Christmas in the WW (was Re: Christianity in HP)

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 128380

Geoff wrote:

> 
> Re the Wizarding World  marking Christmas etc., it indicates to me that 
> the festivals have some meaning for them. Otherwise they would use a 
> different name... Here in the UK, we are now getting one or two local 
> authorities who refuse to mark Christmas on PC grounds and celebrate 
> the "Winter Festival" or something equally vague.
> 
> 

Julie says:
In the US and Britain (and probably much of Europe, Australia, etc),
marking Christmas and celebrating it as a holiday does not mean 
one holds Christian beliefs. That holiday has become a secular 
holiday to many who mark it as a time to gather with loved ones 
and exchange gifts. Some may have been raised Christian and 
may still consider themselves nominally Christian though they no
longer worship in church, some were never raised in the church
at all, and some have lapsed from the faith. 

I am one of the latter. Though there are many tenets of Christianity
I do not believe, I do value the Christmas season for its message
as a time to put aside differences and to seek peace, and a time 
express the best in yourself, and to love your fellow man. Like the
pagan ritual and symbols that were incorporated into Christmas,
Christmas has morphed in modern times into something more 
than a Christian religious holiday. It offers hope not only to those
devoted to the Christian faith, but to many who no longer practice
the faith, but who derive comfort from the idea that a season devoted
to peace and good will could one day expand into an everyday
way of life.  
 
>From the lack of specific Christian symbols invoked during
the Christmas holiday at Hogwarts, this more nonspecific 
version of the holiday seems to be in effect within the WW 
as it is in the muggle society surrounding the WW. Some  
wizards, just like some muggles, may well derive a specifically 
Christian meaning from Christmas, but others do not. At 
least this is the way JKR is presenting it in the HP books, 
and I think that is intentional. In this instance WW society
is very reflective of muggle society. 

Julie 
 
 



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