement itself conveys.
Outside of all the more crass commercial aspects of this time of year, what *is *the reason for the season?
T.
The “season” is all about Christmas. The whole “Happy Holidays” thing is a wink and a nod in an attempt to somehow placate those who don’t observe Christmas by trying to be inclusive (“all right, what do we have to do so that we can have our Christmas display?”). I just laugh at the ridiculous use of the menorah in what are clearly Christmas displays. Hannukah is a minor holiday; I cynically suspect that its mention in Christmas displays is merely an excuse to continue to create said displays without attracting criticism. I think “Happy Holidays” precedes the invention of Kwanzaa; Ramadan is irrelevant, as it moves throughout the calendar.
A side note: in the “It’s a Small World” ride in Disney World, one proceeds through a section that covers many of the individual European countries, into a section that covers some Asian countries, into a section that covers an undifferentiated Africa, and so on. As one enters the Asian section (India, etc.), one sees a tiny little display of a Jewish chuppah (the wedding canopy) in a corner of the section, seemingly added as an after-thought. Perhaps it’s my cynicism, knowing that Walt Disney was anti-Semitic, but it appeared pretty silly.
**Perhaps it’s my cynicism, knowing that Walt Disney was anti-Semitic, but it appeared pretty silly. **
Not from a business standpoint, apparently, which is what Disneyland, or World or whatever, is all about. Like I said, crass commercialism in any context is still crass commercialism.
But I do love buying gifts for my family and friends!
And don’t most historians say that Christ was most likely born in October? I know the reasons for why the date was fixed in the Church calendar as being in December, but would it really matter, nowadays?
Come on now, sure you do. Same reason why Easter is celebrated in its time. Christian tradition scheduled on and thus replacing pagan holidays. You knew that.
Isn’t the Last Supper a Passover seder? Even though the New Testament is inerrant, I gather the various Gospels differ on this point.
**Come on now, sure you do. Same reason why Easter is celebrated in its time. Christian tradition scheduled on and thus replacing pagan holidays. You knew that. **
I imagine that’s why BK said he knew that:** **I know the reasons for why the date was fixed in the Church calendar as being in December . . .
My wife and I spent last Christmas in DisneyWorld and the one before in DisneyLand. We will go in and do all the rides in one day (another day at Epcot in Florida) and have a blast, the one day we can act like kids and get away with it. We put on our Snoopy Christmas hats and say Merry Christmas without fear of offending mainly because we don’t care if we offend those who take offense to a greeting. The commercialisation is some what sickening if you think about it, so we don’t. We just go for fun.
We were thinking of going to Euro Disney this Christmas but I’m not sure if it would be the same without all the fat people from Middle America.
I wonder if EuroDisney allows smoking. Yecch.
Non ce problemo! I know the reasons for why the Church calendar reflects the days that it does. I was just wondering if *where *the dates are are really of significance, anymore. Me, I think that it’s more about the solemnity of purpose rather than the dates on which we’ve chosen to celebrate them.
In other words, I wouldn’t have a problem if we moved Christmas to October and Easter to June, if that’s really where the two events took place. Kind of like how we now celebrate President’s Day, rather than the individual president’s birthdays, though that’s a very imperfect comparison.