Christmas at Hogwarts (Was Re: Faith Education)

[mstattersall]

While we've been hashing over the constitutionality of religion, I 
happened to notice the beautiful still from HP-(Movie) recently added 
at the top of this group's homepage. Looks like they've decorated for 
a traditional Christmas celebration at Hogwarts. Is that because the 
majority of students at Hogwarts are of the Christian persuasion or 
of the pagan persuasion? An interesting puzzle, since the Christmas 
tree is part of both traditions in the modern world. Obviously (house 
rivalries aside), they all seem to get along.

What, then, of the students who might not be of either persuasion? 
I'm not an HP scholar--don't really feel comfortable participating on 
the main list--but JKR has obviously created a WW student population 
that represents the diverse population of the RW. The two students 
who come to mind are Parvati and Padma Patil, whom I would guess to 
be Indian or Pakistani. How do they feel about the Christmas tree if 
they come from, say, a Hindu culture? 

Come to think of it, most religions (except paganism, perhaps) are 
hostile to the whole concept of "magic." Too threatening to their 
base, I suppose.

Just a few random thoughts, which I'm sure have been cussed and 
discussed before in this venue.
Ms. Tattersall,
in a festive yet pensive (not pensieve) mood