over-PC

[deathboy]

"holiday bulbs"? who the hell calls them that? Christmas lights, or (in the UK) 'fairy lights'*.

* Though I'm guessing that in the states, that would mean a homlord with a torch.

Comments

[alienfox.livejournal.com]

Best thing about this time of year: cheap fairylights everywhere. I bought a load in the shop near where I live, asking with the words "How much are your pretty fairy lights?"

The little Indian dude said "They're £2.99, but you get a discount, you pretty fairy."

[m0rbid-princess.livejournal.com]

That guy wins at life...

[evaangelika.livejournal.com]

Best thing about this time of year: cheap fairylights everywhere


iawtc!

fairy lights for the win!

[shadowofsummer.livejournal.com]

There's a radio advert over here that begins with a deep booming voice saying "Ho ho ho! Happy Holidays!". Quite what holiday Santa Claus represents other than Christmas, I don't know. It's like a 'holiday tree'. If it's a tree that is pointy and has decorations on it, that's CHRISTMAS, not 'holiday'.
I'm willing to bet no-one is actually offended by the term 'Christmas', just a whole lot of people getting offended on behalf of other people. Maybe a lot of people don't realise you can use the term 'Christmas' to refer to a completely commercial, secular holiday as well as a symbolic date of Jesus's birth?

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

It's called a Holiday Tree because evergreens were decorated for Yule long before they were used by Christians. A lot of traditions for Christmas actually come from the rituals used for the Celtic holiday of Yule as well as other pagan holidays.

Besides, there's a half dozen Winter Holidays that take place in and around December. While Christmas may be the official one for the US and Canada, it fails to give recognition to the rest. Not that you see a lot of things for sale for Channukah anyway, mind you.

[reddragdiva]

http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/344295.html

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

... except that I don't really care either way where things came from. It's not really important.

[reddragdiva]

I shoulda remembered that if you declare yourself a pagan then you're entitled to your own facts as well as your own opinion.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Existing in a free country allows you to be entitled to your own opinion.

[reddragdiva]

I'm a thirtieth-level Dawkinsian family tradition atheist, and am entitled to my opinion of your opinion, with added pointing and sneering as warranted, which seems to be rather too often.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Point and sneer away. :)

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Caring or no, I'm still curious what others would think, however.

http://community.livejournal.com/nonfluffypagans/775261.html

So I brought it up here.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Problem there is that most so-called "Pagan" traditions weren't even from those cultures originally either.

You can look up a dozen different sources on the traditions and get a dozen different perspectives. Some of them directly contradicting one another.

That's why I don't care. I don't need to be tracing back into our pre-recorded history to find the origins of things. I'll leave that to people who are interested in doing that for a living.

Oh yeah? both quotes from you...

[ed-dirt.livejournal.com]

"It's called a Holiday Tree because evergreens were decorated for Yule long before they were used by Christians. A lot of traditions for Christmas actually come from the rituals used for the Celtic holiday of Yule as well as other pagan holidays."

and then...

"That's why I don't care. I don't need to be tracing back into our pre-recorded history to find the origins of things. I'll leave that to people who are interested in doing that for a living."

Re: Oh yeah? both quotes from you...

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Right. The first is based on what I've read before. Not claiming it to be right, just what I've heard.

I don't really care one way or another, just sharing what I've heard from other sources. Not up to me to verify them. If they've misinformed me, so be it.

Re: Oh yeah? both quotes from you...

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Maybe you should've gone to the link that was posted to me and read the comment I made there. It might have cleared up some misconceptions. I'll post it here for your convenience:

> I don't really know any Pagans who claim that Christmas was celebrated
> before Christianity. Yule maybe, but not Christmas.

> As for the traditions? They probably have a lot of origins in a lot of
> cultures that probably predate most Pagan cultures, such as the Celts. I
> mean, we don't really know a lot about that time period, let alone where
> the Celtic peoples came from originally.

> However, I figure there must be some evidence somewhere that cannot be
> solidly debated regarding the pre-Christian usage of various traditions,
> otherwise the Jehovahs Witnesses wouldn't have felt a need to de-Paganise
> themselves and their beliefs and traditions.

> Personally, I don't really care either way. The origins of traditions
> used in holidays is not an important "cause" to me.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

As time passes, things are becoming more politically correct here, in recognition of the number of holidays at this time of year, not just Christmas. After all, if you call them holiday lights, you might get Jews, Islams and Muslims buying them, too.

Not being offensive might be one reason, but I think money is the major player in the end.

[deathboy.livejournal.com]

I don't think most folks of non-christian faith avoid them simply because they're called christmas lights, but fair enough.

I take it you meant some other denomination, not 'islams' there, btw ;)

[reddragdiva]

In the ancient Pagan traditions, "Islam" and "Muslim" were different. I'm a thirtieth-level Gardnerian family tradition witch, you know.

[ed-dirt.livejournal.com]

I live in the East End of London which is (to be conservative) about 75% Muslim. About 50% of them put up Christmas lights.

I've never heard the term "Holiday Bulbs" until the boing-boing article deathboy pointed out.

People--like YOU--need to quit generating this bullshit portrait of animosity between Chriastian and Muslim.

[glitteringlynx.livejournal.com]

Here in Canada, I've heard them referred to as holiday lights for years.

I'm not of the beliefs of the Big 4 and I don't really know the diffs between them. If I lump them together, I have no problem admitting that ignorace is why. However, I have friends who are Christian and Jewish and I've had great relations w/ people who are Muslim and Islamic. I just accept people for who they are.

But I was just guessing at the reason for the political correctness. Not claiming to be right. Dunno what you think I'm trying to do or trying to claim, but I think you're reading too much into what I'm saying.

[captainweasel.livejournal.com]

Heh, Welcome to Winterval

Not really over-PC

[rachelsoma.livejournal.com]

Those wacky Pastafarians refer to refer to the the entire month of December as Holiday.

So pic of the FSM with "Holiday Bulbs" = injoke?


[edit: or boing-boing are wankers because the guy who made the thing says Christmas light ( http://www.bsalert.com/artsearch.php?fn=2&as=1586&dt=1 ).

Re: Not really over-PC

[deathboy.livejournal.com]

ohhhhHHh.

well, I noticed that the guy himself said christmas lights in the title, but I wasn't aware of the calling-the-whole-month 'holiday' thing. That's acceptible, then ;)

Also...

[rachelsoma.livejournal.com]

"Though I'm guessing that in the states, that would mean a homlord with a torch."

Fag lights, coz they're like little burning cigarettes...

[shadow-blue.livejournal.com]

If it's not being bombarded with the commercial overload at this time of year it's the political correctness gone wrong, at the end of the day after all the arguing isn't the whole idea of Christmas supposed to be peace and goodwill to all men lol.