Showing posts with label Kwanzaa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kwanzaa. Show all posts

Friday, December 17, 2010

Onward, Christian Soldiers

Have you heard any of the press about "the war on Christmas?" I heard about it on Patt Morrison yesterday on KPCC.

Apparently some people are up in arms (it's a war after all) because they prefer to hear "Merry Christmas" instead of "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays." They want to see red and green--none of this blue stuff (that's Jewish!) or orange (what is that, Kwanzaa?) or--does Ashura have a color? What color signifies fasting? I think that would just be clear.

Okay now, hang on a second. I think we have enough things to get freaked out about. Do we really need to get upset over this? We're talking about Jesus Christ's birthday, here, so let's ask ourselves, what would Jesus do?

I think Jesus would wish us a happy Chanukah.

If someone wishes me a merry something or a happy something, they're wishing me well. It doesn't matter if it's something I celebrate. I don't celebrate Kwanzaa, for example, but if you wish me a happy Kwanzaa, I'll take it. It's almost Kwanzaa whether I celebrate it or not, and I might as well be happy.

And as for that holiday parade in Tulsa, as a certain friend of mine would say, "Oh, for the love!" Calm down. It's Tulsa. It's not like we're talking about the liberal hotbed of America. We're talking about a town like every other town in the U.S.--a town where not everyone is a Christian, yet everyone's invited to the parade. At least that's the America I live in.

And I might just point out that when folks are worried about parades and lights, Santa and shopping, they're missing the point of Christmas anyway.

There's no war on Christmas. The only war going on in these quiet towns at this time of year is an imaginary war inside a few teeny, tiny minds.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Happy Kwanzaa

On Christmas day, John and I took a long walk with the camera. I love walking with the camera, but I especially love walking with John. His eye opens mine. His suggestions inspire me.

We found a lot of sights to enjoy including these cement pavers embedded in the median alongside El Molino just north of Washington. Someone had decorated them with positive thoughts.

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa. The (non-religious) holiday continues until January 1st. I enjoyed reading about it on several sites. Did you know the African spelling is "Kwanza" and the additional "a" at the end reflects the African American celebration? Now you do.

Kwanzaa celebrates seven principles. One of them is depicted here. The others are just good ideas for regular days.

Happy Kwanzaa!