Spinoff to Christmas trees, and ... well, Christmas in general

Just to add to this rant...re: xmas...it's Christmas.

As my Mother used to say...don't take the Christ out of Christmas.

Amen.

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Posted by 103005FallBride

Just to add to this rant...re: xmas...it's Christmas.

As my Mother used to say...don't take the Christ out of Christmas.

Amen.

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No disrespect intended.

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Posted by 103005FallBride

Just to add to this rant...re: xmas...it's Christmas.

As my Mother used to say...don't take the Christ out of Christmas.

Amen.

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This past Sunday when I was leading Sunday School, I wrote 'XMas' on the board to save time for our prayer requests and a 6-year old girl reminded me that it's CHRISTmas'

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Posted by Blu-ize

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Posted by 103005FallBride

Just to add to this rant...re: xmas...it's Christmas.

As my Mother used to say...don't take the Christ out of Christmas.

Amen.

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No disrespect intended.

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I know. I just hear my Mom in my head anytime I see it. It's too funny. When I was little my Dad was labeling the Christmas ornament boxes and wrote 'X-mas'... My Mom went crazy.

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Posted by Mayflower

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Posted by 103005FallBride

Just to add to this rant...re: xmas...it's Christmas.

As my Mother used to say...don't take the Christ out of Christmas.

Amen.

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This past Sunday when I was leading Sunday School, I wrote 'XMas' on the board to save time for our prayer requests and a 6-year old girl reminded me that it's CHRISTmas'

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Too cute! She must have a Mother like mine.

Thank you for the explanation, ladies!

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Posted by Blu-ize

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Posted by 103005FallBride

Just to add to this rant...re: xmas...it's Christmas.

As my Mother used to say...don't take the Christ out of Christmas.

Amen.

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No disrespect intended.

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Just to let you all know - the origins of writing Xmas is Not to take the Christ out of Christmas. The 'X' in this case is actually a symbol for the Cross, and therefore is saying the Exact Same Thing, just in a different way.

I'm in agreement, as I said on the other thread, that the tree is a Christmas Tree, end of discussion.

And Brooklyn - the reason Chanukah is the most well known holiday to the non-Jewish world is that Chanukah is conveniently timed with Christmas. Imagine that you're the religious minority in a country where the big festival is in March, so they try to include you by making a big deal out of St. Patrick's Day.

Why do non-Jews not know about the more important holidays? Beats me. My guess is that they never bothered to find out. How many Muslim holidays can the average person name?

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Posted by diluvchu

Plus it's not like they have a stable out there with baby Jesus in it, then that would be taking it too far. It's just a tree. It's a tradition.

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I have to disagree with this.
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. Why would putting a stable up be taking it too far?

So as not to offend the non-Christians?

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Posted by PrincessRose

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Posted by Blu-ize

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Posted by 103005FallBride

Just to add to this rant...re: xmas...it's Christmas.

As my Mother used to say...don't take the Christ out of Christmas.

Amen.

---

No disrespect intended.

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Just to let you all know - the origins of writing Xmas is Not to take the Christ out of Christmas. The 'X' in this case is actually a symbol for the Cross, and therefore is saying the Exact Same Thing, just in a different way.

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Actually...(googled it)
The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the early Christian church. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name. It was frequently used as a holy symbol.


But...like I was saying...just lightening up the thread. I always used to hear my Mom say that as a child. No biggie. If my Mom was alive today I would enlighten her. BUT I'm sure she already knows this.

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Posted by BMD'sPeanut

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Posted by diluvchu

Plus it's not like they have a stable out there with baby Jesus in it, then that would be taking it too far. It's just a tree. It's a tradition.

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I have to disagree with this.
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. Why would putting a stable up be taking it too far?

So as not to offend the non-Christians?

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Its not too far if its on a privatly owned space, i.e. home, store, church, etc. It is too far, IMO, if it is in a publicly-owned space, i.e. court, congress, etc., b/c it is religious and can be seen as an 'endorsement of religion'. That's just my opinion

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Posted by 103005FallBride


Actually...(googled it)
The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the early Christian church. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name. It was frequently used as a holy symbol.

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Still the same thing.

Peanut - Yes, a nativity scene on municipal property would offend me. You want Trees? Poinsettias? Holly? Playing non-religious Christmas carols? Go Ahead - Fine By Me (although when it starts before Halloween it gets to be too much)! But once the religious aspects of the holiday come into it, I feel you should keep it in Church or in the home. Yes, I am aware that Jesus is the entire reason for the Holiday, but you don't see me insisting that everyone fast and repent on Yom Kippur, do you?

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Posted by PrincessRose

Peanut - Yes, a nativity scene on municipal property would offend me. You want Trees? Poinsettias? Holly? Playing non-religious Christmas carols? Go Ahead - Fine By Me (although when it starts before Halloween it gets to be too much)! But once the religious aspects of the holiday come into it, I feel you should keep it in Church or in the home. Yes, I am aware that Jesus is the entire reason for the Holiday, but you don't see me insisting that everyone fast and repent on Yom Kippur, do you?

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A Christmas tree is in essence representing the same thing as a nativity scene. The evergreen represents the everlasting life that Jesus has brought to people who believe in him. So-why are you not against all of it?

The person who sets up a nativity scene is not asking you to attend mass and receive communion, they are just expressing their beliefs. The Retailers & Corporate America have done their best to water down the meaning behind the holiday and many Americans have bought into it.

I get that people don't want their tax $$ to go towards promoting a certain religion, ok fine, that makes sense. But this is America, a land full of diversity, everyone gets so offended if something is publicized that they don't agree with. If this continues pretty soon we will all be walking around wearing the same outfits, eating the same food and expressing religious beliefs in basements behind closed doors.

The Christmas tree's meaning has its basis in Pagan tradition. And when you get right down to it, a christmas tree can be seen as a very pretty tree with lights and baubles. A nativity scene can't be taken to be anything but what it is - the birth of the man Christians consider to be the Lord.

I see no reason why this has to be displayed on public land. On the church's lawn that's just fine. On your private lawn, Sure! But at the mall? It's not necessary. Christians aren't the only people here. You talk about diversity, but when it comes right down to it, you won't see public celebrations of Eid-Al-Fitr, will you? As lots of us have said - Chanukah is not an important holiday. I really don't care to see Menorahs put up in public areas either, because it's a religious symbol.

Actually, this is what the christmas tree is about. Take it however you choose:

How it all got started with the Christmas Tree

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Posted by PrincessRose

The Christmas tree's meaning has its basis in Pagan tradition.

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Actually, there was a girl in my law school who was a fairly religious practicing Catholic, who did not and said she would never have a tree b/c of this!

Yes, I am very aware that the Christmas tree does not have a religious origination. But this is what it 'represents' to me not a pagan ritual, since I was not brought up in the 1800's.

I agreed with you about tax $$ going towards promoting specific religions. A mall is a private building-owned by a management company-not the government. Christians are WELL aware that they are not the only people here. Like I previously said - Corporate America & Retailers should take most of the blame for their exploitation of the Christmas Holiday-it is not the Church. You have every right to want to keep your religious beliefs private, just as your next door neighbor has a right to express his - whatever they may be.

What the tree means to you is not the issue at hand - you asked me why I did not object to the tree but did object to the nativity. I answered the question.

Agreed that a mall is a private corporation, but they serve the community at large. If they want to display a nativity, they run the risk of offending other customers who want to shop there. It's 100% their choice to decorate for the holidays, but it's also 100% my choice to not shop there in response to what I feel is inappropriate decoration. I *never* blamed the Church for the ubiquitous nature of the Christmas season, I simply said that I felt that nativity scenes were inappropriate outside of a home or church setting.

Listen, we have societal norms that are observed. People are asked not to be obscene, are they not? There are things that should be kept behind doors, correct? I'm not saying you have to Hide your Christianity, far from it. I'm simply stating my opinion on what I feel is appropriate in a public setting.

ETD for spelling.

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Posted by dleeny

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Posted by brooklynbridezilla

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Posted by Goldi1021

Yes, the only similarities between Chanukah and Christmas are that in both celebrations, gifts are exchanged and they both take place in the winter. There are MANY holidays in the Jewish faith, most of which are unknown to the non-Jewish community, that are regarded as much more holy.

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I am curious, if there are other holidays that are more holy, why is it that Chanukah is the one that is the most well known to the non-Jewish community?

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because both Christmas & Hanukkah gifts are exchanged and they are both typically around the same time of the year.

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YES. And that is exactly what I said.

What many non-Jewish NYers fail to realize is that there are more Jews in the NYC and NYS and therefore the USA than there are in the State of Israel. There are about 15 million Jews among the world population of about 4 billion, and the percentage of Jews is minuscule (about 1/3 of 1%), This is a minute percentage. Chanukah is perhaps one of the easiest holidays for the non-Jewish population to recognize and associate with the Jewish people SIMPLY because it falls around the time of Christmas.

With 1/3 of 1% of the world's population being Jewish, why WOULD any other Jewish holiday warrant the world's population at large to shut down to allow that small group to observe - thats why G-d created 'floating holidays and personal days'. I worked in business for a short time before teaching. All of the Jewish people used the THREE floating holiday days for the two days of Rosh Hashanah and the one day for Yom Kippur. I think the '3' was set up for a reason. There is not one Jewish holiday or Muslim holiday (to my knowledge) that shuts down government offices or the NYSE. People who observe those holidays use those personal days and/or sick days I mentioned previously to observe. Does it bother me? Not one bit. It is what it is.

If you work around the NYC area, there are often days when alternate side of the street parking is suspended. This is because there are many Orthodox neighborhoods throughout the city whose inhabitants WILL NOT DRIVE on those unrecognized non-calendar Jewish holidays - the same ones I listed before.

I hope this helps!