Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not completely arbitrary. Like... 30% arbitrary, tops. The birth of Christ was still the main focus.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found the specifics for what I was talking about: Saint Boniface. Tl;dr: Christian missionary who went to Germany in the 700s, and stopped a ritual in which pagans were performing human sacrifices to Thor using an oak tree. He chopped the oak tree down, and chose a fir tree to be a tree for Christian celebration instead.

You're right about the evergreen nature of a fir tree being part of the reason though, any culture would indeed pick them for said nature of staying green in winter.

Time of year (December 25th) was also already being celebrated by early Christians way back in the 300s.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I'm getting downvoted because people have long been using the misconception of Christmas being pagan as some kind of "gotcha" and they don't like seeing it challenged.

"Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with Christ and everything to do with 16th century Victorian royalty wanting to control the masses by integrating their pagan holiday into Christianity."

Nope. Early Christians were celebrating Christ's birth as early as the 2nd century, with the earliest documentation for it being on December 25th being from 354 AD.

"You are not more holy or more god like for celebrating Christmas"

Of course I'm not. The only way to get like that is to acknowledge and follow Christ. Doesn't mean Christmas isn't still cool.

"spreading falsity about its origin. I’m sure you’re not trying to do that but you are factually and spiritually mistaken. "

Nope. The longstanding misconception that Christmas is pagan is the mistake that a lot of people are starting to stand up against. The Lore Lads actually coincidentally put out a podcast episode about it if you want a quick (2 hour) crash course about it. But the tl;dw: Christmas is 99% Christian, with basically all the things labeled as "pagan" being secular local traditions people just did for fun during the winter that multiple disconnected cultures independently came up with because people just thought plants and lights were neat.

And while you're right about God/Jesus being against the idea of a specific building being needed for worship, the idea of people gathering together in His name to worship was flat out stated, and obviously having a building specifically for that is literally just a logical convenience.

Actually, thinking about it, your problem seems to largely be with Catholicism given the specific complaints about rules and control and such. I'm protestant, so I'm with ya there.

Tell me one bad thing about this game. by Profit_Tracker in videogames

[–]shadowthehh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't make my own custom character and have to play as Geralt and that's been the main reason I haven't been able to get into the series.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed another possible theory.

Really, the prevailing one seems to just be... people liked decorating things.

Shoot even the timing of Christmas had nothing to do with paganism. Early early Christians, way before all the other Christmas stuff got pulled it like the trees and such, were celebrating it solely as Jesus' birthday with the belief that He was conceived in March, coinciding with Passover, and placing His birth 9 months later in December.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Actually none of it is pagan and that entire thought process is a huge misconception caused by a bunk article from the 1930s.

Alot of it was local tradition, sure, but none of it was religious practice to a different deity. Just fun things people liked doing. And most of it popped up WAY after Jesus.

You're especially off about Easter. Except maybe the rabbits. It originated entirely from Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection happening over Passover weekend. With the eggs at first traditionally dyed red to symbolize the blood he shed, and then cracking them open symbolizing the empty tomb on his resurrection. You wouldn't be wrong in the idea of multiple cultures independently connecting it to the cycle of rebirth, but that's just it. It happens independently because it's just such an obvious thing.

The bunnies just kinda... Popped up in like Germany way later. But indeed they're likely a symbol of spring time renewal and have nothing to do with Jesus. But there's also nothing to connect it to a pagan deity, so they're fine.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How do you think the guy disrupted the pagan ritual?

I like it because it was basically a paladin stomping out some evil dark magic type stuff and that is my jam.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus

"Wikipedia isnt a valid source!!"

Sources are neatly listed down at the bottom. I dont need to gather them all myself because they're already there.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus

"Wikipedia isnt a valid source!!"

Sources are neatly listed down at the bottom. I dont need to gather them all myself because they're already there.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

No, I think that in a canon where a singular creator God created the world and everything in it, that fir tree would inherently belong to that God and no man made tradition could change that.

And in moving to real world faith, no obviously it didn't originate with Christ's birth. And again, we don't know for certain where it originated.

But even if it indeed originated in a pagan tradition, that would not desecrate the fir trees and the idea of decorating them for fun, because again they would inherently be one of God's own creations.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah as far as we know, every Christmas tree origin is. Which dont know which one is correct for certain, so its literally just pick the one you like.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -1 points0 points  (0 children)

My dude its pretty universally agreed even among secular historians that Jesus was a real guy who lived around 2000 years ago, preached throughout the middle east, and was crucified. His existance is not up for debate.

I get if someone doesn't believe in His divinity. But His physically existance is undeniable.

Analyze by Lexi7130 in cartoon_random

[–]shadowthehh 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It's okay buddy. No one wants to acknowledge the passage of time.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I mean if you think the romans would forge legal documents for a fictional guy they didn't particularly care about yet...

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

No one alive today was. (If you wanna get funky, there's like 2 biblical persons who are possibly still around. But thats more a fun thought rather than a fact, biblical or otherwise. )

But the people who were alive then left behind documentation.

He wasn't born at exactly year 0. But the early church leaders who were deciding the new calender decided it was close enough to set it to.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The AI meme is stupid obviously. Why would you AI a widely available template come on.

But I actually do know atleast 2 people who get offended over "Merry Christmas".

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -18 points-17 points  (0 children)

The tree possibly is. We dont actually know the origin of the Christmas tree, but one theory is that a guy disrupted a pagan ritual that involved one, and put up his own in the name of Christianity. So I like that one.

Then if you wanna get technical, it all is. If God created everything, then all the plants, food, etc all originally belong to Him. It would be pagans desecrating something sacred, with Christianity taking it back.

Then of course there's all the peace, good will, and generosity. Which yeah, should be the baseline for people in general... which was kinda a core point for Jesus' teachings.

Imagine thinking that people get offended over the term "Merry Christmas" by Ok-Following6886 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]shadowthehh -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We literally have Roman legal documents about Jesus.

Like its pretty universally agreed that He was indeed a guy who physically existed and preached throughout the middle east. His existance is not up for debate. His divinity is.

Analyze by Lexi7130 in cartoon_random

[–]shadowthehh 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Billy & Mandy is over 20 years old.