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From: markh@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Mark William Hopkins)
Newsgroups: alt.flame,talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: Theological Debates
Keywords: Holiday
Message-ID: <4108@uwmcsd1.UUCP>
Date: 8 Jan 88 04:01:57 GMT
References: <4032@uwmcsd1.UUCP> <14193@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> <4062@uwmcsd1.UUCP> <14199@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> <4073@uwmcsd1.UUCP> <1415@quad1.quad.com>
Sender: daemon@uwmcsd1.UUCP
Reply-To: markh@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Mark William Hopkins)
Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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In article <1415@quad1.quad.com> oleg@quad1.quad.com (Oleg Kiselev) writes:
>In article <4073@uwmcsd1.UUCP> markh@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Mark William Hopkins) writes:
>>And lest we think a name makes a holiday, let me ask about what those poor
>>Christians did before Christmas was even named so (around 900).
>
>They did nothing.  They did not celebrate Xmass.  The less faithfull and more
>pagan-inclined Xtians may have celebrated the Solstice (or whatever) as a 
                                               ^^^^^^^^
OOPS!  Sorry about that.  I meant Winter Solistice, not Vernal Equinox (that's
Easter I was thinking about there).

>tribute to the Old Gods (as is common in many Xtianized cultures).  And at some
>point the Church decided to do away with the pagan celebration by co-opting it.

AH! SOMEBODY UNDERSTANDS! But we can be pretty sure that the early Church 
celebrated Christ's birth in some manner, though not at a standard time.

>
>You may find it educational to find out what the names for Xmass are in other
>languages.

That's for sure (Nativity, Noel, ...), which makes the point all the more that
a name is not an essential part of a holiday.  This means that even though the
name Christmas contains Christ's name in it, it is not an essential infringement
on one's religious freedoms to celebrate Christmas in public.
     But I covered all grounds there.  I do not believe it is an infringement on
anyone's religious freedom to celebrate ANY holiday in public, regardless of 
what religion it comes from.  This is another, better, way to interpret the 
amendment of the freedom of religious practice.  It is another way for the
government to show a lack of preference for a specific religion.

>-- 
>Oleg Kiselev  --  oleg@quad1.quad.com -- {...!psivax|seismo!gould}!quad1!oleg
>HASA, "A" Division