The Spiritual Explanation of Snow | Unreasonable Faith

Har har har.

Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th?  Most people assume that it has always been a Christian holiday and that it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus.  But it turns out that Jesus was not born on December 25th.  However, a whole bunch of pagan gods were born on that day.  In fact, pagans celebrated a festival involving a heroic supernatural figure that visits an evergreen tree and leaves gifts on December 25th long before Jesus was ever born.  From its early Babylonian roots, the celebration of the birth or “rebirth” of the sun god on December 25th came to be celebrated under various names all over the ancient world.  You see, the winter solstice occurs a few days before December 25th each year. The winter solstice is the day of the year when daylight is the shortest. In ancient times, December 25th was the day each year when the day started to become noticeably longer.  Thus it was fitting for the early pagans to designate December 25th as the date of the birth or the “rebirth” of the sun.

The truth is that thousands of years before there was a ”Santa Claus”, there was another supernatural figure who would supposedly visit a tree and leave gifts every December 25th.

His name was Nimrod.

The celebration of December 25th goes all the way back to ancient Babylon.

Please continue reading by clicking here.

This is one of the most in-depth summaries of the origin of Christmas I’ve seen online.  Definitely a read worth your time.

There is nothing dogmatic about the Winter Solstice. It is reality. It is the shortest and darkest day of the year.

(via WhyWontGodHealAmputees)

Only Fox News seems to think there’s a “War on Christmas”. I can’t handle how ignorant Laura Ingraham is during this whole thing; it’s almost as if she’s training to be the next O’Reilly.

christiannightmares:

(Click image to read more about the CHRIST-mas Tree at Jesus Needs New PR)

WTF? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

stfubelievers:

Here is a lovely email a reader received today in her inbox. I don’t think this is who they meant for her to pass is on to :)

(Thanks Anthea)

I had this exact email sent to me about two weeks ago, except mine also asked, “If you agree, pass this on, if not, simply delete it.”  Now, I’m not about to let that go, so below is my response.

The poem operates under the faulty premise that December 25th is primarily derived from a Christian holiday.  While that might be the current majority of celebratory reasoning, historians will largely disagree with the claim that most of the practices are of Christian origin.  Check pretty much anywhere on Google for this.  I found this site, which is pretty succinct: http://www.essortment.com/all/christmaspagan_rece.htm.

You and I won’t disagree at being appalled with the rampant consumerism - it probably annoys me more so than the average theist, and for similar, though less religious reasons.  The commercial bastardization of a holiday that we revere is unacceptable regardless of the reasons we hold respect for it.

There’s a really good book I’m reading at the moment which you might enjoy if you can get a copy (I could only find it on the Kindle) called The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas.  Mostly written in humor, it’s got a bunch of really interesting perspectives on the holiday from nonbelievers, but the general consensus is that the holiday has special meaning regardless of your belief or non-belief (it’s not an argument against theism, it’s forty-two nonbelievers answering the question, “What does Christmas mean to you?”).  For me personally, it represents family, friends, and celebrating the relationships we have.  The inclusion of gifts is a manifestation of that closeness and support we have for one another.

The poem makes two points at the same time that I have to say something about, however.  First is a statement against the separation of church and state, the second is against the trend towards diversity from private institutions. 

The first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. “  In this regard, the public support of religion in general, and specifically the Christian god, is explicitly unconstitutional, and even theists will disagree with items on our currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance on this point, especially if they are of another religion entirely.

To the second point, it’s completely within every private institution’s rights to support any religion it sees fit, and it proves rather profitable for companies to appear supportive of as many demographics as they can.  In this regard, it’s unsurprising that companies such as Gap outwardly express the celebration of even Kwanzaa, a holiday with suspiciously recent origins.  If a Christian company wanted to shout, “Merry Christmas!” in its marketing rather than a more secular message, that’s their right, and no one should begrudge them of that.  Conversely, I don’t believe anyone should be appalled at secular-toned holiday messaging for exactly the same reasons.

Personally, I’ll almost always tell someone, “Merry Christmas!”, but that’s not because it has religious meaning to me.  It’s the name of the holiday as I know it, plain and simple.

Oh, and I’m sure you’re aware by now, but if you’re going to forward this kind of thing to me, you ought to expect a response ;).  Please don’t take it as an attack, because this is all said out of love and respect for you, and my intent is merely to provide a perspective as someone with vastly different views on the topic.

Friendly Atheist by @hemantmehta » FFRF Puts Atheist Sign in Illinois Capitol Building

We don’t think religion, or irreligion, belongs in state capitols,” noted Dan Barker, Foundation co-president and author of the book, “Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists.”

“But if a state is going to permit a nativity display and create a public forum, then we want to be sure that the views of the 15 percent of the U.S. population who is not religious are also represented.”

This is so utterly fantastic.  I think I’m in agreement with Hemant - the last line is a bit absolutist, but even so, having this thing up along with other holiday displays is kind of a fun little nod, even if it isn’t the softest thing ever said by the FFRF.

(via incomedyshetrusts)

I think Santa is probably the leader of the Mythology League of Supernatural Heroes.  It would probably go to the tooth fairy if she weren’t so stingy.