Re: Maybe I have lived too long
Just to stir the pot a bit.....<br /><br />Christmas should be allowed in schools because it is not actually a CHRISTIAN holiday... atleast that is what this web site says.... <br /><br />
http://www.therefinersfire.org/christmas.htm <br /><br />For those that don't want to go to the link and jsut read...<br /><br />The Pagan Origin of Christmas<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br />Messianic Jewish believers adhere to the celebration of the God-ordained Biblical feasts because, unlike man-made holidays such as Christmas, the Biblical feasts are all about God - not about spending money and going into debt to buy presents we can't afford. Although it's a personal choice as to whether or not we choose to participate in Christmas festivities and activities, Messianic believers realize some fundamental truths about this holiday:<br /><br />Yeshua (Jesus) was not born in December. He was born sometime in September during the Biblical feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles).<br /><br /><br />God never said to honor His Son's birthday - or anyone else's, for that matter.<br /><br /><br />Christmas is not a God-ordained Biblical feast, but a man-made holiday that was originally intended to honor the birth of our Savior - yet Satan has skillfully managed to taint the "real reason for the season". This holiday, for the most part, has become commercial to the point where Yeshua Ha'Mashiach (Jesus Christ) is hardly mentioned anymore, and our efforts are mainly concentrated on gift giving and money spending.<br />Some Christians say that Christmas has been instrumental in "getting the Word out" because it witnesses to the secular world. While this might be true to a certain extent, this holiday is also based on several lies: <br /><br />We try to pass off December 25th as Yeshua's birthday - yet He wasn't born in December.<br /><br /><br />We try our best to make our children believe that "Santa Claus" is real (and exactly WHAT would "Santa" have to do with the birth of our Savior? Some say he represents the "spirit of giving", but the problem is: "Santa" has become a central figure of Christmas, taking the focus completely off Messiah). The Ninth Commandment is: "Thou shalt not lie", remember? Lying is lying, no matter HOW we package it, so why would God be pleased with a deliberate yearly perpetuation of lies?<br /><br /><br />Except for those who realize the "reason for the season", Christmas is a holiday that does NOT include Yeshua at all - which automatically makes it a lie. Why do unbelievers or the "luke-warm" even bother celebrating Christmas? Without Christ, what is the purpose? Yet practically everyone in the Western World "celebrates" Christmas - even the atheists! Christmas to the unbeliever is a holiday to throw parties, get together with family and friends, and exchange presents that - if truth be told - shouldn't have been bought in the first place because it's a known fact that many people go deeply into debt to buy gifts they can ill afford. (Most Americans live from paycheck to paycheck, thanks to that wonderful invention, the credit card, which ends up being a noose around our necks.) Go to a search engine and search on the words "Poll: What is Christmas really about?" and you will find sites that talk about everything from what people want for Christmas, to how the warm weather detracts from the "feel" of the holidays. You'll have to search long and hard to find the mention of Christ.....<br />We've not only decided to force a December birthday on our Savior, but we also shove Paganism down His throat via "Christmas trees". Realizing there is a symbology behind Christmas trees, it does not detract from the fact that bringing trees into the home and decorating them was a Pagan custom, practiced in various parts of the world:<br /><br />The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a fest called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one's journey through life.<br /><br />Centuries ago in Great Britain, woods priests called Druids used evergreens during mysterious winter solstice rituals. The Druids used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life, and place evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits.<br /><br />Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.<br /><br />Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth. (Source for the above: Captain Jack's Christmas Tree Farm.)<br /><br />Jeremiah 10 reveals how useless our man-made customs and idols are:<br /><br />Jeremiah 10: 1 Hear the word Adonai speaks to you, house of Isra'el! 2 Here is what Adonai says: "Don't learn the way of the Goyim, don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them; 3 for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe; 4 they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move. 5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it - it can do nothing bad; likewise, it is unable to do anything good!"<br /><br />God used to put people to death for gross disobedience, or worshipping Him with "strange fire", so what makes us think we have the right to disobey now? (For those who believe that we have the right to worship God however we want, because "Jesus did away with the Law", please read all about Messianic Judaism, Freedom from Works of the Sinai Covenant; and "But, Didn't Jesus Abolish the Law and Those 613 Commandments?"): <br /><br />Leviticus 10: 1 But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai, something he had not ordered them to do. 2 At this, fire came forth from the presence of Adonai and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of Adonai.<br /><br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />(The following was excerpted from the book, Too Long in the Sun, which discusses our obession with blindly following Paganistic rituals.)<br /><br />The Encyclopaedia Britannica reports that "The traditional customs connected with Christmas have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observations at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness." <br /><br />Colliers Encyclopedia agrees. Quote: "After the triumph of Constantine, the church at Rome assigned December 25 as the date for the celebration of the feast, possibly about A.D. 320 or 353. By the end of the fourth century the whole Christian world was celebrating Christmas on that day, with the exception of the Eastern churches, where it was celebrated on January 6. The choice of December 25 was probably influenced by the fact that on this day the Romans celebrated the Mithraic feast of the Sun-god (natalis solis invicti), and that the Saturnalia also came at this time."<br /><br />Both encyclopedias plainly reveal that the source of the celebration of December 25 is the birthday of Mithra, the pagan sun god.<br /><br />Sun worshippers since the time of Babel recognized this time of year in honor of their gods.<br /><br />First century believers, taught personally by Christ, did not celebrate His birthday. Second century theologians condemned the thought. Only after severe persecution, destruction and inaccessibility of biblical scripture and the blending of pagan doctrine with the worship of God was the Mithraic celebration of December 25th proclaimed to be "Christian" in nature.<br /><br />These facts are well documented. They can be found in any encyclopedia. There is no way to "Christianize" the birthday of the sun god.<br /><br />The bottom line is: If you choose to celebrate Christmas, please try to keep it in perspective and remember "the real reason for the season". Our Saviour deserves all the glory, honor and praise due Him.<br /><br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />For an indepth study about when Yeshua was born, please see On What Day Was Jesus Born, by Michael Scheifler.<br /> <br /><br />An Illustration of the REAL Meaning of "Christmas"<br /><br />There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.<br /><br />One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused.<br /><br />"That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet.<br /><br />When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.<br /><br />The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them.<br /><br />The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumbs trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.<br /><br />Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. "Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"<br /><br />He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud.<br /><br />Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn - and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.<br /><br />He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!"<br /><br />Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!"<br /><br />Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese - blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized.<br /><br />As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come.<br /><br />Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!" <br /><br />--Author unknown
. No mention of His name, but mention of a star and a Lamb that seemed symbolic.<br />Songs about Hannakah - 1 <br />Songs about Kwanzaa - 1<br /><br />It was a wonderful event, seriously. I'm not really too upset about it, but find it sad how many now call it "Winter Break" not "Christmas Break".<br /><br />Let's call "Christmas" what it is to most people today - Merry SantaClausmas.<br /><br />Enjoy your "holidays"!<br />Merry ChristX (not Xmas) to all!
