Well this is what has emerged with one of our Right Wing families locally

[nadinbrzezinski]

they were PISSED when they said Merry Christmas and I retorted Happy Holidays (Ah the war on christmas rages on)

Well this is a Christian country... he snapped

Try that again?

The reason for the season is CHRIST

No, the reason for the season is Macy's... the true meaning of this season has been forgotten by the masses of people going to the mall for baubles, victims of a policy decision made around the time you were born

Well, I don't agree.

Fine, tell me... what is exactly the meaning of this season? I am sure that as I Jew I can tell you, and that should embarrass you.

TRY... (echoes of the war on christmas, remember)

Sure, the meaning of Christmas is to be with FAMILY and enjoy a dinner with the company of those that love you, and the other meaning is COMMUNITY... and helping each other. Not getting all that junk people get every year. Given the economy soon people will get it once again. Oh and that crap about the Christian Nation, cannot wait for Congress to work once again like it did for eighty one years after the first Congress met.

Well to each his own... he said back, nervously, bag of baubles at his feet

So this man approaches the two of us, wearing a nice collar, he is a priest. He looks this guy in the face and tells him... "Sometimes the true message of Christmas comes from the least expected of places. Listen and learn, He turned and bowed, Happy Hanukah."

"Merry Christmas Father."

This guy, who is a neighbor leaves all confused. Then this Father asks me... where did you learn that? So I told him how I used to spend the night of the 24th for ten years and some of the things we saw as medics south of the border. He smiled and said, "far more Christian than many of my parishioners."

So I told him that the idea of Tsdaka, doing a good deed, is probably the origin of that one.

He smiled and said I was probably right, as well as medieval need to help each other, and he also agreed, the current economic crisis might remind most Americans what the true meaning of the holiday is, and that this is not a lesson that will be easy to swallow. We had a nice coffee discussing the similarities and differences of the season and how it will be critical for people to recapture the true sense of community that has been lost. Whether this is Hanukah, a relatively minor holiday, or Christmas, a major one. Both have family and community at heart. As well as a good dose of magical thinking... aka miracles.

So Merry whatever you choose to celebrate, thought you'd enjoy some of this... sense of renewed community that will inevitably come.

And the true meaning of the holiday, that is community, well many a times we saw things that didn't leave a dry eye in the house... but families pulling together was common...as well as communities working together.

[shifting_sands]

1. Happy Holidays

Well said, I have been amazed that people could get bent out of shape over the words said at the holidays when it's the meaning that's of value, no matter what's said. It all seems so silly to me and good for you attempt to spread a little bit of enlightenment, gee isn't that what Moses, Buddha, Christ all of them tried to do?

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Yep, I played the role of Rabbi, that is teacher

this guy would be bent out of shape if he knew that in the movies spoken in aramaic (or hebrew, the BBC production is very good in that sense) Christ is referred to as Rabbi.. and if history had gone a LITTLE different, he may have taken his place side by side with Rabbi Akiva

But that is way too much inside historical baseball

As to my neighbor, even in this late date he believes all that Bush says... and he did get bent out of shape... as in really bent out of shape. Also could not understand why I told an ordained member of the clergy, merry Christmas..

That's why he was so pissed, and the Priest, a very liberal one, didn't tell me what denomination, but I didn't care. We just shared a good talk and a cup of coffee and some philosophical discussion on HOW these holy days will have to change, and chuckled over Madison Ave efforts to bring the evergreen into Jewish Homes. Granted, it is a nice celebration of life in the middle of winter, but Hanukah is all but a celebration of life and more a celebration of freedom and miracles...

Hey, except for the Jewish High Holidays... every other Jewish celebration is either agricultural or about freedom, who knew?

[CTyankee]

13. My RW coworker responded to my "Happy Holidays" with "Merry Christmas."

I regret that I didn't gently remind her that I am unchurched and unbaptized, even tho I am nominally a WASP. But I do celebrate both Xmas and Hanukkah as my grandkids do both (my dtr cannot give up her Xmas tree that we always had, kinda reflexively in those days). So "Happy Holidays" is the more correct greeting for me, certainly not "Merry Christmas."

[aquart]

2. Eh. They're both solstice light festivals.

Just that their dates were reassigned to make them look like something different.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. No, Hanukah goes back to the fifth century BCE

and they involve a fight with Greek Troops. Judeah was a province of the Greeks and actually obtained its independence shortly thereafter with the help of a new rising star in the Med, ROME.

The miracle of lights has to do with holy oils lasting until new oil was produced.

And the revolt of Hanukah happened... unlike Exodus....

Funny Exodus is part of the Canon, and Hanukah is not... even though the Book of Maccabees should be in there, at least in my opinion

That is why whenever I have people telling me, but what about the Hanukah Bush, granted the parrots would love it, never get them out of there... is all but part of the tradition.

Now the fiction over the centuries has taken on forms from surrounding cultures, but that is another story

[whoneedstickets]

5. It seems to be an enduring feature of 'modern' religions...

..to try as hard as possible to deny their veiled attempt to overlay obvious pagan-seasonal holiday rituals with their own religions' celebrations.

I mean sure the revolt occurred, but why celebrate it over any other of the historical military events over 5 millennium of Jewish history? Answer: Well we needed something to displace the popular attention that might be devoted to a winter solstice event---but hey lets keep the lights theme cause that's cool...

When was Jesus born? Answer: Who knows? But since he is called the light of the world...(apply similar logic here)

Oh an while we're at it what about the spring fertility festival? Those autumn harvest rituals? Midsummer festival? Where organized religion has left an opening secular nationalism has stepped in.

I'm giving some serious thought to throwing out the artificial holidays and getting back in touch with my pagan roots.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. You can do that but Hanukah in its current form

including the lighting of lights, goes back to Judah Macabeeh, the leader of the revolt and the fifth century BCE

Why is it celebrated? For the same reason as Purim, a celebration of Freedom, and Purim is the only one that follows Pagan patterns.. or for that matter Passover, another celebration of freedom and perseverance.

That said, Hanukah is a VERY MINOR holiday in the Jewish Calendar, and the two major ones, ok three if I count Passover, (Exodus and all tha that happy) which we now know didn't happen, are all but fun. Ok Passover is fun... but take my word for it, the New Year and the Day of the Atonement are all but fun... and they do not involve displacing any other holiday

Now Succoth, that is a festival to celebrate the harvest, close in meaning, but not quite, to thanksgiving.

If anything Jewish Holidays, with the exception of the Day of Independence and the Day of Remembrance, go as far back as the Pagan rites of the Mediterranean, as well as the Druids... yes to the mists of history and at least the 10th century BCE in some major cases.

[jkshaw]

6. Thanks Nadin,

A lovely story for keeping.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. You welcome, I just highly dislike this time of the year due to the war on christmas freaks

and Madison avenue

[monmouth]

9. Let us not forget the damned fruit cake either..An abomination..Happy

Holidays and Merry Whatever to all!

[Ilsa]

10. Send me your fruitcake! I love the stuff! nt

[radfringe]

11. thank you

I've been pretty bummed out this season... money is tight, and I'm not able to do much gift giving or donations as I use to...

As far as gifts go - spent less than $100 on my partner and family. With donations, small check to SPCA, and I cleaned out some winter clothes and dropped them at a homeless shelter.

Your story gave my heart a little lift. thanks for sharing!

[Ilsa]

12. Fabulous! Absolutely Fabulous!

Yes, the "War on Christmas" freaks are a bunch of belligerant creeps. They have to be fighting about something, all the time, or they are miserable.

[Lerkfish]

14. reminds me (for some reason) of a story I heard long ago.

where a young man visiting his girlfriend's family for a holiday dinner. At one point, the young man starts eating peas with his butter knife, apparently something he always did. Suddenly, he stopped when he noticed everyone else had stopped at the table and was looking at him. then he noticed they were all eating their peas with a spoon. His face turned crimson, but before anyone could say anything, the father calmly sets down his spoon and picks up his butter knife and starts eating his peas like the young man.

The moral of the story was that manners were intended to put people at ease, not to make them uncomfortable.

In the same way, religion, at its best, is supposed to bring together people of diverse origins and opinions. all too often it used to accomplish the opposite: to separate out and exile those who are different.

[Greyhound]

15. To you as well, thanks. n/t

:kick: & R

[azmouse]

16. The most common greeting I hear this time of year is

"Have you finished your shopping yet?"

Yep... I'm not making that up. I love to explain to people that there is way more to the season than shopping, which BTW I do none of. I don't give gifts and I don't get gifts, and I have an absolutely wonderful time. Way better than those that have to spend weeks in the mall shopping for those 'perfect gifts' that no one likes and everyone exchanges the next day anyway.


Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Hanukah!

[JNelson6563]

17. Very nice.

As always, I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for being a bright (enlightened even!) spot on DU. :toast:

Julie

[LeftishBrit]

18. Great post Nadin!

And LOL at Azmouse's 'greeting' - I realize I've heard "And are you *ready* for Christmas?" about as often as I'm heard any conventional greeting!

Merry Christmas/ Happy Hannukah/ Season's Greetings to all!

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Thank you all and merry whatever

don't forget Festivus was yesterday too

[ColbertWatcher]

20. Thank you for your post, Happy Winter to everyone! n/t