Don't take the Christ out of Christmas
Starbuck [17:05]
Comments: 1
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That's the increasingly loud message that we hear from that particular Abrahamic religion each year. Just earlier this week there was a Bishop (not Harold, unfortunately) urging the nation not to take the Christ out of Christmas.
And he's damn right. Taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas" would leave us with "mas", which let's face it is way too ambiguous.
As a cynical old unbeliever on a one way ticket to hell, I'd much rather we took the "Chris" out of Christmas (but not Little (Lil) Chris; I like him.) That'd certainly remove the uncomfortable religious aspect that I find rather taints my Christmas fun(buying Christmas tree decorations without any representation of stars whatsoever is tricky - is a bauble a star?)
And it would leave us with "tmas", which rolls off the tongue better than "mas".
No, wait... "t" looks a bit like a cross, and then we're back in Xmas territory. Oops
Bugger. I'd vowed not to piss off my religious readers this year. Well, I'm sure they can take it. They're the ones with the faith. [And just to prove how good I am, I'll save my contentious "BUT" for the Comments box (look beyond if you dare...)]
Still, having been administered the religious rite of confirmation before turning to the Dark Side, I'm ecclesiastically allowed to take the Chris.
Incidentally, I was interested to see a piece in the Guardian today ("The Phoney War On Christmas", about the media's reporting on the so-called War Against Xmas. As is so very predictable, all of these stories relating to "political correctness gone mad" that flood our rotten media outlets each winter are not quite what they seem. Upon examination they turn out to be lies, prompted by lazy and dishonest journalism, or propaganda being spread by religious pressure groups for their own nefarious purposes.
When will we learn, I ask thee?
If I was a Christian I'd be mightily pissed off with the lot of them for using my religion as a subversive tool. Then again, if I was a Christian, knowing me I'd probably be an Evangelical, eager for that sweet neuropharmalogical hit from the potential conversion possibilities...
But perhaps even the most steadfast believers in superstitious phenomenom (gods, spirits, tarots, parrots etc) know deep down that its a load of old noddy. That'd be why they're so bleedin' overprotective and self-reinforcing about their beliefs!
(Ho ho ho, aren't I so big and clever rubbishing people's heartfelt beliefs, ho ho ho, why am I don't a Father Christmas voice?)