Bill O'Reilly didn't invent the war on Christmas. It wasn't started by a bunch of Godless Liberal Atheist activists trying to shove their Santanic agenda down your throat. The war on Christmas has historical basis....It started in 1607 in Holland!
The creeps who were trying to destroy Christmas weren't godless atheists either, they were the Calvinist Protestant Leaders of the Dutch Republic, who in their zealous efforts to stamp out "papist idolitry" and "Baal Worship" tried to ban the Feast of St. Nicholas. The feast of St. Nicholas was a Dutch Tradition. They claimed a special affection for him and cookies and candy and special treats were very much a part of the culture. It was a childrens festival and children occupied a very special place in Dutch Culture.
In 1607, Delft banned the sale of gingerbread men and Dordrecht succeeded in banning the festival altogether in 1657. In Amsterdam, the officials made the sale of special gifts and candies and idolotrous dolls illegal in 1657. Finally on December 4th, 1663, the magistrate finally published a proclamation banning the festival and imposing a 3 guilder fine for any violation. They even banned the traditional Speculoos cookies because they had figures stamped into them.
This was the straw that broke the camels back! No Sinter Klas? No Speculoos? No presents? Suddenly, Amsterdam had a riot of enraged 11 year olds on its hands. The children were encouraged by their parents to riot because the authorities would never dream of lifting a finger to harm the most precious possession of the Republic!
The results? Next year Sinter Klaas was back handing out presents and everybody had ginger bread and a good time.
The irony is that the Religious Right saw Christmas as a sinful holiday that had to be suppressed. 350 years later? You can't make these people happy! They were born to make us miserable and impose their stupid rules on us!
The picture is of the traditional Sinter Klaas and his helpers...the ones who punish bad children, The Black Peters......
6 comments:
Let's talk modern day anti-christmas BS. I think it's a load of crap that the word "christmas" is being erradicated from everything and being replaced by the word "holiday". Why are clerks being warned not to say christmas to customers who wish them a merry christmas? The tree at my kid's school can't be called a christmas tree and kids who do are corrected on the spot. Law suits for nativity scenes? C'mon man, thats a ton of bullshit and goes a bit far. If you're offended by christmas, you have some deep rooted problems you need to work out for yourself or, just maybe get over yourself and allow the majority who do enjoy the holiday to do simply that.
Well Golly Gee Sepp, No one's stopping you from celebrating Christmas here! Merry Christmas, Sepp!
Merry Christmas everyone! We're making butter finger cookies and toffee bars! I'm already going into sugar shock from chocolate overload!
My beef with Christmas is the jerks who have turned it into a phony cultural war. Bill O'Reilly turns rumors into full blown facts in his universe and when he is shown to be wrong, he just ignores it and keeps on spouttiing the same crap...why?
He's a full blown hypocritiical windbag who has to invent new crap to keep you outraged so his miserable ratings won't go furthier into the toilet!
So, Merry Christmas, Sepp! I hope this is the biggest bestest Christmas you and you MasterCard have ever had! God bless us one and all!
I don't watch O'reiley so, I don't know what he has said. But, my point is, that people who aren't celebrating it should simply STFU and let those who are celebrating do it without the risk of a lawsuit. It's a respect issue that goes both ways. If I say "merry christmas" to a jew or, arab or, athiest they need not act like it's some kind of conversion tactic and blow a gasket. There would be a lot less problems if people could simply roll along with whoever's holiday is in season. Some muslim friends of mine stay up late and eat and party during Ramaddan, I head over and chow down too! I got a christmas card from them too. They aren't christians but have found a way to enjoy the season along with everyone else who does. I'd say that is a good example for the rest of us.
Here ya go dude! Right out of the paper...
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/NEWS10/61221008
Sepp, I read the link and I'm happy to hear that the media's war on Christmas is a non-issue! The reactions you see here and on the pages that I might direct you to regarding this issue are satirical attempts to lampoon the hyping by all the organizations involved who want us to believe that there is a concerted Cultural War against their sacred American/Christian lifestyle.
Also the hypocrisy in American Culture in the parading of those values....Do we need to be obsessed with non issues like this when there are real things to deal with now?
Like the chimp in chief, George the undecided decider telling Americans not to worry about the war, just go out and go shopping!
Hello sepp and microdot,
I hope I am not too late to comment on your conversation. Microdot is on the spot with the comment that Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, or most of the right wing blowhards need to take rumors, half truths, or in Rush’s case out and out fabrications to keep the mindless, those too lazy to find out facts for themselves, and can have crap spoon fed to them. These are the demographics that fuel the ratings and the litmus test justifying rates for advertising charges.
Quote for Voltaire:
Those who can make you believe the absurd can make you commit atrocities.
Quote from Tomas Jefferson:
A person who reads nothing at all is better informed than the person who just reads newspapers.
Jefferson’s quote was his reply to the right wing John Adams group that controlled the New England newspapers and printed all kinds of bull crap about Jefferson. Much like the right wing radio attacking the Clintons. Rush spent a whole day program ranting and raving to the fact that Hillary changed her hairstyle. Cutting edge, informal, political stuff.
I do enjoy the stimulating conversation I find on this blog site. I wish everyone to keep it up the intellectual debate. Therefore, in closing, I sincerely want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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