See how silly it all is?

Clearly your intent here is to bash christians.

That is most unfortunate.

Those that also celebrate it as religious have clearly adopted many of the traditions associated with the solstice celebrations. So what?

I, for one, am just glad that we will be getting increasing amounts of daylight.

many don't.

consequence.

Hope your holiday season brings love and comfort.

Life and one another as people exchanged gifts, feasted together, etc. Fine to celebrate peace, love, etc. too. But this was not originally a Christian season by any means. And it remains largely secular.

They may exist, but I think most people realize that many religious holidays have their roots and traditions in older holiday.

The bible states that Jesus said exactly what you are saying - "I am the light and the life" - thus seeming to clearly identify with the celebration of this season.

I don't see anything to argue about here.

have again had to listen to their crap. It is on the news, in the papers, in the editorials, on the internet... The fundies put us through this nonsense every year.

They think they OWN this season, and they darn well DO NOT. It is just one more of their many buckets of ignorance. I have personally had to listen to this crap from many people, get emails about it, and so it is good to remind people of the truth.

of what it is. I think some people object to removing the christ concept from christmas.

I don't really hear much about ownership or a rejection of the more secular aspects of the season.

Sorry christians are ruining your christmas. It's truly tragic.

the "light" of "god". He was the "teacher". The "counselor". And the "son of god" in that religion. (Let alone that biblical translations are very suspect.)

The SOLSTICE celebration, far predating Christianity (whose doctrines were written by committees hundreds of years after Christ's death), was literally about celebrating the light of the sun and the life it brings with spring and summer.

by those who want that.

You seem to want to make christians out to be thief's - the grinch that stole christmas.

What's the point of that?

You've made the Baby Jesus cry.

I was playing poker at a local cardroom. When the game was breaking up and people were leaving I made the unforgivable error by wishing some people happy holidays, figuring that we wouldn't be seeing each other until next year. Several people, including one of the servers, immediately got in my face, explaining, "Around here, we say Merry Christmas, damn it!" I blame FoxNews for ratcheting up the seasonal vitriol to unbelievable levels.

with my lesson on the truth of the season. They don't like it, but TOUGH SHIT !

(which it was and is) it wasn't secular. Paganism is a religion, you know.

Edited to add: Paganism is several religions, actually, and I've yet to come across one that doesn't celebrate this holy day. As for co-option by the Christian Church--this "news" has had long, long white hair for decades.

Last edited Thu Dec 27, 2012, 11:56 AM - Edit history (1)

BY polytheistic pagans (and others) over hundreds of years long before the birth of Christ but not as a "religious" celebration. It was about the turn toward longer days and the new life of spring and summer to come. (Just because a Christian celebrates a birthday that doesn't mean the occasion is about the religion. Same idea.)

Christians, under Papal order, co-opted the season out of a sense threat of secular traditions celebrated in part by pagans as Christianity was on the rise several hundred years after the death of Jesus.

The point of the post is a reply to the religion-centric Christians, especially the fundies, who have been going around over the last decade or so claiming some delusional "war on Christmas." The right response is that the season was from the start and remains primarily secular, was originally about celebrating the Winter Solstice, and that, if anything, it is the Christians who should remember to keep Solstice in the season.

Pagans are religous people who do (and did) celebrate the solstices as relgious holidays.

that not evey Christian is a fundie, nor is every non-Christian non-religous. If you wish to address fundies with this, perhaps you should post it somewhere frequented by fundies.

Lighted that says "Jesus is the reason for the season".

My response: