As Fastnacht approacheth

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One is led to wonder, and offer for sober, perhaps enlightening discussion:

This religion and that [in these pages most commonly various forms of Christianity, but many others are implicated] is frequently said to have taken unto itself - for whatever wholesome or nefarious purpose - holidays and celebrations and rites previously in use in other religions or in secular society.

If you want examples, several of the AGNATHs have long since listed a few of the more conspicuous ones.

I do not here care what any may think about these adoptions or any suggested motivations.

What I want to put before you is this:

What are we to think of the numerous holidays and celebrations and rites taken by secular society out of their religious context and variously modified, whooped up, or arguably debased?

Among these the Modern American Christmas, Halloween, St Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras, Easter itself, and such others as may readily suggest themselves to the reader.

Is this a good? If so to what end, cui bono? What is the optimum number of secular holidays, and how ought these to impact commerce, industry, the chools and the government? What should qualify a "great person" to be remembered in, for example, a Martin Luther King Jr Day, or alternatively to be demoted to one piece of "Presidents' Day"?

This particular probe could morph to have religious aspects, but I intend it strictly politically.

I think you would have to gerrymanderr your definitions to make that assertion stick.

You COULD do some sort of categorical assertion that any celebrations keyed to the solstice, or the new moon, or the equinox, or the New Year where different from one of those, are automatically to be classed as religious because tied to heavenly bodies.

But that is a VERY much expanded and thereby weakened definition of religion.

And what of harvest celebrations, and the King's birthday, and Independence Day?

Or are you maintaining that getting people together and feasting and whooping it up and dancing and laughing inordinately and having the Head Honcho make a speech would never have occurred to any human being without there first being religion?

You're not going to get invited to our next hors d'oeuvres party if you keep on that way.

That, yes.

And we here are very aware of the effects on religious observances of the secular side and the impact on that tension of political stances.

It is rather that I would prefer for the nonce to avoid or minimize the Mom He's bothering us dialectic that surrounds yon side the question.

We shall see.

Even secular holidays can be 'debased'.

How many people actually think about the fallen in war on memorial day when we are all extorted to take advantage of memorial day sales?

And when is debasement really debasement and not the opposite?

One priest on TV was grateful for all of the 'commercialization' of Christmas because " if it werent for Madison Avenue Christmas would get no more notice than does All Saints Day!"

As a nation ages it would probably have to consolidate its holidays.

Weve already collapsed Lincoln and Washington together into "Presidents Day."

A hundred years from now MLK maybe merged with some future luminary, or with presidents day to make room for some other future luminary. But by then robots will be doing all the work for us so maybe we could afford more holidays. Or maybe with foreign competition we will all need to work longer hours and will have fewer holidays.

Im sure Kaddafi's b-day is a holiday in Libya. Im sure that day will be stricken from the calender soon. But I dont envision a radical revision in America's holidays like that.

Good point on Memorial day.

Yes, it is possible to imagine a cultural restructuring of a holiday, secular or religious makes no nevermind, that would breathe life into a stale commemoration.

I have to disagree with that priest though - I do not think revitalization will come from commercial interests.