Mark's 'atheists'

Ol' Sara has enjoyed Mark's thoughtful posts and rigorous defense of conservative notions and am happy to just sit back & listen & learn. But, his gift giving restrictions on atheists during X-mas struck a chord.

Sara's sense is that the "hollyday" (vs. Holy Day) BELONGS to the atheists. The biblical scriptural evidence (beyond the scope of this blog) is that Christ was born in the fall. The annual celebration is not once mentioned in the Gospels, some (John) of which were written 60-years after Christ was crucified. Paul mentions keeping various Holy Days but nowhere is the Bible is the term "Christmas" found.

For more on the ties to the pagan traditions: "In the beginning, Christians were opposed to Christmas. Some of the earliest controversy erupted over whether Jesus' birthday should be celebrated at all.

"As early as A.D. 245, the Church father Origen was proclaiming it heathenish to celebrate Christ's birthday as if He were merely a temporal ruler when His spiritual nature should be the main concern. This view was echoed throughout the centuries, but found strong, widespread advocacy only with the rise of Protestantism. To these serious-minded, sober clerics, the celebration of Christmas flew in the face of all they believed. Drunken revelry on Christmas! The day was not even known to be Christ's birthday. It was merely an excuse to continue the customs of pagan Saturnalia" (Del Re, p. 20).

The Encyclopaedia Britannica adds: "The [church] Fathers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Epiphanius, contended that Christmas was a copy of a pagan celebration" (15th edition, Macropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 499, "Christianity").

The decision to celebrate Christ's birth on December 25 was far from universally accepted. "Christians of Armenia and Syria accused the Christians of Rome of sun worship for celebrating Christmas on December 25 ... Pope Leo the Great in the fifth century tried to remove certain practices at Christmas which he considered in no way different from sun worship" (Robert Myers, Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays, 1972, p. 310)."

Is Sara the old "grinch who stole..."? Certainly hope not. Simply felt an obligation to attempt to present an intellectual background to one of man's long held traditions. Cheers to all.