Reply #56: What's interesting (and ironic) about this...

[regnaD kciN]

She replied that she doesn't think of Christmas as Christian, but rather as a day of feasting and being happy together, and doesn't see why that doesn't apply to everyone equally.

...is that this is exactly the attitude that many in the (generally conservative) Christian movement are fighting -- that Christmas is just a generic winter festival more than a celebration of the birth (the fact of the event, not necessarily the exact day) of Christ.

And, personally, speaking as a progressive Christian, that's what ticks me off a bit, too. I have nothing against a generic, ecumenical (including atheists/agnostics as well!) celebration at the turning of the year. Nor do I mind when such a festival includes references to Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa (which really isn't religious, but still...), the solstice, or any other "holy days" that occur in the various faiths, as long as they are recognitions of their genuine meanings to those who follow that faith -- not insisting that the beliefs of that one group are "the way the world really is," but simply "what it means to those who follow that path." Why, this very afternoon, I was at Seattle Center during the ongoing "WinterFest," and enjoyed the inclusiveness and general celebration very much. What gets me, though, are (generally secular) celebrations that claim to be about "Christmas," but completely omit any mention of the birth of Jesus, reduce it to little more than songs about a red-nosed reindeer, an ambulatory snowman, walking in a winter wonderland, and, maybe, the appearance of a candy-tossing fat guy in a red suit who bears little if any resemblance to the real life St. Nicholas of Myra. I know that the conservative blowhards are fuming against "holiday trees" and wishes of "season's greetings," but I'd just as soon go all the way and make the secular events a celebration of an explicitly non-religious midwinter celebration, rather than let them call something "Christmas" that has nothing to do with it, and let those of us who are Christians celebrate the holy season appropriately (which, of course, would mean that it would only start at sundown on December 24th, and end on January 6th; I mean, we're really supposed to be barely midway through Advent right now...).