I for one thought it was interesting to see where all the traditions come from. Isnt that was makes it so neat, there is a little bit from all over the world in it.
For me and my family we believe in God and that Jesus is the reason for the season. I don't hold it against anyone who does not have that reason in mind while having festivities or even those who don't. But I do make sure my kids have discussions with me about Why we are celibrating and Why we have certain traditions. Some traditions are just a part of our family and have no real spiritual background but are important to us regardless.
I like that my children can see other people's ideas on religion and I encourage them to explore and eventually I want them to form their own opinions.
As for others.... I hope people would just respect eachother. Not all of us need the same view point.
X2. As long as celebrating Christmas makes somebody happy, who cares what their reasons are and why the celebrate it the way they do. We all do things our own way- that is what makes it interesting. Over the years I have stole quite a few nice family traditions from friends and incorporated them into my celebration.
From your examples I see heathen only as a slur to people who equate being from a different religiion or not believing in God as equating to being evil and/or devoid of morality. The stigma is in interpretation not meaning of the word.
Quote:
A lot of people make fun of BYCer's on other forums, though common on this forum the majority of chicken breeders as a whole think it is funny and rediculous to spend thousands of dollars fixing a coop up for 4 chickens, putting diapers on them, breeding birds that should be culled, etc.
I've been guilty a few times of making fun of some things I've seen on BYC, I'll admit. Now I could careless as I've aged some, I raise my birds the way I raise them for reasons I have. I believe what I believe for reasons known to me. You are welcome to do as you wish
.
God bless,
Daniel.
Haha, the heathen comment is a word that can get tossed around amongst Christians as a joke. I've heard it a few times, and have used it some. But I never use it in a serious manner, and would not call a unbeliever/non-Christian (typically) a heathen due to it in general being seen as a insulting word. For that reason, I don't use it because it can be taken in a insulting way by others.
On topic of the thread though, I am someone who knew the history typically of Christmas and that it wasn't specifically the birth of Christ. I am pretty much for keeping Christ in Christmas, as it is Christmas. If you're another religion then you're welcome to call the season by what you wish, be it Hannukkah or whatever. I personally see Christmas, as that is what it is called.