Merry Christ Mass

[Mas Judt]

Merry Christ Mass you crazy b@stards...

[David Jamieson]

so controversial. lol

merry christmas.

[rogue]

Merry Christmas All.

And remember, George Bush is still saving your ass whether you like it or not. At least for a little while longer. ;)

[Mr Punch]

Yeah yeah...

Merry Obamamas! :D

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv2N2ZblEok

a tribute to a star.

with a dream to persue true love.

and happy holidays everyone.

:)

[MasterKiller]

Happy Birthday to Mithras!

[TenTigers]

Happy Birthday to Mithras!

that;s that giant moth with the two little japanese chicks, right?

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Everyone!!

And remember, this holiday was lifted from the Pagan Gods!! So you don't have to be Christian to enjoy it!!!

Feel free to give large Wiccan Spell books to your Children, from Santa of course!! :D

[ghostexorcist]

Dajia Shengdan jie kuai le!

[Reverend Tap]

Happy whatever-excuse-you-use-to-get-drunk-and-party-in-midwinter!

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

Happy Birthday to Mithras!

man i just learned all about mithras and saturnallia. interesting stuff. espeically considering how much people complain about the spirit of christmas, yet the hanging of lights and the giving of gifts was a large part of the roman celebration of the victory of light over darkness on the solstice. since christians didnt know when jesus was born they kept the parts of this holiday they liked, dropped the saturnallia, and dedicated it to christ. completely cool, but its frustrating when people adamantly and vehemently deny the fact. i mean being unaware is one thing . ...

i also learned about isis and osiris and why orthodox christians celebrate on january 6th.

best part is i learned all this stuff from a jesuit priest. he also happens to have a doctorate in anthropology, so being realistic about the history of the bible is kinda his thing. one of my favoirite quotes from him is, "we need to have an adult faith, not a peasant miracle based faith."

[Anthony]

"we need to have an adult faith, not a peasant miracle based faith."

I prefer the peasant faith to be honest -I like my life simple. Religion is about how you act and that's what people should focus on. It's what ultimately makes a difference in the world. Not who you can impress at a party with crap like "well the true origin of so and so lies in the ancient tradition of....." Nobody cares. You're either a good person or your not. You either believe and act accordingly or you don't. If people are more concerned with how good their christmas lights look or gift giving then there's something wrong there.

The origins of customs is an interesting subject but knowing that is just a superficial aspect of religion anyway. I'm Catholic and aware of many of the pagan origins of what we do in sacraments, etc. Many come from old traditions that people either didn't want to give up or were so imbedded in culture that they became a part of the next religion. Quite frankly I love the subject and explore it whenever I get the chance. But, in the end it's just not important.

So.....Merrry Christ Mass everyone. Have a happy and healthy New Year.

[David Jamieson]

peasants?

who says "peasants" anymore, except for elitists. lol

christ mass? wtf are you a fundy or something? lol it's not spelled like that.
:p

[Baqualin]

Merry christmas Mas and Peace to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

"we need to have an adult faith, not a peasant miracle based faith."

I prefer the peasant faith to be honest -I like my life simple. Religion is about how you act . . . .

that quote was taken out of context by me . . . focusing on how you act was exactly his point. as an anthropologist he recognizes that many of the stories in the bible are the same stories used by religion after religion ... myth after myth. they are nice stories to explain things in the context of the times, but have no basis in historical or scientific fact. and that's ok, because history and science have nothing to do with the bible. his point was if you want to learn about biology or history, read a biology or history book. if you want to learn about how to live your life read the bible.

[Mas Judt]

christ mass? wtf are you a fundy or something? lol it's not spelled like that.

You'd NEVER see a fundamentalist use the term 'mass' - although they do in Christmas!

Fundy's base their faith on the teachings of some crazy guys who took a poor translation (King James) and invented a whole new religion out of it - while claiming to be the original. It is really just an extension of some European trends - but with a very American anti-intellectualism (A disapearing trend, thank God) tossed in.


Very funny, I thought, and honestly I'd thought you'd get that one, seeing as you are a pretty well-read guy (or at least seem as such).

[SPJ]

happy holidays

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZLTNv-v_Ds

my tribute to crystal liu.

:)

[David Jamieson]

that;s that giant moth with the two little japanese chicks, right?

No, that's Mothra. Also cool. Mithras did have a pointy crown though, and was a touch naughty at times.

anyway, christmas would be very different for everyone if not for :

a)the Germans

b) Queen Victoria

This is where it all comes from. Santa Claus, the trees, the lights, wrapped prezzies, treats and cakes and so on.

now it's not all originating there of course, but it was these types of things that QV put into the daily life of the english back round the turn of the 20th century.

Pretty much all western cultures adopted those customs afterward.

Prior to that, it was a pretty quiet affair. Even in the states and canada prior to the 1800's there wasn't any sort of celebrations like we all enjoy now.

[Mas Judt]

Well, outside the religious ones of course...

[Anthony]

What's this "enjoyment" in the holidays you all speak of? Dysfunctional family gatherings, shopping, running around? I really think we need to return to the quiet way. Kind of defeats the purpose of a day off from work.


"....So you don't have to be Christian to enjoy it!!!"

Ok, so take away Christ and what does it become?

Nothing more than an exercise in risking your neck to buy useless crap for people who can afford to buy their own useless crap, stuff that they'll return the next day anyway. Yeah....I can see why non Christians would want to join in on that aspect of the holliday :rolleyes:

[TenTigers]

"Let's keep the X in X-Mas!" :p

[David Jamieson]

"Let's keep the X in X-Mas!" :p

and lets add a couple more! heh heh.

that would be sweet! pornmas.

One day, one day. We can hope. there's nothing false about hope and we can all have change if we reallyr eally want it.

yes we can.

pornmas '09!

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

"Let's keep the X in X-Mas!" :p

i also learned that the "x" is actually the greek letter chi - often used to abbreviate christ.

maybe this **** is common knowledge for some of you guys, but it was all new to me.

[taai gihk yahn]

Merry New Year! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOiN5TQhP2Q&feature=related)