Are Public Holidays Becoming Extinct..

PhunkYMunkY · Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 7:52 pm Post subject:

Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Hallo'ween... All widely celebrated holidays (minus Thanksgiving Razz

) ...All have thier origional beliefs stretching waaaay back before any of us remember, obviously. Does this mean we should also not know the joy our forefathers knew (my four fathers are experiencing joy in the room next door. Playing Twister on the bed.

I hear them sweating on each other :huh: ) on these occasions?! I do believe we should not.

Ok I'm writing this as I go so bear with me.. (This is all how I see/experience it anyway, add your own on please:P )

--Christmas-
Origin- Exchange of gifts. Large meal. Family gathering. Church.
Current- Same. Except no Family gathering and no church (me). also Decorations.

--Thanksgiving-
I'm Briton so I have no clue. Add your own here.

--Easter-
Origin- Hide decorated eggs for kids to seek out and rejoice and be happy at the Christs coming down off the cross etc etc..
Current- Choc eggs. Used to go to church(me).

--Hallo'ween-
Origin- Kids dress as ghouls to scare bad spirits out of the town as it was known to be the night of which the link between living and dead was weakest?
Current- Same.. Kids runnin' around gettin sweets (candy) off strangers dressed up etc.

Ok.. I don't see that MUCH change. But alot of these involve getting together with family.. And holy s**t. I just realised this thread is a complete crock of s**t. I have no family (other than my father's wife's welsh side <_< ) No grandparents. Some f**king stupid uncle and aunties. Only cool aunties/uncles/nephews/neices are in Holland and can't speak English... Oh fruckro..

Ok let's see if I can salvage this..
What do YOU make of all these public holidays. How do you celebrate them? Do you have lovely family meals where everyone cooks and stays over and has a jolly good laugh or do you prefer to eat cold turkey sandwiches in your room christmas night watching The Simpson's Christmas specials? It's all very different for everyone I'd like to see how y'all FACers cope/do/experience them.

My mum never let me trick or treat.. the bitch.. she said it was a form of begging. So I snook out one tiem and egged a bunch of kids. It was awesome anyway on with the thread... GO GO GO...

VR_Jay · Very Oldbie Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 2725

[quote]my four fathers are experiencing joy in the room next door. Playing Twister on the bed. I hear them sweating on each other [/quote]

For the love of god, i pray that was a joke.
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PhunkYMunkY · Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:11 pm Post subject:

It sounds like fisting a jar of mayonnaise. :huh:

Fayore · Moderator Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 6195

... o_o;

Well, we all needed to know that, I'm sure.

For holidays, my family use them as an excuse to get together and make a lot of noise until 5 in the morning.

I usually just stay with the computer most of the time (I'm not big on the whole "family-bonding" concept). ._.

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Beatlechick90 · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 5:59 am Post subject:

[quote]--Christmas-
Origin- Exchange of gifts. Large meal. Family gathering. Church.
Current- Same. Except no Family gathering and no church (me). also Decorations.[/quote]

That's exactly what my Christmas is like! We still celebrate it that way with my humongus family. it's like we live in the 50s or something.
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Lexar · Forum Stalker Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 1129

that's not the origin of christmas. The origin of christmas (and easter) is a christian celebration day. It goes way back into medieval europe or maybe the centuries right after the fall of the western roman empire. These days were significant christian events because they are the birth and resurrection of the christ, so you can bet early christian celebrated it, but it was probably mostly a church ritual. Giving presents on christmas is closely related to saint nicolas, who is a 4th century holy man, who is pretty much the figure santa claus is based on. His celebration day is december 6th, and for the longest time, that was the present giving day, but for some reason, this was moved to christmas in many countries. Sinterklaas (saint nicolas' celebration day) is still celebrated in holland and belgium on the eve before the 6th, on 5 december, where we give presents. This has been going on for a very long time, (several hundreds of years I believe)

Halloween isn't as wide spread as you might think btw, I'm actually surprised it's celebrated in england, as it is definatly not an important day in france, or holland, and as far as I know the rest of the world.

The whole family meeting thing is not a part of the actual celebration day, but a result of it. You don't celebrate it because you're all together, but you're all together because you celebrate it. Small difference, but worth pointing out. There is no tradition that says you have to come together in the origin of any celebration day.

The peace on earth thing we see at christmas is actually the thing that goes back furthest, as the bible says christ died for our sins. The origin of celebrating christmas is wanting peace on earth. The tree, presents, eating etc, is something we kinda made up along the way, as it were.

PhunkYMunkY · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 3:42 pm Post subject:

Well paint me a lovely shade of Informed.
Like I said it was from my point of view and as Mandark quite rightfully said I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the Forum Razz

I really don't know much about.. anything. But yeah thanks for taking the time out to write that, LxR, very informative and also answers a few questions I had in my mind ^_^ ty

fallenangel · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 3:57 pm Post subject:

I say we celebrate Halloween/Samhain in the traditional way. Let's all dress up, dance around a bonfire, and sacrifice critters. Away, spirits, away! *dance*

Yeah. Almost all holidays have traditions that were picked up along the way. Trick or treating and what not.

Since I don't live in a religious house, we basically just celebrate Christian holidays 'cause they're there. Ya know, Christmas as an excuse for presents, Easter as an excuse for candy, Halloween as an excuse to drink and dress like a zombie while doing slightly tipsy karaoke, you get the idea. The way holidays should be. Doesn't need a reason, just the event itself.

Speaking of which, Christmas break starts [b]now[/b] (for me). Cool

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Jailcrow_of_Mandos · Still very bored Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 313

Actually, Halloween is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the world like France (No, I haven't been there, but I know many who have and various other reliable sources like my French teacher.) Halloween is becoming less popualr in America :/ I hardly had anyone at my door this year. So sad.

I don't selebrate St. Nick's Day, but we celebrate it in german class, and I used to get advent calendars every year since a lot of my family comes from that area. As for the origins, though, both Christmas and Easter were pagan holidays, actually. The Christians eventually made holidays on the same day to sort of take them over. I remember Easter was for fertility- hence the bunnies and eggs, don't remember what Christmas was.

On St. Nick, though- I thought it was really interesting how he went from an Archbishop to a jolly fat guy. Has a lot to do with the Protestant reformation and this Harper's Weekly cartoonist in America back in the late 1800s. Anyways, yeah they've come a long way from what they were, but it's all because of marketing, I think. Pretty much since I'm broke I don't celebrate much of anything that involves giving and I haven't been to church in a few years.

I do love Thanksgiving, though (for those who don't know, we eat a lot of food since that is the time Native Americans gave the pilgrims food to survive the winter) I don't have to give anything, and I eat lots of dark turkey meat with brown gravey Razz

No one likes it, so it's the only time I get it =(

By the way, fallen- I've heard this, and I wanted to verify-- is Samhain pronounced sa-wane?

fallenangel · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:32 pm Post subject:

[quote]By the way, fallen- I've heard this, and I wanted to verify-- is Samhain pronounced sa-wane? [/quote]

Depends on who you ask. It's most commonly pronounced "sow-in", "sow-hen", or "sah-wen" depending on how you talk. But I've heard it other ways, too.

Will posted an interesting explanation of Thanksgiving awhile ago. Cool

Christians/Catholics took over Samhain and made it Halloween, too. Rolling eyes

See why I don't like holidays for their intended purpose? Just enjoying the activities is so much better. Or maybe it's just because my favorite holiday is a raped and bastardized version of what it originally was, and I don't think dancing around a bonfire in a mask and sacrificing the neighborhood kitties would be appreciated. Uneasy

Although it would be much fun.

Awful fond of Christmas, too (for the break and presents), but it doesn't involve dressing as a zombie and much partying. So Halloween wins, even if it doesn't include presents.
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Jailcrow_of_Mandos · Still very bored Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 313

Aww- great except for the kitties part =( Make it my mom's stupid rat terrier, and I'll agree with anything Wink

Thanks for the pronunciation thing, I'd been wondering about it, as for th ethanksgiving bit, yeah- I always think I've read everythign, btu I have the tendency to zone out and then post randomness.

But seriously- does anyone know what the original Christmas holiday was??? I learned the easter one form his awesomeness Eddie Izzard, but I forgot the other one... :huh:

fallenangel · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 7:13 pm Post subject:

We should have a holiday honoring Eddie Izzard. Very Happy

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Keyido · Very bored Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 134

The Christmas Holiday origaned from Christans. It wa used to celebrate the birth of Christ from the virgin Mary in a stable in Bethehem during the census of Ceser.

I think it started in Europe. Christmas was used to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Hey you wouldn't believe all the stuff in Christmas that's got everything to due with Christ's birth.

The candy cane- made be a candymaker as a way to explain Christ.
The tree- given to somebody in Europe. Aslo symbolizes the everlasting Christ and the three points of the tree represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
The presents- symbolic of the gifts the three Maji (wise men) took to Jesus.
Uh I can't think of anything else.

But what really pisses me off is the fact people what to take religion out of the holidays. There wouldn't be holidays without religion! Surprised

Beatlechick90 · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:09 pm Post subject:

Sorry, fallen, but it annoys me when people celebrate holidays they have no religious connections to. My atheist friend and her family all celebrate Christmas and it's not a good idea, I think. Christmas is becoming way to commercialized and mateialistic. In the words of Hobbes:

"Ah, Christmas- the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. And what better way to celebrated than with a month of frenzied consumerism."
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Keyido · Very bored Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 134

Commercialized. I'd beter shut my mouth but,
CHRISTMAS is about God, not Santa Claus and that other S**T[i]!![/i] :ph34r:

fallenangel · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 5:50 pm Post subject:

Meh, it's nothin' to me. An excuse to buy presents for people you care about. And it's fun. 99.999% of people who "celebrate" Halloween use it as a giant costume party. They're not celebrating the harvest or driving away evil spirits. Same goes for most holidays.

Being as I despise organized religion, I wouldn't celebrate the "birth of christ" or any other holiday even if I did live in a religious home. I'd celebrate other holidays just because they exist, but most of them are boring. At least Christmas has a bunch of funky stuff to go with it. A tree, presents, candy canes, lights, all that good stuff. Plus a jolly fat man, and everyone loves jolly fat men.

disclaimer: No offense intended, celebrate whatever you want, but no one's taking Christmas away from me. Rolling eyes

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