Other scary things going on in this country:

[conuly]

More than 200 years later, people still have trouble with that pesky church != state concept.

Christians! Don't make your religion look bad! Show some respect for other people! Treat others the way you want to be treated, seriously! (Well, I don't think I have to tell you guys that.)

Comments

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Funny, Grey and I were just discussing the HIGHLY ILLEGAL goings on in my third-grade class this morning. Ms. Pearson stood up at the front of the classroom and asked if anyone knew what Christmas was about and what Easter was about. The first answers she got were "For Santa Claus" and "For the Easter Bunny"--I had been taken to church for quite a few years at that point, so I was able to raise my hand and tell the class that christmas-is-the-birth and easter-is-the-resurrection, parroting what I had been taught on Sundays.

She praised me for knowing this, then proceeded to teach the entire class about the two holidays, Baptist version.

This was in 1979, I think. Could have been fall of '78.

Now, for older children I think the liturgical calendar SHOULD be taught as part of history. This leads into the European history of the church vs. state struggle during the middle ages and the founding of the Church of England, etc. In the other direction, we cover the placement of those holidays (I was an adult before I found out that Easter is the first sunday after the first full moon after spring equinox because of Passover.) and the origins of the words Yule and Easter.

Facts. Not beliefs. Thank you.

[conuly]

Interestingly, we're not entirely sure what the etymology of the word Easter is. There's that story about Eostre... but there's no proof that anybody ever worshiped any such deity. The only citation of that is from a Christian after the worship was said to be extinct.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

You mean the Venerable Bede?

I find another cite from Jakob Grimm's Deutche Mythologie, in its Ostara variant.

(His phrase "pastry of heathenish form" made me giggle, considering the things modern circles get up to with their baked goods.)

It's hard to keep all the grimms straight, for that matter. Jakob is joined by Wilhelm and Hans, making me wish for a scorecard.

[conuly]

Is there another Bede I might mean? (And in this case, I don't think Grimm is likely to be more reliable than Bede. It's still a long way away from when any such worship is alleged to have occurred. Which doesn't mean it didn't happen, but... yeah.)

I don't bother keeping them straight. Grimm brothers, Wright brothers, I just refer to them as a lump group and ignore the distinctions.

[dandelion.livejournal.com]

I do find it interesting that America is a very overtly Christian country, but this sort of thing is against the law, whereas England may as well be secular but just about every kid will end up in a Nativity play (unless their parents pull them out) and make Christmas decorations and be led in prayer at school assemblies. I know why this is, but it just seems like the wrong way round.