Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays???

Following up to "Mike T." > :

>But if you were a Christian who felt very strongly that the birth of Christ
>should be solemnly and religiously CELEBRATED, and should have it's own
>legal holiday date specifically assigned for that celebration . . .

....like December 25th?
--
Tim C.

Following up to "Mike T." > :

> Before you ask how it is possible
>that Christ was born in the year 4 "Before Christ",

I think I can cope with that .
--
Tim C.

Following up to (David Horne, _the_
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco 24h offy)
:

>pre-christian myth, much like the rest of Christianity

The Old Testament ?
--
Tim C.

(David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco 24h offy) writes:

> Des Small > wrote:
>
> []
> > Santa Claus - including the name - is pre-Christian?
>
> There's a murky history to Santa Claus, and some of the origins are
> attributed to pre-christian myth, much like the rest of Christianity!

There's a murky enough _present_ if you compare USian Coca-Claus, the
Dutch Sinterklaas, the Icelandic Christmas Lads and the Swedish
Tomten, all of whom have conspicuously different habits and customs.

> I'm not going to cite a reference though!

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus>

Of course, it doesn't give sources for the alleged Germanic folklore.
(And the 'Pedia's Christmas tree article is significantly different in
German, French, Swedish and English, none of which gives adequate
sources for their claimed "first" historical trees.)

Des

"Tim C." > wrote in message
...
> Following up to (David Horne, _the_
> chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco 24h
> offy)
> :
>
>>pre-christian myth, much like the rest of Christianity
>
> The Old Testament ?
>

No, there has been a santa claus type figure in many cultures for centuries
before Christ is believed to have been born. Of course, he wasn't called
"Santa Claus" or even "Saint Nicholas", as those are both Christian
erms. -Dave

Tim C. > wrote:

> Following up to (David Horne, _the_
> chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco 24h offy)
> :
>
> >pre-christian myth, much like the rest of Christianity
>
> The Old Testament ?

And other sources!

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org

In article ws.net>,
"Mike T." > wrote:

> I'm not going to do your homework for you. But if you do the research
> carefully, you will find your own indisputable sources to show that just
> about all customs and symbols related to the holiday called "Christmas"
> pre-date the birth of Christ by many years. The one glaring exception is
> the nativity scene. But Santa Claus, gift-giving, "Christmas trees",
> mistletoe, carolling, traditional foods and feasts, in short EVERYTHING that
> makes up "Christmas" was a part of the holiday celebrated in late December
> LONG before Christ is said to have been born.

Hallmark has been around a lot longer than most people think.

In article <1h7z6jb.eazq5y1mk664cN%this_address_is_for_spam@y ahoo.com>,
(David Horne, _the_ chancellor of
the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco 24h offy) wrote:

> Des Small > wrote:
>
> []
> > Santa Claus - including the name - is pre-Christian?
>
> There's a murky history to Santa Claus, and some of the origins are
> attributed to pre-christian myth, much like the rest of Christianity!
>
> I'm not going to cite a reference though!

I saw a slasher movie that held that Santa Claus was originally an evil
elf from Norse myth. Everyone knows that slasher movies are impeccable
sources of information. They are how I got to where I am today. On
Usenet.

Following up to lid :

>In article ws.net>,
> "Mike T." > wrote:
>
>> I'm not going to do your homework for you. But if you do the research
>> carefully, you will find your own indisputable sources to show that just
>> about all customs and symbols related to the holiday called "Christmas"
>> pre-date the birth of Christ by many years. The one glaring exception is
>> the nativity scene. But Santa Claus, gift-giving, "Christmas trees",
>> mistletoe, carolling, traditional foods and feasts, in short EVERYTHING that
>> makes up "Christmas" was a part of the holiday celebrated in late December
>> LONG before Christ is said to have been born.
>
>Hallmark has been around a lot longer than most people think.

LOL!
--
Tim C.

Tim C. wrote:

> Following up to "Dave" > :
>
>
>>Even today many Christians are
>>****ed that the birth of Christ is associated with a pagan holiday at all.
>
>
> Which day would they suggest as an alternative?

They could pick a day around the CORRECT time of the year