|
sipsake,
i see what you are saying (and perhaps what cnor is saying), but the fundamental difference is that we don't name Christmas as a solstice celebration or Saturnalia. We can say that the intent of "Holiday Generica" (for sake of argument) is a time of loving widgets, but we can't say that of Christmas. It already has its own purpose. Lets not confuse the ritual from the intent. If there were no Christmas trees, or gift giving, or mistletoe... it would still be Christmas. An African bushman who wants to use Dec 25 to celebrate Christ's birth w/out our trappings is doing so just as sincerely. This just gets back to how the baggage of Christmas distracts and distorts its true meaning.
__________________
If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
|