Would you rather...

[Crankin]

I'm sorry if I sounded flip in my above post. But, this time of year gives me a good dose of feeling like "the other."

[Catrin]

I would take the $1,000 - and I bet I could then find someone to buy gifts for :-)

[OakLeaf]

Crankin, FWIW it raised my eyebrows too. They had mandatory religion classes in one of my high schools, your choice Roman Catholic or Congregationalist, but that was 40 years ago. Same school where girls had to take Home Ec and boys had to take Vo Ag. Even though neither of the shows referenced has any religious content that I can remember, they do refer to Christmas, and it doesn't really seem appropriate.



That said, the money question seems easy, doesn't it? Whether it's friends, family or charity, I wouldn't be giving the money away to anyone I wouldn't have been gifting anyway - just giving larger gifts?

[Crankin]

My issue is that most people in the US say, "Oh, but Frosty and Rudolph aren't religious, they're secular." Yes, Frosty and Rudolph are obviously not in the Bible, but the stories are about Christmas. Then there are the people (and this includes a lot of those I question) who say that trees and wreaths are secular, too. Ah, no. If you actually celebrated the religious aspect of Christmas, maybe you would know this. I know most enjoy celebrating the time of year with family, exchanging gifts, etc. But, that is not the true origin of Christmas. I don't want to take away anyone's fun, but none of this should be in the schools.
My kids went to an elementary school where they were pretty much the only, in their own words, "true Jews." They meant the only ones with 2 Jewish parents, who went to religious school, and celebrated only Jewish holidays. In the beginning, some of the teachers thought it would make them feel better around this time of year, if they slipped in some Chanukah themed pictures when the kids were coloring in the early grades. Personally, I let them handle it all on their own, but there were a few times when each of them chose not to participate in something.
Then there was the art teacher who asked my oldest son if he was allowed to do a Thanksgiving activity . Yes, a person with a master's degree asked a 9 year old this. I tried not to interfere, but I think that some of the educators just did not get it. We solved it by moving to a town with more awareness and more diversity, but they were in middle school by then.

[Eden]

Interesting. I always thought trees and wreaths were from Druidism.

- very much so… the whole holiday was adopted, or should one say co-opted, adapted from Paganism to make Christianity more palatable to people who followed Pagan religions… It's really celebrations of the Solstice and one brings those green living things that can survive the winter into ones home (pine boughs and trees, mistletoe, holly) to ward off the darkness and celebrate the return of the light.

(no, I'm not Pagan, nor am I Christian, or an adherent to any religion for that matter, but I did study this in botany class in college - fascinating. You don't even want to know where the tradition of garland came from… eeewww)

[Crankin]

Well, I knew the tree stuff had a religious basis, somewhere, but I have heard other explanations.
Murienn, what you get in New England depends totally on what town you are in. The place I spoke of is about 15 miles north of here, on the border of NH. Very insular and sort of blue collar town where not a lot of people ever leave. The educated people sent their kids to Catholic school, and when we moved here in 1990, it was a bit economically depressed. It was pretty and affordable. Each little town here is like a fiefdom all to its own!

[Trek420]

(no, I'm not Pagan, nor am I Christian, or an adherent to any religion for that matter, but I did study this in botany class in college - fascinating. You don't even want to know where the tradition of garland came from… eeewww)

Wasn't it from the plague? So many dead and dying that you'd want a garland around your neck to ward off the smell? Surfs off to look this up.

Some biblical scholars say that your Christ (nice guy, by the way. I'm Jewish but not practicing. But I like that whole taking care of the poor, the least of those, he's a cool, radical Jew) anyway there are those who say he would actually have been born in Spring or Summer. But how do you get Romans for example to quit celebrating Saturnalia with wild abandon?

Ya gotta have something else in winter.

[Eden]

Wasn't it from the plague? So many dead and dying that you'd want a garland around your neck to ward off the smell? Surfs off to look this up.

I read garland had no holiday significance at all in it's origin - it was, at first, the stringing of the guts of one's slain enemies around a tree to celebrate your glorious victory and warn off anyone else who might wish to fight with you…. nasty stuff.

[malkin]

Wasn't it from the plague? So many dead and dying that you'd want a garland around your neck to ward off the smell? Surfs off to look this up.

Some biblical scholars say that your Christ (nice guy, by the way. I'm Jewish but not practicing. But I like that whole taking care of the poor, the least of those, he's a cool, radical Jew) anyway there are those who say he would actually have been born in Spring or Summer. But how do you get Romans for example to quit celebrating Saturnalia with wild abandon?

Ya gotta have something else in winter.

For a winter holiday, you can't beat Hanukkah. Start with one little candle and by the end...wow! Especially if you have a crappy little menorah and the candles are too close together you've got some significant fire.

Right now, we have the opposite: an aging fake tree, and every few days another section of lights poops out.