[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: What's wrong with "Merry Christmas"?

[Lee Kaiwen]

americanghosttour:

> Wiccan We celebrate Yule. (Most of your modern Christmas
> traditions come from our ancient ones, btw.)

CJ:

> Well, debatable as your premise is ...

susanmcgee48176:

> Debatable that most Christmas traditions were originally pagan?

No -- debatable that most Christian traditions were originally Wiccan. 
That was the claim (see above).

> What do you think ISN'T pagan about Christmas? 

Lessee, we could start with the name :-). Then there's St. Nicholas, 
gift-giving, Christmas cards, poinsettias (native to Mexico), Christmas 
stockings, Bing Crosby, Christmas Eve services, the Advent wreath, 
Christmas caroling, the Nativity story, the Christmas Star, red-nosed 
reindeer and Christmas trees.

Yes, Christmas trees. I'm well aware the decorating of trees has 
antecedents in German pagan (not Wiccan) practice. But I'm still looking 
for a definitive demonstration of a link between the two that amounts to 
something more than post hoc propter hoc -- that is, when the link isn't 
just assumed out of hand. In any case, the practice of placing and 
decorating a tree in the home (the thought of cutting down a tree would 
have horrified pagans) specifically at Christmas time originated in 16th 
century (Christian!) Germany, where it seems to have begun in churches, 
of all places, before moving into homes.

 > The birth of the son of god?

The birth of Christ? Umm, yeah. Sure, I'm aware of other virgin birth 
myths -- Mutemmua in ancient Egypt, the births of Athena and Dionysius 
in Greek mythology, Devaki and Krishna over on the sub-continent. But as 
with the origins of the Christmas tree, the fact of their existence 
alone hardly suffices to prove pagan origins of the Christian tradition.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Joyous New Year!

CJ