Comments on Blag Hag: The History of Christmas: The Case of the Missing ...

http://www.thepurposeofchristmas.net - I like this...

2009-12-18T15:42:49.186-08:00

http://www.thepurposeofchristmas.net - I like this one too.

Jer - it's not necessarily the "War on Ch...

2009-12-15T12:06:41.133-08:00

Jer - it's not necessarily the "War on Christmas" complaints that bother me, it is the "Jesus is the reason for the season" shit. Come on, Jake, tell me you haven't heard about "the TRUE meaning of Christmas" blather, referring, of course, to "Jesus's Birthday." As long as the arrogant clueless keep shoving the "true meaning of christmas" as Jesus down our throats, you are going to continue to hear the pagan stories.

Jake - If certain evangelicals would shut up abou...

2009-12-15T09:00:52.351-08:00

Jake -

If certain evangelicals would shut up about their "War on Christmas" nonsense, most of the atheists would stop trying to correct their misapprehension that Christmas is some kind of Christian-exclusive holiday instead of a collection of traditions stolen from pagans to make the forced conversions of northern Europeans a little more palatable. Or instead of a minor holiday that was turned into a major secular celebration in the US by certain giant east-coast department stores at the turn of the 19th century who were trying to find a way to improve their bottom lines during a typically lackluster winter shopping season.

I doubt you'll see any atheists shut up about this until Christians can get their act together and tell their big-mouthed cheerleaders for agitating against non-Christians during the Christmas season to shut up. Seriously - most atheists wouldn't bother with these reminders every year if we weren't getting our heads bit off by overly insecure devout check-out clerks at Target when we smile and wish them a heartfelt "Happy Holidays" wishes. And THEY wouldn't be so Grod-damn insecure about it if freaking Bill O'Reilly and the other slack-jawed loudmouths would direct their attention elsewhere.

Seriously - I love Christmas. I love everything ABOUT Christmas. I even love the "Secret Origin of Jesus" aspects of Christmas, which make for a rollicking good origin myth[*]. The only things that I don't like about Christmas are all of the self-righteous Christians who seem bound and determined to try to make sure that I'm miserable at Christmas. I wish they'd be Raptured or something so I could enjoy my holiday season a bit more.

[*] All of it but that whole "Herod puts all the babies under age two to the sword to fulfill prophecy" bit, where I think Matthew was trying to hard. He really needed an editor to point out just how improbable this would be to carry out, as well as how big of a chump it makes God the Father look if he can't even stop one stupid Jewish king from slaughtering hundreds of babies. For some reason this seems worse to me than having an entire planet explode so that the savior could be rocketed to earth and gain powers under our yellow sun, or that the savior's parents needed to be gunned down in cold blood to give him the need to save mankind from itself. They all work as origins, but still - hundreds of dead babies just seems to be in bad taste, you know? Especially at Christmas.

I'm reminded of HP Lovecraft's heart-warmi...

2009-12-15T07:19:25.573-08:00

I'm reminded of HP Lovecraft's heart-warming Christmas poem:

Yule Horror

There is snow on the ground,
And the valleys are cold,
And a midnight profound
Blackly squats o'er the wold;
But a light on the hilltops half-seen hints of feastings un- hallowed and old.

There is death in the clouds,
There is fear in the night,
For the dead in their shrouds
Hail the sin's turning flight.
And chant wild in the woods as they dance round a Yule- altar fungous and white.

To no gale of Earth's kind
Sways the forest of oak,
Where the sick boughs entwined
By mad mistletoes choke,
For these pow'rs are the pow'rs of the dark, from the graves of the lost Druid-folk.

I really don't understand atheist's obsess...

2009-12-15T04:29:39.100-08:00

I really don't understand atheist's obsession of "enlightening" us about the true roots of Christmas every single holiday season. I have probably seen 30 different versions of the story from various atheists this season alone. You can rest assured that we have all pretty much heard it by now.

It's pretty much exactly right.

2009-12-14T21:15:22.846-08:00

It's pretty much exactly right.

My only complaint is the lack of sources for any o...

2009-12-14T21:01:16.575-08:00

My only complaint is the lack of sources for any of her claims.

About time I had something to blog about today. Th...

2009-12-14T19:31:35.730-08:00

About time I had something to blog about today. Thanks! (Heehee) That really is a pretty smashing post. Definitely worth spreading around, especially in the faces of all those “Christmas is Christian!” twits. They bug me.