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The history of our modern day christmas celebrations. essay
Theories of secularization
Impact of cultural festivals of Christian
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“Seculareligious” Holidays: How Unbelievers Approach Holy Days
Alain de Botton, in his TED talk “Atheism 2.0”, identified various attributes from religions that he thinks atheism, the non-religious community, would do well to emulate. Of these attributes, one that stood out was how all religions, almost as a universal rule, each have a calendar by which believers adhere to. These calendars typically mark days, or even weeks, that carry some importance and meaning to followers of a given religion, and serves as a reminder for the values of which these religions stand for. For instance, the Christian calendar has a season of Lent, whereby Christians all over the world choose to give up worldly comforts and fast for a period a little longer than a month, as a time for self-reflection and penance to prepare for Easter. Members of these religions all across the world would be able to stay synchronized regardless of any geographical limitations using a unified calendar. According to Botton, having a calendar that is observed by all followers of the religion enables the religion to be “multinational, branded, and possessing an identity so they don't get lost” (de Botton). Therefore, it is unsurprising how the secular world have adapted various religious holidays and integrated it into their own culture.
Of all religious holidays that have been adopted by secularists, one of the most popular would be Christmas, originally meant to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. With the exact date of Jesus' birth unknown during ancient times, Christmas was initially assigned to January 6th, but was changed to December 25th under the influence of the winter solstice (Nothaft 903). Peculiarly however, is the universal celebration of Christmas al...
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...erial online]. October 2012; 39(3): 530-544. Accessed 20 April 2014.
Martin A. Don’t Eat in The Living Room. New Statesman [serial online]. December 13, 2004;133(4718/4719):52-53. Accessed 22 April 2014.
Moellinger T. Santa or The Grinch: Paradoxes Presented by the Use of Today’s Popular Media. Human Studies [serial online]. June 2010;33(2/3):205-220. Accessed April 21, 2014.
New International Version. [Colorado Springs]: Biblica, 2011. BibleGateway.com. Web. 3 Mar 2011. Accessed 22 April 2014.
Nothaft, C. The Origins of the Christmas Date: Some Recent Trends in Historical Research. Church History [serial online]. December 2012; 81(4):903. Accessed April 20, 2014.
Smith, J. Becoming an Atheist in America: Constructing Identity and Meaning from the Rejection of Theism. Sociology of Religion [serial online]. Summer 2011; 72(2):215-237. Accessed April 20, 2014.
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
The image enforces the meaning of Christmas being lost, and that the people need to be aware of this now sacrilegious, laic time. The source displays the change from sacred Australia, which was a time of religion, to a more secular period. The source presents the contemporary cultural values of Australians today, often disassociating themselves from holy, divine objects, places or people. Losing their sacred connectedness to God or their purpose with religion. Taking Christ out of the equation presents how Jesus has been neglected by those supposed Christians of the modern day, who have forgotten the sole meaning of Christmas and their religion. This image imposes a reinforced message through an image presenting secularism of contemporary Australian Christmas with the words “missing”, and “what Jesus has become”. The view of Source 3 displays that anything of great importance in the religious sense, including Jesus, in temporal culture which exists in Australia is lost.
They followed this sign to Bethlehem, where they arrived to honor Christ's birth. In fact, the "12 Days of Christmas," which is so often believed to end on December 25, actually begins on the 25th and runs through January 6, culminating with the Feast of Epiphany.Three Kings Day, or Epiphany, is one of the most important holidays on the Puerto Rican calendar. Traditionally, the island, and most of the Latin world, marked the eve of January 6 as the day to exchange presents rather than December 25. Kids would also gather grass, hay or straw in shoe-boxes for the Magi's horses or camels -- a charming alternative to cookies and milk for Santa.The Kings, or Wise Men, certainly present a more spiritual and faithful representation of the birth of Christ than a once-obscure saint who came to be known as Santa Claus and who was squeezed into his signature red suit by the Coca-Cola
Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.. Web. 3 Dec 2013.”
On the 12th and final day of Christmas (January 6), processions honoring the three Wise Men weave around Florence. In the fading light, flames dance over figurines in the streets of northeast Italy, symbolizing the turn of a new leaf. For some, children especially, Epiphany is a source of joy, candy, and incentive to behave. For other older children and adults, it’s more complex holiday.
Another important record was that the first official mention of December 25 as a holiday honoring Jesus’ birthday appears in an early Roman calendar in 336 A.D. In support to this information from another source, while there is one record of Christmas being celebrated in Antioch (Turkey) on December 25 in the middle of the second century, there is no record of its being observed on that date in Rome until the year 336 AD. In 350 AD, Pope Julius I declared December 25 the official date and in 529 AD Emperor Justinian declared Christmas a civic
Armstrong, Karen. “Fundamentalism is Here to Stay.” The Short Prose Reader. 13 ed. Eds: Muller, Gilbert H. & Wiener, Harvey S. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2013. 389-9.Print.
Religions influences on consumer’s behavioral spending habits have drastically changed throughout the past centuries. Christian’s rituals of holidays such as Christmas were once only demonstrated by worshipping God and attending Church Masses and services in early years. Their behavioral habits can be understood by their spiritual philosophy of the spirit, God. Hegal, a philosopher, argued that “spirit” represented the essence of freedom, distinguishable from the individual “self.” (Lindridge 2005). This belief prompted people to focus more intently on their religion then on the actual idea of buying gifts for the holidays. Christianity worship particularly was a time that was meant to set a time away from the markets or business’ and a time for one’s soul to repent. Often time services would be held for worship, not only Sundays and holidays, but as well two to three other days during the working week. This custom lasted for many years among the religious groups while the markets struggled to stay productive.
The God Debate lecture by Terry Eagleton, a Catholic of Irish descent, at the University of Edinburgh discusses how the modern world contributes to atheism and challenge faith. The modern world promotes atheism and a faith crisis. Johnson argues that the scientific, political and intellectual features of the modern culture provoke changes in one’s mind and soul. Modernity may influence one’s beliefs.
Christmas was not a holiday until the 4th century. Prior to its establishment as a religious holiday by Christians, people around the world celebrated light and birth during the darkest days of winter. The Romans celebrated the winter solstice (shortest day and longest night of a year) which took place in late December. After the birth of Jesus, the Church adopted a new holiday to celebrate the day of His birth.
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.
Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1995. Print. (BS195 .C66 1995)
Jesus and Santa Claus consciously and subconsciously play an enormous role in society. They are seen nearly everywhere, in movies, on billboards, and in ads nearly all year round at any given time. But where did they all come from, and why do they continue to have such a massive impact on people worldwide.
This paper has attempted to explore how religious traditions honor that which is sacred in the world. Scholars generally agree that true understanding can take place by asking three questions of each religion; what a religion says, what a religion does, and how a religion organizes. This paper also covered how critical issues hinder society and religion from seeing each other on the same level of understanding. Sacredness has no direct explanation; it cannot be limited to just one religion or tradition, but must expand to all religions and that which any person deems to be respected and revered.
Christmas is the most popular holiday in all of the land. Mostly everyone loves Christmas. There are three categories of Christmas people. Number one; the haters. They despise Christmas and think it is the devil and nothing good comes from lying to children and giving gifts for absolutely no reason at all. Number two; the average person. The ones who just buy the gifts, wear the holiday sweaters, and go to the annual Christmas gathering at Grandma’s where gifts and laughs are exchanged. Number three; the die hard Santa’s of the group. The few mothers or fathers who decorate the day after Halloween to get into the Christmas spirit. The tree is up on November first and the Christmas lights are hung all year round. They make sure to go black friday shopping to get everyone a gift, even cousin Nicholas, who is three times removed. Christmas is