The Sandbox

I usually put some up in my room -I live in a church and so soing the whole building by myself would be a year-long project. Do you go all-out and do like every nook and cranny of your house??

Yes I do! ^_^

Lights fill me up with the christmas spirit!!

Me too! That's what's so great about them

I can't say that I'm an avid holiday fan, but every year I love to go driving around and look at all the lights. There is this farm down the road that does this HUGE display - it's awesome. I wish I had a digital camera...

^_^ I wish so too!

And I am avid Christmas lover

I figured. Is it your favorite??

Is there any other holiday to compare it to?

Nope

Yea. My favorite holiday. Summer Vaca.

quater wrote:Is there any other holiday to compare it to?

Kwanzaa...

Neither of those are holidays.

Yes it is!!

Not really. It's basically a mix of Hannukah and Christmas invented by an African druglord in 1958.

Every holiday had to be invented at some point in time, by someone - it just so happens that this on was created by a junkie.

And it was created to end the "white mans" oppression of "black men" during the Christmas season. On top of that the guy who created it went to jail for torturing "black women." And the guy who created it, Dr. Karenga, also was leader of the United Slaves which was a nationalist gang that wished to separate all black men from America and was as outrageous as the Black Panthers.

And, I am supposed to celebrate, what out of that?

On top of that many of the principles of Kwanza are actually the same ones used by the Liberation army in the army of some random country way off.

And Africans from Africa never heard of Kwanza. My friend from South Africa thought it was a joke. 2.3% of Americans celebrate it. Quite pitiful. It was actually a fashion fad for a while, during the cultural revolution. Now it's getting dimmer than ever as even that 2.3% is starting to recede with Christmas once again adorning households.

My, my, you are a wealth of information, Q. The point is not what kind of person, the one who created it was. It, like with all holidays - widely celebrated or not, is the spirit of the season and the meaning of the holiday to those who DO celebrate it.

I never said it had quite the hold that x-mas does, because obviously, it does not.

And my point is, it's not a holiday.

Do you know what a holiday is? It derives from, Holy day. A day that is set apart as a holy day in worship or in a set of values.

Thanksgiving, is a Holy day. Christmas is a Holy day. Ramadan and Hannukah are Holy days.

These also allow them to be, holidays.

There is nothing Holy about Kwanza. It just is. It's a day with partying attached and was designed to attack American values. It could be called a festival.

But a holiday it is not.

Also, what "spirit of the season" does Kwanza promote besides Black Nationalism? Which is, afterall, what it was designed to promote.

And yes, I am a wealth of information. Too informed.

You're contradicting yourself a little bit, there. "A day that is set apart...in a set of values." It is. They may not be YOUR values, and they certainly are not mine, but the day itself is set apart for it's particular views.

Would you call saint patrick's day a festival??

Holy days are set in worship of values that derive from a religion though. That's what makes them holy. However, you are correct. To some people Black nationalism is a religion.

Still, why we should make a national holiday, or even view it as a holiday is beyond me. And so, I have decided not to. Call me a bigot or intolerant. But it is not a worship of any religion it derives from attacking America and is set apart to attack America.

And I just can't get behind that.

Saint Patrick's day is set apart because it is the day people celebrate Christianity coming to Ireland.

Fairly different from the when Karanga decided to end "black people's" oppression but that might just be me.

The major difference is use of the world Holy day. To Irish that is a HOLY day.

To what religion is it a Kwanza a Holy Day?

Did anything even happen on the day people celebrate Kwanza on? What is it they are celebrating that's holy, again?

Well, actually the etymology is from Swahili - it means first fruit, or fruit of harvest or something like that.

Kwanzaa is a seven day long celebration that is used, modernly anyway, to celebrate african cultural and historical heritage. Each of the seven days celebrates one of the seven principles of blackness.



And saint paddy's day celebrates the guy who drove snakes from England. C'mon now, black heritage or a snake chaser...

And the seven principles were derived from an army liberation movement.

No, Saint Patrick's day celebrates the Saint Patrick bringing Christianity to Ireland. The Snake chasing thing is just a myth about Saint Patrick people tell for fun. Similar to Santa Claus's association with Christmas. They aren't related, just fun so people tied them together.

So if I compare the religious celebration of the day Christianity came to Ireland, an actual holy day, or the cultural celebration of Kwanza, which is much more of a FESTIVAL, then a holiday, it's pretty easy.

Come on, we can just admit now that Kwanza isn't a holy day and is just a festival, or we can keep this up for the next 10 pages.

Hmmmm. No.

We can come to some sort of agreement, like saying that it's on opinional matter, but I won't say you're right.

Well, I am right. Saying it or not is just depending on how stubborn you are.

I don't think it's an opinional matter. It's clearly either yes or no. A day can't be partially holy.

But your own definition of Kwanza proves it's not a holy day.

"Kwanzaa is a seven day long celebration that is
used, modernly anyway, to celebrate african cultural and historical
heritage. Each of the seven days celebrates one of the seven principles
of blackness."

What part of that says religious or holy?

It's a festival created by black nationalists to celebrate Black nationalist values. That's all. It was created during a time of Black Pantherism and Civil Rights Mayhem and has stuck. Not because it's a Holy day, but because the "Blackness" that is being celebrated isn't being let go of.

It divides America too. It believes "black" America comes before "white" America when in reality it's all America. We should put America first, regardless of race.

hmm.. How about new Years??