Christmas was the day that nearly everyone else was involved in and stressing over. Myself, I felt like myself and a friend were the only ones taking it easy and playing games. When our relatives came home, they were exhausted and arguing over something, so I think it's fair to say that Christmas doesn't succeed in making everyone happy. In fact, I haven't seen anyone happy about Christmas in a long time. For months at a time, people spend money that isn't theirs on material things that they'll never see again. What do they have to show for it? Paying credit card bills well into the next year and coping with depression in some form or another.

Myself, it's just another day, and the less I allow myself to be involved in it, the happier I seem to be. Because when it's all over, I still have money, I have no debt, and I still have a full-time, non-seasonal job. It would seem as though life is better without Christmas.

Of course, I couldn't let this topic go without pointing out that December 25th is not Yashua's birthday, and there is no Biblical imperative to celebrate his birth (however, there is still a Biblical imperative to keep Passover, Matzah, Firstfruits, Kippurym, etc., because contrary to popular belief, these things haven't been "done away"). I can also mention that December 25th was Sol Invictus, a Roman festival celebrating the birthday of sun-gods, Yule was the name of a Scandinavian solstice festival honoring the thunder-god Thor, and that most of Christmas's traditions came from a Roman festival named Saturnalia, which involved rowdy behavior and a suspension of formal rules while people partied, exchanged presents, got drunk, had gay sex, among other things that were later given a Christian message by the "if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-em" Catholic church.

I don't get too offended when someone attempts to force it on me. It's easy enough to ignore them, and they just don't know better.

Last year I went out to jog, and this year, I'll do it again. Ignoring pagan holidays is not difficult for me to do.

Unless the same Christmas music plays over the loudspeakers over and over. 

@ Ismail:

Wrong.

I believe that every individual should be regarded as just that, an individual, and not be judged on the basis of group identity.

I own a copy of the Quran. I'm familiar with it's message. Though Islam is too inane to be believed, I do keep a copy of Islam's book around for reference. The Quran is the most hateful book ever written. On nearly every page, non-Muslims are mentioned in a way that is hugely derogatory. In this book is a timeless call to war for everyone who believes against those who don't. This isn't a one or two passage affair, hatred toward non-believers (Jews and Christians in particular) is almost the only message that the Quran teaches, and it is commanded to continue until Islam envelops the world.

I don't doubt that there are people who claim to be peaceful Muslims. I understand that they believe their religion was established by a peaceful man who wanted a continuation of Biblical behavior. But they only know of the Islam that they are being taught. They are not actual Muslims.

Islam has been at war with the world since Islam was invented by a charlatan to satisfy his urges for sex, money, and power. Currently, Islam is at war with Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and others. None of these religions are at war with one another. Islamic nations are involved in four-fifths of the world's armed conflicts, though they only account for one-sixth of the global population, so they are many times more violent than the rest of us.

Scripture tells us that we are not to accept or tolerate in God's name or character anything that is untrue, and this includes any false religion. When it comes to deceptive and destructive doctrines corrupting the hearts of men, YHWH (why exactly are you scared of His name?) isn't at all tolerant, and He doesn't want us to be either.

Here is a helpful link that most of you will ignore. Most people won't spend 40 hours of their lives learning who wants them dead and what it will take to stop them, but for those who do, I invite you to read Prophet of Doom. Some of you may not fully appreciate Craig's ideological perspective, but it enables him to put Islam in the context of scripture so you can better understand why today's events are happening, and that they were predicted thousands of years ago.

http://www.prophetofdoom.net/Islamic_Terrorism_Timeline.Islam

Read the introduction to the timeline, then read the book. It is the most honest and complete guide to Islam in existence.

Though the prevailing sentiment is that we need to be more tolerant, in fact, we need to be far more discerning. Our tolerance problem is that we are far too tolerant toward a doctrine that kills. And should anyone be confused, intolerance does not mean the same thing as hate. Intolerance is the unwillingness to accept, which should be our attitudes toward anything false (i.e. religions). Hate is enmity toward your fellowman. It is possible to love someone and be completely intolerant of their convictions. It is an attitude requiring courage to show, and to save Muslims from themselves takes concern and commitment.

My reaction to being on the receiving end so such an "insult" is continue staring, awaiting the punch line, because "Jew" is not an insult. If prodded, I'd say "What's your point?" because they'd have none.

Sometimes, you have to take a little crap for what you believe in. Muslims are real drama queens when it comes to this kind of thing, and insist that the rest of the world needs to change to accommodate them. Don't be like them, just shrug and move on.

On rare occasions, I'd throw it back in their faces by having a little fun with them. I'm so cheap I buy my shirts at a grocery store. I buy my shampoo at a dollar store, then complain about the markup. I once spent 25 cents on a gumball and cried. Self satire isn't so bad, and a great way to disarm what is potentially a hateful term. Doesn't it work for the blacks? 

When things like this happen anywhere, I tend to go straight for the breaking news stories, as a lot of important things get left out once the government steps in to regulate public opinion. For example, how many people today could tell you that the Virginia Tech killer signed his letters "Ismael Ax", or that this slogan was found to have been written on his arm just before the killing? An initial news story also shared an element of his letter which suggested that he was disappointed with members of his own religion. He also displayed a disrespect for women and hatred toward the wealthy. The professor killed in the attack was a holocaust survivor, and get this: The attack occurred on Holocaust Remembrance Day!

It's wrong to hate women because they are one-half of the biological necessity for our existence, and when you love one, that person is a joy to be around. And that a person has money is not a reason to hate them. That they have so much money typically means that they understand how the world works. And what religion is disappointed with it's own kind for not killing? Knowing all this, it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Virginia Tech Massacre was an Islamic terror attack. So then, why does the government want to prevent you from knowing that this was the case?

A Christmas + Hanukkah compilation that is entirely Christmas? A perfect example of a failed attempt to compromise. And an insult to everybody who made the purchase expecting one.

Of course, we all know that this CD wasn't made for Orthodox Jews or Fundamental Christians. It was made for all the people who see a different culture and say, "how cute!" I'll bet even they were disappointed.

I prefer not to judge people based on their group affiliation. They are individuals, after all, and any analysis of a person should be based on their own words and deeds. Bad ideas, on the other hand, I'm pretty ruthless toward.

Mormonism is a death cult. The penalty for apostasy (defection), is death. This involves either slitting the throat or disembowelment. If you have a hard time believing this, google the terms mormon+deception, and you'll find the testimony of daring individuals who developed the courage to stand up to this corrosive doctrine.

Fresh recruits, new converts, are brought into the temple and systematically monitored and subjected to the ritualistic initiation that is an emotional maelstrom for them, as they had no idea what they were walking into. They are hovered over if they show the slightest doubt in their body language, and corrected. In time, they are taught secret handshakes and given the threat of death for either apostasy or sharing the secret handshakes with outsiders. They finally emerge with a lifestyle difficult to escape from.

Biblical imperatives for love and mercy are twisted, as the church convinces itself and its converts that killing would-be apostates is an act of love and mercy.

Don't take my word for it, look it up for yourself. What you will find about Mormonism is very disturbing. Don't be afraid to share, because it's important to know how to protect our children from this threat. Mormonism is Christianity with an Islamic twist.

Leviticus 23 is a list of the Feasts we are to keep. The problem I have with Hanukkah is that it is not mentioned in Leviticus, and is not commanded in the scriptures at all. In fact, the scriptures appear to discourage adding our traditions to the Feasts. Because of this, I was always content to ignore Hanukkah, not caring to know any other reasoning against it, as the word of the scriptures is sufficient for me.