3 posts tagged “holidays”

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential nominee hopeful Mike Huckabee released a 30 sec ad in the US talking about Jesus Christ, which appears to have got some Americans upset.
   The Murdoch Press quotes from the commercial: ‘Are you about worn out by all the television commercials you’ve been seeing, mostly about politics? Well, I don’t blame you. At this time of year sometimes it’s nice to pull aside from all of that and just remember that what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family and friends.’
   Sounds good to me.
   I like a planet where we saw Hanukkah a few weeks back. I enjoyed seeing Muslims make pilgrimages for Eid ul-Adha on al-Jazeera. And, by all means, Gov Huckabee, a Christian, should proudly invoke his faith and talk about Jesus Christ.
   I thought the true meaning of political correctness was accepting everyone’s beliefs, not undermining those of the majority in their nations. In fact, I didn’t imagine political correctness equated to godless communism. Or maybe it does?
   Gov Huckabee told a congregation in San Antonio, ‘Sometimes in the middle of Christmas, Jesus is the one person who’s tough to find. You notice that? I can find Santa at every mall, you can find discounts in every store but if you mention the name of Jesus, as I found out recently, it upsets the whole world. Forgive me but I thought that was the point of the whole day.’
   I agree.
   With so many people sending holiday greetings this December from the western world, have folks noticed that many have missed Hanukkah? The ‘Happy holidays’ greetings I received are largely timed for Christmas and were sent after the Jewish festival this year. A number of Muslim friends have sent Eid greetings.
   When I know the sender does not follow Islam or observes Kwanzaa, then saying ‘Happy holidays’ doesn’t diminish the fact that the greeting is for Christmas, a day during which I can bet they are not working.
   My point is that there are a lot of people celebrating specifically Christmas, whether they proclaim a belief in Jesus Christ or not. In Mike Huckabee’s case, he’s celebrating it his way by going back to basics.
   I think he has a right to do that—and if he is a Christian, I am glad he is proud to proclaim his faith, rather than hide it because he’s so scared about offending parts of the electorate.
   I’d write a similar post if another candidate proclaimed another faith: if this is what one believes, then why hide it?

Were your holiday cards store-bought, hand-made, online, TBD or MIA?

The first three. My Christmas cards are store-bought. I stocked up on them years ago (maybe around 1998) when there was a post-Christmas sale and packs of 10 were going for 50¢ each. I am still working my way through them. I am sending hand-made ones for non-Christmas purposes (Eid, Hanukkah, birthdays around this time). And most will get online ones from me.

Linda-Joy alerted me to the latest White House Christmas video—so, here is the latest BarneyCam!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/holiday/2007/index.html

   Special guest appearance by the Rt Hon Tony Blair in a dream sequence. And Mary Bomar, Director of the National Park Service, gave a nice Leicestershire accent to this White House video.
   The actors seemed less natural this year but top marks for Jenna and Barbara Bush. (Wait till after the credits for a presidential blooper.) Barney has a starring role; Ms Beasley, as before, is only a supporting actress.
   At the end of President Bush’s term, who votes that these be put on a single DVD?