Let us now take a moment of silence for the
Christian religion, that has
through the centuries co-oped various traditions of assorted
pagan religions to make it easier to
convert them; for it is now falling prey to its own methods. Christmas now is a
Hallmark Holiday that has been co-oped by
capitalism, along with its cousins
Halloween and
St. Valentine's day. Its original meanings of green and birth are being lost to the green of the all powerful
dollar. The original plain white
ornaments on the tree representing Holy
Eucharist, now dangle in in the colors of
gold and
silver of precious metals. The lights on the Christmas tree of old now hang in almost every window, much to the dismay of the power companies (at least in Northern California 2000, where people are urged not to turn them on until after 7pm because of power shortages).
Saint Nicholas would be rolling in his tomb to find millions of children world wide sitting on the laps of images of him, professing their greed to whoever can hear.
To the various minority religions out there, have pride in your religious holidays, be it the festival of lights, or the simple winter solstice. Be proud that your holidays have not fallen to the great devourer - secular capitalism.