Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Merry Christmas Everyone

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

401–407 of 407 posts

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#401

Post by rat87 »

lolinder wrote: post #361
satvikpendem wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree but I also would be interested to see any proof for the claims you're talking about with regards to Christmas not having any pagan roots, where are you finding this information or rather, where can I read more?

I linked one example—a video on Christmas trees from a religious studies scholar. They have similar content on the date of Christmas, and there are plenty of sources on each other tradition. Here's another one on Saturnalia from the same scholar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lsctaPJSvo

One small exception Russian empire turned a figure from Pagan mythology into a St Claus like figure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ded_Moroz But my understanding is that him handing out gifts didn't come from Pagan traditions and was a result of largely copying Santa Claus traits.

Later during Soviet times secularish Christmas traditions including Ded Moroz were moved to New Year's.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#402

Post by samatman »

zoklet-enjoyer wrote: post #379
samatman wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a cousin who shares your birthday. Her name is Merry Noel. Hope you're having a merry Noel as well. ^_^

Thank you and merry Christmas! That's a great name. Do you know if Christmas was her mom's expected due date? Kind of wondering if they had the name planned before she was born or if they came up with it because she happened to come on xmas

The latter I've been told, she came out a couple weeks ahead of schedule.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#403

Post by nikolay » 

   ______  __           __         __     __          ______                           _______  __               __   ___          _______  __           
  |      ||  |--..----.|__|.-----.|  |_  |__|.-----. |   __ \.-----..----..-----.     |     __||  |.-----..----.|__|.'  _|.--.--. |   |   ||__|.--------.
  |   ---||     ||   _||  ||__ --||   _| |  ||__ --| |   __

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#404

Post by e40 »

judah wrote: post #322
29athrowaway wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jews have contributed significantly to what is recognizable today as Christmas time. Many catchy classic Christmas songs were written by Jewish songwriters.

Jews wrote all the classic Christmas hits including: - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire - The New Testament

You need to hit an open mic night. You are hilarious.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#405

Post by Quinzel »

My favourite memories from Christmas were this year! I grew up as a poor kid. Christmas was kind of hard every year. I know my mum did try to make it special but more often than not, I just felt disappointed as a kid. I had no belief in things like Santa, or God, tooth fairy’s or Easter bunnies because even as a kid, I found it difficult to believe that these imaginary figures would randomly choose to favour some kids over others for what felt like no apparent reason. Then as an adult, for my own kids, I did what my mum tried to do and I did my best, but still, Christmas was often disappointing and stressful and I often had to choose between celebrating Christmas or paying my bills. So I stopped celebrating it all together, opting instead to just give my kids a bit of cash and take then shopping on Boxing Day. Then this year in general I took bigger risks, made bigger sacrifices, and I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily been easier but I actually made enough money to make ends meet and then some. We did Christmas, and I invited over my family, and the guy I’ve been dating. There was cliche Christmas games, family banter, my kids got heaps of presents from relatives and it was just the first Christmas I remember having where I didn’t feel stressed. I felt actual joy. And then for a few days after I just felt relaxed and content, enjoying my massive amount of time off work because as fate would have it, I didn’t lock in any contracts over Christmas, and I think if I had I would have worked it, but I think the universe gave me a gift this year which was just being able to spend time with my family without feeling an impending sense of doom. Magical.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#406

Post by z3ncyberpunk »

lolinder wrote: post #331
Aloha wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will argue that in the US Christmas is in part a secular holiday - given its sorta pagan origins that makes total sense to me. It's a solstice feast basically.

The pagan origins thing is a myth, btw—all the various bits which people point to as evidence still date back to a Christian-era Europe and cannot be traced back further. Christianity has been around for a very very long time and has had a lot of time to evolve its own traditions. :) For example, Christmas trees date back no later than the middle ages: https://youtube.com/watch?v=m41KXS-LWsY

It was also entirely contrived by the Council of Nicaea.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#407

Post by michaelsshaw »

tyrd12io wrote: post #394
michaelsshaw wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Christmas is not about Jesus at all, it's the American red-and-green snowy holiday with family, Santa, gifts and drinking. It's not perceived as a religious holiday by most of us. If you want those other threads, then perhaps you should personally create them. I'm sure nobody here will be upset with that. As an aside, the letter X a literal form of Jesus's name.

It's not perceived as a religious holiday by most of us - of course not when majority of them are christians. For rest of us its a religious holiday. by not acknowledging it as religious event, you are just ignoring people of other faiths.

I am a person of no faith whatsoever. I celebrate Christmas. There's really not that much thought put into it.
Post reply on HN