But I'll still post a new one from time to time.
So, this Christmas was good. I opened my gifts, spent time with my family, and went to bed very late on Christmas Eve. Today is the day after Christmas, so that's good.
I like getting gifts, but to be truthful, I feel Christmas is getting away from its purpose. While Christmas is not the most sacred holiday in Christianity, it is high on the list. As such, its main purpose should be to honor the birth of Christ, pray, and go to church. Now, we should give gifts, of course, but I'm saying lets not make that the most significant part of the holiday.
I also think the image of Santa Clause takes away from the true meaning of Christmas. Yes, Saint Nicholas used to be an important Saint in Catholicism with his own feast day and everything. But, Catholicism discontinued the feast day and Saint Nicholas is known more for his commercial influence than religious influence. We all know Santa doesn't exist, and therefore I say it's time we stop using him as a symbol of Christmas. Everyone makes this great big deal about Christmas, but yet Easter is basically ignored. Now, candy companies will deny this fact, which goes back to the point:
Christian holidays are turned into sources of profit while Islamic and Jewish holidays are left for their sacred, historical significance. I've never heard of a special character for Yom Kippur or Eid Al-Fitr, and I doubt the candy and card sales go through the roof for these holidays.
Is it because the United States is a predominately Christian nation? Well, obviously so. But why are we as Christians more likely to profit from our sacred holidays than others? Are we naturally more greedy and capitalistic? I can't really offer a solid opinion on this, so I will not answer the question.
Well, that's all for this blog. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and I hope you all have a Happy New Year. Hopefully 2008 will be a better year than others in the past. One sour note for me, however, is that the 2008 Presidential election is on Nov. 4, 2008, exactly one day before my 18th birthday. Talk about irony.
2 comments:
>" Yes, Saint Nicholas used to be an important Saint in Catholicism with his own feast day and everything."
He still is. St Nick's feast day is still Dec 6th and was celebrated by many Catholics around the world.
http://ijustwanttocelebrate.blogspot.com/2007/12/candy-in-my-shoes.html
Yeah, the Czechs still celebrate St. Nicholas, although they call him St. Mikulas. And they get presents from Baby Jesus ("Jezicek") at Christmas.
Muslims and Jews have been better able to resist the commercialization of their sacred days, but this might be because their holidays are primarily religious in nature, whereas Christmas, Easter, and Hallowe'en were all pagan holidays before they became Christian holidays, and so they have an earthiness and an inclusive (universal?) appeal that the holy days of other religious traditions often lack. I don't think this is a bad thing--I think it's a great thing. One of the reasons for Christianity's tremendous worldwide success, believe it or not, was its compatibility with the local and pre-Christian cultural and religious traditions it came into contact with in Europe and elsewhere.
The nativity story is an important part of the Christmas tradition, but to focus on it to the exclusion of the rest of the rich tapestry of traditions that is American (and western) Christmas would only impoverish the greatest holiday on our calendar.
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