Thanksgiving is almost here in the US, and this year falls on the 25th of November (55525), exactly one month before Christmas (55555). I was thinking about this a couple of nights ago, and was wondering when Hanukkah was this year, when I noticed that there was a full moon in the sky above me. I remembered Jon Stewart singing on A Colbert Christmas a couple of years ago (54793) that the Festival of Lights also starts "On the 25th." ("Of December?" "Kislev." "Which is when, exactly?" "I will check.") Since the full moon falls on the 15th day of Jewish months, that means that the holiday must follow in ten days, which would be the night of 1 December (55531/2). We don't really celebrate, since there are no kids left, but I'll probably bring home some gelt. That's all three holidays falling on the 25th of some month.
I just noticed while writing this that Christmas falls on Modified Julian Day 55555, which is another reason to celebrate, I guess.
I think it's funny that some people get upset if they hear "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", because Christmas is not the only holiday. We have not only Christmas, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, but also New Year, which most people celebrate regardless of their religion. I suppose somebody must celebrate Kwanzaa, too. ("What would it be like without Kwanzaa? Like every year before 1966.") If we were to be really accurate, we should mention all of them, but that would take forever, so why not just lump them under "holidays"? It's not meant necessarily to avoid offending non-Christians, and I don't why people want to do that, but it's to include the other holidays we all celebrate in this country, i.e. Thanksgiving early in the season, and the New Year later.
Happy holidays!
MJD 55523.534
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The problem with alot of those who get all bent out of shape over the phrase "Happy Holidays", is that they don't really realise it's not any attack on Christianity-- Quite the opposite, in fact! Ignoring everything that's neither a real holiday or Christian holy day, the period between Thanksgiving (and even before, I think- Going back to Halloween, in fact!) and the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6) is an almost non-stop plethora of secular holidays and important holy days, feasts, festivals and masses amongst the various Christian sects. So much so, it has always been considered the "holiday season", and some sort of general holiday blessing or greeting has been in use for the season in western European cultures for centuries.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, those offended by the seeming lack of Christianity in the phrases "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" really don't know their Christianity well, and are themselves lacking in their faith for not knowing these important and once important days that filled the calendar for over 2 months...especially amongst Catholics!
d.m.f.
Christmas is an important holiday for me, since the ELITE 3000 is expected to be idle on Christmas day. In Canada on December 26th, I celebrate Boxing Day. My favourite holiday is the Gregorian new year (January 1st). You are forgetting the First of Muharram in which it will occur on the sunset of 2010.12.07-Tu (MJD 55537/8) (The date may vary by a day or so due to regional customs or moon sightings), and Jews celebrate Hanukkah until the sundown of 2010.12.08-We (MJD 55538/9). Hope you have a Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, Happy First of Muharram 1432 AH and a Happy New Year 2011 CE/AD
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