What does Christmas represent to the WW?

[laylalast]

No: HPFGUIDX 95213

<snip>

Alia wrote: 
>   So as far as the WW is 
> > concerned, which is it?  Do they know, or believe in God and 
Jesus 
> > in the same way we do, if at all?  What do you think JKR was 
> trying 
> > to get across, being a Christian herself?
> >   
> > 
> > Alia, who is waiting for the first tomato

Then Serena wrote:
> 
> I've decided to delurk myself to reply to this.  I don't think her 
> inclusion of Easter or Christmas is particularily religous at 
all.   
> Those are the traditional holiday time in England when students get 
> time off.   It's simple a way of refrencing them that people can 
> easily recognize and relate to.
> 
> Halloween is included I think because it is a holiday with very 
> magical conotations so it seems appropriate that it should be a big 
> deal in her magical world.   Likewise Christmas generally has 
> magical feel to it so that is why it gets a fair amount of time 
> devoted to it too.  Easter, perhaps being the more spiritual of the 
> three, doesn't get as much time, though I'm pretty sure Ron's mom 
> sends the candy eggs.
> 
> Anyway, there's my 2 cents....
> 
> Serena

Lilian here:

Having the same holidays as the MW may also be practical. If you are 
a Muggle family and have several kids, of which only one is magical 
and therefore attending Hogwarts (Lily for example), it is rather 
inconvenient not to be able to celebrate these times together as a 
family. And perhaps it is also part of the influence of the Muggle-WW 
marriages, the Muggle tradition slowly seeping in during the past 
centuries.

The latter could explain (partly) Snapes bad mood when celebrating 
Christmas in POA. If he is a pureblood and thinks nothing of Muggles, 
then it is not unlikely that he thinks nothing of celebrating 
Christmas (yak! Muggle feasts!) either.

My thoughts only.

Lilian