Comments on: The Bible-Thumping Grinch who Pissed on Christmas

By: Paul Hunter

Paul Hunter — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:22:57 +0000

When I was a kid we used to get the whole treatment from Santa and the Night Before Christmas to the baby in a manger thru shepherds and wise man, but somehow what I really remember was the special family time.
I think my daughters figured out Santa when I recommended leaving him pizza and beer, and when I got around to reading them the real bible story I was amazed how little text there really was.
Now we celebrate in the True Pagan Fashion with a tree and presents and a feast and family time, and we’re not about to let the fundamentalists spoil it with their silly whining!

By: carolw

carolw — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:15:03 +0000

I agree. The holidays (ChristmaHannuKwaanzSolstiFestivuSaturnailia or whatever) are for getting together with your loved ones and doing whatever you want. I have no tree, because certain family members see it as a Big-Ass Cat Toy. My mom has a Norfolk pine with lights on it and some poinsettias. Stupid goddists aren’t content with telling everyone what to do with their bodies, what to do with their money, who to have sex with, who not to have sex with, they’ve gotta get on to us about how we do our holidays. FFS.

By: Leon

Leon — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:17:59 +0000

Well said, Greg. Like your family gatherings, ours are cosmopolitan (Christian, atheist, agnostic, even a few Jews) and the only time religion comes up at all is if my father-in-law decides to say grace before the meal.

This whole War on Christmas manufactroversy makes me want to find a picture of one of these lunatics leading an angry protest or church service, and do it up as a poster with “CHRISTMAS: UR DOIN IT WRONG” underneath.

“You are mean. Santa is jolly. We’re with Santa” is probably the best one-liner I’ve heard in response to the WoC. Well done!

One small nitpick: that should be “closed minded” (as opposed to open) rather than “close minded” (as opposed to distant).

By: bksea

bksea — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:59:44 +0000

Well said. My view has always been that there is a cultural Christmas and a Christian Christmas. You and I celebrate the cultural one. The hardcore Christians rightly recognize that cultural Christmas is the true threat to the religious one. Eventually Christmas will be like Halloween – detached from its religious roots.

By the way, don’t dare quaff a margarita on Cinco de Mayo unless you are prepared to move to Acapulco.

By: jamessweet

jamessweet — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:41:24 +0000

We can only wonder which Christmas carols are Richard Dawkins’ favorites. The sight of an avowed atheist joining in the Christmas chorus is a bit hard to imagine.

We can only wonder which pagan rituals are this joker’s favorites. The sight of an avowed Christian joining in the burning of the Yle log is a bit hard to imagine.

Oh wait, it’s not.

Syncretism has been happening ever since there have been other religions to borrow from. And, like it or not, a form of syncretism comes into play when religious traditions are adopted as secular traditions. Ho hum.

I feel your pain, Greg, about these sanctimonious bastards. My wife is atheist raised Jewish, I am atheist raised Mormon… so we celebrate Christmas, Channukah, Passover, Easter… it’s awesome! When people imply that I can’t, boy does that piss me off…

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:09:46 +0000

The Frosty Situation is covered here: http://goo.gl/ijWwr

By: Zugswang

Zugswang — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:34:26 +0000

The thought of Richard Dawkins singing any carols with explicit Christian content is difficult to hold — unless the Oxford professor intends to sing of a faith he does not profess.

So I guess people that sing “Frosty the Snowman” all believe in the ability of pagan magic to bring life to inanimate objects. Or that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey help Santa bring gifts to children.