Saturday, December 03, 2005

Greta's views on Christmas

Hooah Wife blogged This Jews Views on Christmas

  • DON'T assume everyone in the world celebrates Christmas
    I have never assumed that. If I was in Israel, I would expect the primary emphasis would be on Jewish holidays, and I would be grateful for the ability to have any ceremony in Bethlehem on December 25. And if I was in Saudia Arabia, I would expect that the main holiday celebrated would be at the start and end of Ramadan. But this is the United States, where 80 percent of the people claim to be Christian, and here I expect to be able to celebrate Christmas
  • I did not grow up with a Christmas tree in my house, Santa coming down the chimney or presents on Christmas morning and I am normal (well you be the judge)
  • Hanukkah is NOT the Jews equivalent to Christmas
    As I understand it is a minor Jewish Holiday celebrating the the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days, and holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Purim, and Pesach (Passover) are much more important; Hanukkah just happens to come around the same time as Christmas. This year it is December 25 - January 1 (or is it Dec 26-Jan 2)
  • Having married a goy (gentile) I now decorate my house with a tree and lights for him - I would not take that away from him
    God Bless You
  • Just because I have a tree doesn't mean I accept Jesus as the savior - nope - still a Jew-one God - yada yada yada
    Christians just have one God as well, but this may not be the proper place for a discussion of the Trinity
  • I am NOT afraid of Christmas parties at school or holiday Christmas musicals that my kids participate in - but that is going back to number 1 - don't assume
    I would not fear a celebration of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Purim, or Pesach (Passover) either.
  • If you want to have a Christmas party at school or call it a "holiday party or end of semester party" I don't give a rats ass. School is for learning, socializing, being aware of other cultures
    I agree completely. That is why I would not object to a celebration and/or lesson on the true meaning of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Purim, and Pesach, or an explanation of what the festival of lights (Hanukkah) is all about or the Secret of the Driedel. Learning about another faith does not mean you are being pressured to join that faith. But I would like to see Christian children allowed to know that the reason they get off from school on December 25 is because it is Christmas, not the "Winter Holiday" and that they should be permitted to have religious songs along with the secular songs about Santa and his reindeer (as the Supreme Court has ruled)
    and people outside your own little family and if you choose to make religion a part of a "government school" and think that it is OK and written in the Constitution
    It is. The first amendment reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;....
    then I don't really feel bad when the ACLU comes breathing down your back
  • Marketing the holiday - dumbass stores going PC is just plain stupid. It is the equivalent of shooting yourself in the ass. For crying out loud, Christmas sales can make you or break you, don't worry about being PC and wishing me a Happy Hanukkah.
    I do wish you, and every other Jew I know a very Happy Hanukkah.
  • Merry Christmas is a holiday greeting to me - it does not and should not offend me. If it does, then I need to re-examine my own values.
  • If I boiled your blood in any way - GOOD (evil laugh inserted here)!
  • FESTIVUS FOR THE RESTOFUS!

1 comment:

Don Singleton said...

Greta responded on her blog Don - I am afraid that the open sharing and recognizing of different faiths in a "public/government" school is easier said than done. If you want religion in your child's school, they should be sent to a religious school. My opinion, that is all, freedom is what our Country is all about.

My response was If a person sends their child to a religious school they will just learn about their religion

But in a public school children should know a little bit about each faith, because the more one knows about the faith and culture of people they meet, the more they will be able to relate to them, and deal with them in peace.

What I would like to see a child in a public (what you call government) school is exposure to the beliefs of others in their community. I would like for a little Christian child to know why his Jewish friend has a nine candlestick menorah in house, and why it has nine candles and not seven, as in some menorahs, and why he plays with a driedel during Hannukah, and I would like a little Jewish child to know why his Christian friend has a Nativity scene in his house. I dont want to try to convert either child, I just want him to know a little bit about the faith of his friends, and why they are different from what he is taught at Church/Synagogue

If there are Muslims in their class, then tell the entire class about the Five Pillars of Islam. But also tell them about the Ten Commandments, which both the Jewish and Christian children know about.