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Bereta_Eder
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Well they do celebrate something in Turkey at this very same time. I'm not sure what it is. I forgot and wished merry christmas to a turkish friend of mine and he said they did have something in that time frame, a holiday of sorts.
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Dr Strangelove
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quote:
Originally posted by Thucydides
Christmas was adapted by Christians from earlier non-Christian sources. To say the holiday is primarily about Christianity is absurd. What do Christmas trees or Santa Claus have anything to do with the Bible? If Christianity never came to be we would still be all celebrating some variation of Christmas, if for no other reason then there is going to always be some holiday to fall on the Winter Solistice since it's such an important point in the calender very few civilizations are going to completely ignore it.
Christmas is probably so popular because it includes so many popular ideas. Who doesn't like the concepts gift giving, peace, spending time with family, peace or celebrating? Commercial retailers of course are going to take advantage of this and thus also fuel the growth of the holiday itself, but it's still primarily a winter solstice holiday. |
Saint Nicholas is a real historical figure. He was a Chritian bishop in Asia Minor in the Fourth Century AD. He was noted for his anonymous giving to his poor and needy parishoners. It is said that he may have put coins into a sock and tossed it through a window or down a chimney of the household of a recipient of his largess. During this historical time period the legality of Christianiy alternated. One emporer would tolerate it, then the next would outlaw it. IIRC Saint Nicholas was supposedly martyred during one of the periods when Christianity was outlawed.
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Dr Strangelove
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quote:
Originally posted by The Viceroy
In India many Hindu's attend midnight mass at church, and celebrate Christmas with just as much vigour as the Christians, but then, thats what I love about India .. if there is a celebration to be had, go for it .. regardless of religion. |
Have you ever seen the film Lagan ? There is a scene in which the villagers are singing a prayer to Krishna. Everyone gets caught up in it, even the Muslims join in. How likely would it be for an Indian Muslim to join in a prayer to Krishna?
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Thucydides
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Screw you guys, I'm going home.
Jan 1970
time: 05:32
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quote:
Saint Nicholas is a real historical figure. He was a Chritian bishop in Asia Minor in the Fourth Century AD. He was noted for his anonymous giving to his poor and needy parishoners. It is said that he may have put coins into a sock and tossed it through a window or down a chimney of the household of a recipient of his largess. During this historical time period the legality of Christianiy alternated. One emporer would tolerate it, then the next would outlaw it. IIRC Saint Nicholas was supposedly martyred during one of the periods when Christianity was outlawed. |
True, their is the kernal of truth to form the basis of Santa Claus from a historical figure, such as a name, red bishop robes and giving gifts (which btw was on december 6 originally, not the 25th) , but it was also filtered through the dutch version of Sint Klaas with all the attached nordic mythology of elves and the north poles and such.
Anyway, I don't mean to imply the Christianity didn't make significant contributions to the development of Christmas, only that it's one of many sources of the holiday, and it didn't start out as a religious celebration among Christians.
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mindseye
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A Yankee living in Shanghai
Apr 1999
time: 13:32
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Here in Shanghai, the most westernized of Chinese metropoli, Christmas is a big thing. Stores and restaurants everywhere have Santas in their windows. You see angels, snowflakes, snowmen, wreaths, all of the trappings, even life-size (and larger) Santas (he's known here as "Old Man Christmas"). But most of all, you see xmas TREES! Chinese love colorful lights, so xmas trees are a natural for them. In one of my classes, half of the students had xmas trees at home.
You hear xmas songs at many large stores, even blatantly Christian songs. Waitresses and store clerks wear red Santa hats. People send cards and messages, but there is not much gift-giving, except maybe between young lovers. It's more of an excuse for Chinese to do the thing they love most - go out to dinner together!
In fact, you get kinda sick of xmas here, as a lot of the decorations (particularly the Santa faces hung on doorways) end up staying there all year round. Santa's face becomes sort of a festive counterpart to that other smiling old man's face you see everywhere, Colonel Sanders.
 Attachment: xmaswindowsanta.jpg
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Apolyton Time is 00:32. |
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24-12-2003 22:02
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