Christianity and HP

[Lady Martha]

No: HPFGUIDX 112246


> How is it that Hogwarts always celebrates Xmas? (see also 
> http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2002/apr2002p10_969.html) Jews 
> don't. Muslims don't. Why should wizards? especially when 
> historically the church saw wizardry as devilish? (Satan = opponent 
> of God the father of JC). 

[Snip]
 
> Although halloween has older roots as a solstice than as all 
> hallow's eve, the latter name definitely derives from the idea of 
> saints and a Jesus-based religiosity. Is JKR trying to signify that 
> Hogwarts works on 'good WASP traditions' like any English public 
> school (where pupils, Christian or otherwise, have to sing hymns 
and 
> celebrate Christian festivals like Easter, Xmas, Michaelmas etc, or 
> that wizards aren't as dark as all that because they 'do' Xmas, or 
> what?

[Snip]

Martha:

Just a few thoughts to add to what's already been said. 

In the UK, the 2-week (school) holiday in winter is known as 
the "Christmas" holiday, and the 2-week holiday in spring as 
the "Easter" holiday, despite the fact that most schools are pretty 
secular. This is based around the fact that Christianity (C of E, to 
be specific) was the major religion in the UK for a long time - it 
still officially is as far as I'm aware, although the majority of 
people I know would probably not self-define as such. In addition, 
most people celebrate something around Christmas time, and many 
people label this celebration as "Christmas" regardless of actual 
religion or lack thereof. Cases in point: my partner's Buddhist 
mother celebrates Christmas, as do my atheist parents and my Jewish 
landlady. :-) This involves giving presents, putting up a tree with 
fairy lights on it, eating nice food, and having a few days off from 
work. At school there might be a disco, and teachers might put up 
tinsel; workplaces often have a party where everyone gets drunk. What 
I'm getting at here is that I don't think JKR is trying to signify 
much at all by the inclusion of these holidays, other than the fact 
that the wizarding world is really not that much different from the 
rest of British society.

> Harry doesn't go to church that we see, nor Hermione nor anyone 
else 
> in HP yet it just seems to be assumed that Christianity is a theme 
> present but largely unspoken of/ignored - sad to say (for those who 
> are wholeheartedly Christian) rather like the prevailing view of 
the 
> majority of folk in the real world in the UK or much of the US at 
> least. Many profess to be Christian but do little that is in any 
way 
> religious in a Christian sense, like pray, attend mass, live their 
> lives with Christian values, or otherwise express what are supposed 
> to be firmly held and all pervasive beliefs (faith).

[More snipping]

Martha again:

I think whether "Christianity is a theme present but largely unspoken 
of/ignored" may be a matter of opinion. You read the books that way, 
but I don't. This, to me, is further evidence of the universal appeal 
of these books - they are not written with a particular portion of 
society in mind, and are the better for it, since anyone can enjoy 
them without feeling excluded. Just a thought. :-)

A final point to make is that wizardry in JKR's world may not be a 
religion - we see no evidence of worship of any kind of deity or 
similar practices. It's not the same thing as what we might refer to 
as witchcraft or paganism. Wizardry seems, IMO, to more of a way of 
life, a science, or a practice - to give an analogy, you can be an 
accountant and also be a Christian, but that doesn't mean all 
accountants are Christian or that all Christians are accountants. The 
two aren't mutually exclusive.

We are aware that Hogwarts is a fairly multicultural school (compared 
to many British schools, at least those that I and most of my friends 
attended) and it's likely that this encompasses religion as well - so 
perhaps Anthony Goldstein floo-powders home on a Friday evening for 
Shabbat, or the Patil twins celebrate Diwali at the appropriate time 
of year, or Blaise Zabini carries a rosary - but as the books are 
told from Harry's point of view, and those things aren't particularly 
important to the story, we don't see them going on. I think the key 
point here is that wizarding practice and religious beliefs are two 
separate things.

Just my two knuts' worth, anyway. :-)