Every holiday that exists has its basis somewhere in religion. There are many many many practices and occasions in our daily lives that began as religious rituals.

As these things evolved over time and became a part of our culture a lot of the religious aspects faded back.

Thnksgiving was once a day of fasting and prayer. Christmas was nota celebration until Victorian times. So Christians have some issues to think about before throwing stones at others.

So is it ethical if you celebrate a holiday if you are not celebrating it the way it was originally created? Or is it only unelthical if you don’t celebrate it in the CHRISTIAN way?

Christmas was designated at this time of year to mimic the pagan Yule festival. Biblical scolars say that Christ was probably born in the spring. In some pagan religions where they celebrate the birth of the god to the mother Goddess at this time of year in the darkest part of winter. Paganism, and Polytheism is the true origin of “religion” and most if not all Christian rituals are based on pagan rituals and ceremonies, SO are you un ethical because you celebrate holidays in a Christian and not Pagan fashion?

Talk about just taking what you want from religion and disregarding what you don’t want!!! That is exactly what the Christians did!

As for the comment about my not being very liberal. I don’t know you, so I don’t know if that was meant as a compliment or an insult, but I do consider myself to be liberal- Fact of the matter is liberals don’t all fit neatly into the categories and boxes conservatives want to put them in. To be liberal you don’t have to read a manual and sign a loyalty oath unlike some Republicans I have heard of. Being progressive spans a wide variety of opinions-some very liberal and some conservative but in my mind being liberal is the same as being open minded. When I see the Republican’s all in lock step I am not impressed. I think being open minded and not so drunk on cool-aide helps you see the world a lot more clearly.

The holidays are gone as I knew them growing up. Society is too far gone to extremes to ever see them come back.

And, for the record I am not an atheist. I consider myself spiritual rather than religious and I don’t care what anyone beleives in. You can worship trees or be a die hard Catholic. As long as you aren’t harming anyone or try and force your religion on me or my kids, I think its wonderful for you.

But one thing I will never agree with is that something as personal as religion belongs in our government.

You can be a moral atheist, but just take a look at the condition of our country right now and see what having a Born Again Christian running everything has turned us into. Or maybe you think everything is wonderful in the country?

Here’s an idea, maybe all of the churches should start paying taxes? If the church wants to be in all aspects of society why shouldn’t they pay taxes like the rest of us?

They benefit from public services like Fire Department, Police and Public works to keep their facilities safe how ethical is it to accept all that from society and give nothing back to support it and expect the other tax payers in the community to shoulder their burden?

You can’t reason with beleif. If you beleive that people who don’t immerse themself in Christianity are bad people and are some how lesser people then there is nothing that will convince you differently.

You cannot “give the majority their holiday back” because it was never the majority’s holiday. It was, is, and will be Religion’s holiday.

It doesn’t seem very ethical to claim use of something religious, then want to take religion out of it.

Also, Robyn, right?

You’re not very liberal.

So the people who believe in this feel that those who don’t adhere to the strict “Christian” belief system don’t deserve weekends or holidays. And then they wonder why a lot of people don’t want anything to do with them. Not EVERYONE lives their religion and it doesn’t make them terrible people.

If you want to silently pray in a building, government or otherwise there is no way anyone can stop you. But when you decide to announce that there will be prayer in some public place with a specific religion in mind that you expect the entire population to bow to it is wrong. Then, you are ramming your religion down someone else’s throat. That is why these big conflicts have arisen and have led to holidays being stopped.

Who wants to get into a huge conflict every holiday over who’s religion is right, whose prayer should be heard? Keep religion in its place-at church.

There are plenty of people who are all gung ho about public prayer but I doubt they would be if they really gave it some thought.

They are fine as long as it’s a Christian prayer, but would you like to have a Muslim or Hindu prayer in school? Would you be fighting for the right of religion everywhere if it meant you HAD to face Mecca and pray at the appointed time? I am thinking that there are very few who would. So go ahead, allow prayer in schools but whose prayer? Allow religion in every aspect of government but be prepared for a shock when the Jewish people and the Muslim people demand that their religion be respected too. This is another thing I doubt would be popular

Give the majority back their holidays because I firmly believe that the majority of people just want to have fun with holidays and have Santa and Christmas trees which is what I remember from my childhood in public school when I was growing up.

This is clear hostility on the part of the religious community against those who choose not to follow their directives or believe the way they want everyone to believe. And, it is really convenient that it can all be labeled as these Liberals being Politically Correct and a Liberal conspiracy. It is much easier to vilify the people who don’t agree with you. Demean their point of view, then you don’t have to acknowledge that people have a right in this country to NOT believe in God and NOT believe in God THE WAY the self appointed authorities think you should and still have holidays.

Every soldier that has died for our freedom, died so we would all have a right to believe or not believe in this free country. To say that whoever this collective “WE” is has the right to dictate what you should believe in order to have a right to have holidays and weekends is WRONG.

I would passionately defend your right to be the most Conservative Christian in this world, but what I do not agree with is being demeaning others who either don’t believe or choose to keep their Christianity or whatever private.

One of my favorite quotes is “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

I think that is something to keep in mind when you want to deride people for not following the same religious path as you.

Subject: The Law is the Law

The Law is the Law

I really love this one! This is one of the better e-mails I have
received in a long time!
I hope this makes its way around the USA several times over!

Since we can’t pray to God, I don’t believe the Government and its
employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations
which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many
facets of American life.

I’d like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving &
Easter. After all, it’s just another day.

I’d like the ” US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good
Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays.” After all, it’s
just another day.

I’d like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to
worry about getting home for the “Christmas Break.” After all it’s
just another day.

I’m thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all
government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday &
Easter. It shouldn’t cost any overtime since those would be just like
any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be
“politically correct.”

In fact….

I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set
aside for worshipping God…) because, after all, our government says
that it should be just another day….
What do you all think????

If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will
stop giving in to the “minority opinions” and begin, once again, to
represent the “majority” of ALL of the American people.

SO BE IT………..

Please Dear Lord,
Give us the help needed to keep you in our country! ‘Amen’ and ‘Amen’ Touché!

These are definitely things I never thought about but from now on, I
will be sure to question those in
government who support these changes.

At the top, it says “I hope this makes its way around the USA several
times over!!!!!”
Let’s see that it does.

My problem with the people that come to mind are those who say You can’t have Halloween because its pagan, you can’t have Christmas unless it is observed as a religious holiday so no Santa and Rudolph, no Easter bunny-because of the Crucifixion.

What I wish we could have again is
Halloween-Pumpkins ,costumes ghost stories, Christmas-Santa, Rudolph, Christmas Trees, Easter-Easter Bunny.

That is what I miss, when I was growing up, we didn’t get into the religious aspects of the Holidays. We really only celebrated in secular ways. Religion its self was kept out of it for the most part because it belonged in church. If religion was discussed at all it was very minor and we concentrated about the fun of the holiday. The “religious” people I think of are the ones who demand that every holiday be expressed through its religious origin. I think that is what is at the base of a lot of the problems people have with Holidays in public. Its not Christmas with Santa and Christmas Trees-It is DEMANDED that Christmas is all about the Birth of Christ. That does not belong in public school- not the prohibition of the discussion but it being necessary that the focus be on the religious origin, which is especially funny because Christmas was created to replace the pagan holiday Yule!

That is why a lot of people think that the Religious Right give Christians a bad name. Its their way or the highway. You can’t say Happy Holidays because they get really pissed off that you aren’t saying merry CHRIST-Mas.

It certainly doesn’t help to have some people who are offended by everything and think that nothing should be in the schools or on the town square.

The Holidays need to be returned to being fun and not a platform of the Religious Right to try and force people to conform to their belief system.

The atheists or whatever are just as bad because they are ruining it for everyone.

I think the biggest fault of the “Liberals” is they don’t want anyone to feel bad or excluded. So the easiest way to avoid conflict is to ban it all together. I am not saying its right but it is the easiest solution.

I don’t agree with it but when schools and local government become in conflict because the religious whatever doesn’t feel you are observing holidays in a religious enough way that is a big help in giving atheists etc something to bitch about.

Do I think this is the universal reason? No but I think that if schools celebrated the holidays the way they did in the 1970′s and 1980′s and stuck to their guns about how they did it we could have them again.

(Less-govornment, to give another example, is generally a Republican concept – but that is not to say that there is no such thing as a Democrat who thinks there should be less governmental influence).

Also, no religion demands preferential treatment. I believe it was in your last article, you, yourself said:

“It is so sad that my children will never have the same experiences that I did growing up because holiday decorations, and the general spirit of good will that comes with the seasons are quickly becoming a thing of the past. ”

As I pointed out, the reason holiday decorations, general spirit of “good will”, etc. are slowly diminishing is not because of Religion. It was Religion that created these traditions in the first place. The reason I cannot decorate a public place with Santa, or something of that matter is not because other Religions say, “Gragh! You cannot do this, I am offended!” – It’s because a small minority may hint to that, and, being the way it is, our society caters to the silliest of ideas.

If one were to suggest that all various holidays be taught, studied, decorated, etc.; then we would all be in an endless flood of having to learn information about the millions of different cultures and the like. It would be more of a detriment than anything.

And Liberals are some how responsible for religious people for demanding that their religion be given preferential treatment?