Paphos Life

Christmas, it seems there is no mention of the Birth of Christ? In any of the big store adverts, not a church goer myself, but as its about Christ, its sad in my opinion ,that there is no mention anywhere? Why

WHL wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:16 pm Christmas, it seems there is no mention of the Birth of Christ? In any of the big store adverts, not a church goer myself, but as its about Christ, its sad in my opinion ,that there is no mention anywhere? Why

Nor am I a Christian but I do believe that Jesus was a very wise man. I agree with you that the meaning of Christmas has disappeared in the quagmire of commercialism.

WHL wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:16 pm Christmas, it seems there is no mention of the Birth of Christ? In any of the big store adverts, not a church goer myself, but as its about Christ, its sad in my opinion ,that there is no mention anywhere? Why

The Christians took over a number of pagan festivals with theirs, including the December festivals of Sol Invictus, Saturnalia and Yule, so it's only right that Christian festivals are replaced. I went to church last Christmas (in the UK) and what a glum, repetitive, joyless experience it was! The readings were endless and nonsensical, the cultish obsession with baby Jesus was borderline creepy, and everyone sang the psalms in a low, mournful tone. It was a cold and depressing experience. Taking the religion out of Christmas was the best thing that ever happened to it. Emphasising warmth, renewal and being with family is far more worthwhile.

wantoosoon wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:05 pm

WHL wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:16 pm Christmas, it seems there is no mention of the Birth of Christ? In any of the big store adverts, not a church goer myself, but as its about Christ, its sad in my opinion ,that there is no mention anywhere? Why

I went to church last Christmas (in the UK) and what a glum, repetitive, joyless experience it was!

I agree that this can happen but it depends on the church whether you have a mournful service like you mention or you have a joyful service actually celebrating the birth of Jesus. The mournful ones are very frequently the established church where the boss man is an elderly gentleman who may not be a true believer but is there to collect money rather than feel a mission, because he is not qualified to do a real job. At the other end of the scale, you may have the outspoken evangelist who would be better as an actor. In between, you can choose a church at any level of faith. Thus speaketh the nonbeliever!

wantoosoon wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:05 pm

WHL wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:16 pm Christmas, it seems there is no mention of the Birth of Christ? In any of the big store adverts, not a church goer myself, but as its about Christ, its sad in my opinion ,that there is no mention anywhere? Why

The Christians took over a number of pagan festivals with theirs, including the December festivals of Sol Invictus, Saturnalia and Yule, so it's only right that Christian festivals are replaced. I went to church last Christmas (in the UK) and what a glum, repetitive, joyless experience it was! The readings were endless and nonsensical, the cultish obsession with baby Jesus was borderline creepy, and everyone sang the psalms in a low, mournful tone. It was a cold and depressing experience. Taking the religion out of Christmas was the best thing that ever happened to it. Emphasising warmth, renewal and being with family is far more worthwhile.

If people want a more Religious celebration they should go to Church. Basically, numbers are falling and advertisers go where the money is. If they saw that more people were Believers the advertising would respond accordingly.

As always, you get the advertising you deserve.

Now, as to the state of the service, sorry but if you describe it as cultish you really are just trying to be insulting for the sake of it. It's his Birthday, so of course people are going to go on about him. You must have managed to miss a carol service, which is pretty hard to do. Carol Services are much more lively, and have lots of nice songs. As to the readings, what Church did you go into? I'm sorry, but all the readings ome from the same book, which most of us are familiar with. They are not non-sensical in the slightest. Children understand them perfectly well, as do adults.

Life Is Good wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 3:58 pm From memory I can’t really think of the last time I saw a Christmas Ad on TV that had any reference to Jesus. That’s probable even less likely to happen in today Woke world where everyone seems worried about offending anyone, especially muslims and transsexuals.

Personally I like this John Lewis ad, not over the top on selling stuff but highlighting the plight of unfortunate young kids in care.
Times move on and rightly or wrongly churches have lost touch with modern day society and I don’t see it coming back

This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with muslims or transsexuals.

Life Is Good wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 4:20 pm

Dominic wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 4:04 pm

Life Is Good wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 3:58 pm From memory I can’t really think of the last time I saw a Christmas Ad on TV that had any reference to Jesus. That’s probable even less likely to happen in today Woke world where everyone seems worried about offending anyone, especially muslims and transsexuals.

Personally I like this John Lewis ad, not over the top on selling stuff but highlighting the plight of unfortunate young kids in care.
Times move on and rightly or wrongly churches have lost touch with modern day society and I don’t see it coming back

This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with muslims or transsexuals.

Of course it does, there is a whole movement trying to take Christianity out of Christmas and Easter etc. The media in U.K. has an agenda to deny our history and culture and we all know it. Happy Holidays instead of Happy Christmas, the word Easter removed from chocolate eggs.
This is the reason that tv ads make no reference to Jesus for fear of offending minority groups.

If you don't mind, I took the liberty of restoring the post you deleted. I only did so because you said that you didn't want to offend anybody. However, I personally thought there was nothing wrong with your post. I don't agree with some of it, but you weren't being offensive.

If you would rather it be gone permanently, I will of course zap it, but for now I brought it back.

Now, on to the debate...

Is there a move away from Religious references?

I would say yes. I think just about everybody would.

So the question is: why?

You say it is for fear of offending minority groups. What evidence do you have for this?

I say it is down to good old-fashioned market forces. There are less people interested in religion, so it would make sense to marketeers to make festivities as flexible as possible. They are just broadening their market.

This is also why some supermarkets sell halal meat as a matter of course. There is just a bigger market for it, because they can cater for more purchasers. It makes for a more simple supply chain and reduces their costs.

it has nothing to do with not wanting to offend anybody.

The UK has gone over the top in being 'politically correct'.

My little great granddaughter has a toy that plays nursery rhymes, eg. baa, baa, sheep sheep. Ridiculous to say the least.

As for a joyful Christmas service, personally I love Christingle, or an old-fashioned Carol Service, and by that, I mean carols that we all know and love.

Life Is Good wrote: ↑Fri Nov 11, 2022 5:04 pm
I’m not even sure that ethnic minorities are offended by Xmas or Easter I think it’s more to so with someone else worrying that they might be.

They aren't. And it is partly due to do-gooders looking for victims. But there is also a certain politcal element of using minorities as a convenient foil, so that the population pay less attention to what is actually going on.

I'm not much of a church goer at all. But I was very impressed with the Catholic Priest who did the last Maundy Thursday mass I went to. And remember, those Easter masses can drag on a bit. But he put real effort into it, and you got a real feel for the story he was trying to convey.

The church needs two things. It needs priests like him prepared to make an effort, and congregations prepared to listen and think. That fact that there are issues can't be blamed on minorities though. Indeed, if it wasn't for the minorities in Surrey Heath, where I moved from, I don't think the Catholic church at least would have survived there. The Koreans who came to work at the hospital were all Catholic, and kept the congregation levels at a semi-respectable level. Even so, parishes were being amalgamated.

Dominic wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 4:02 pm

wantoosoon wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:05 pm

WHL wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:16 pm Christmas, it seems there is no mention of the Birth of Christ? In any of the big store adverts, not a church goer myself, but as its about Christ, its sad in my opinion ,that there is no mention anywhere? Why

The Christians took over a number of pagan festivals with theirs, including the December festivals of Sol Invictus, Saturnalia and Yule, so it's only right that Christian festivals are replaced. I went to church last Christmas (in the UK) and what a glum, repetitive, joyless experience it was! The readings were endless and nonsensical, the cultish obsession with baby Jesus was borderline creepy, and everyone sang the psalms in a low, mournful tone. It was a cold and depressing experience. Taking the religion out of Christmas was the best thing that ever happened to it. Emphasising warmth, renewal and being with family is far more worthwhile.

If people want a more Religious celebration they should go to Church. Basically, numbers are falling and advertisers go where the money is. If they saw that more people were Believers the advertising would respond accordingly.

As always, you get the advertising you deserve.

Now, as to the state of the service, sorry but if you describe it as cultish you really are just trying to be insulting for the sake of it. It's his Birthday, so of course people are going to go on about him. You must have managed to miss a carol service, which is pretty hard to do. Carol Services are much more lively, and have lots of nice songs. As to the readings, what Church did you go into? I'm sorry, but all the readings ome from the same book, which most of us are familiar with. They are not non-sensical in the slightest. Children understand them perfectly well, as do adults.

I'm not trying to insult anyone. I was christened and confirmed in the Church of England, and entirely educated within it. When I was a child, I believed in its teachings unquestioningly. As a teenager, I started to doubt. Now, a couple of decades later, it seems obvious to me that Christianity is a cult of Jesus, as its original detractors claimed. The move from many gods to just one was a huge loss to humanity, for reasons I won't go into here unless pressed. I've been to many carol services, thanks, including within Canterbury Cathedral, and they have all without exception been tedious and interminable.

As regards nonsensical and cultish material, please tell me what within this makes any kind of sense. It's gobbledegook.

Finally, the 25th December isn't Jesus' birthday, but instead the date of a pagan solstice festival that Christians co-opted. No one knows when Jesus' birthday was, but it certainly wasn't on that date, given that no one celebrated it in December until hundreds of years after his death.

wantoosoon wrote: ↑Sat Nov 12, 2022 11:40 pm

Dominic wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 4:02 pm

wantoosoon wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:05 pm

The Christians took over a number of pagan festivals with theirs, including the December festivals of Sol Invictus, Saturnalia and Yule, so it's only right that Christian festivals are replaced. I went to church last Christmas (in the UK) and what a glum, repetitive, joyless experience it was! The readings were endless and nonsensical, the cultish obsession with baby Jesus was borderline creepy, and everyone sang the psalms in a low, mournful tone. It was a cold and depressing experience. Taking the religion out of Christmas was the best thing that ever happened to it. Emphasising warmth, renewal and being with family is far more worthwhile.

If people want a more Religious celebration they should go to Church. Basically, numbers are falling and advertisers go where the money is. If they saw that more people were Believers the advertising would respond accordingly.

As always, you get the advertising you deserve.

Now, as to the state of the service, sorry but if you describe it as cultish you really are just trying to be insulting for the sake of it. It's his Birthday, so of course people are going to go on about him. You must have managed to miss a carol service, which is pretty hard to do. Carol Services are much more lively, and have lots of nice songs. As to the readings, what Church did you go into? I'm sorry, but all the readings ome from the same book, which most of us are familiar with. They are not non-sensical in the slightest. Children understand them perfectly well, as do adults.

I'm not trying to insult anyone. I was christened and confirmed in the Church of England, and entirely educated within it. When I was a child, I believed in its teachings unquestioningly. As a teenager, I started to doubt. Now, a couple of decades later, it seems obvious to me that Christianity is a cult of Jesus, as its original detractors claimed. The move from many gods to just one was a huge loss to humanity, for reasons I won't go into here unless pressed. I've been to many carol services, thanks, including within Canterbury Cathedral, and they have all without exception been tedious and interminable.

As regards nonsensical and cultish material, please tell me what within this makes any kind of sense. It's gobbledegook.

Finally, the 25th December isn't Jesus' birthday, but instead the date of a pagan solstice festival that Christians co-opted. No one knows when Jesus' birthday was, but it certainly wasn't on that date, given that no one celebrated it in December until hundreds of years after his death.

Because you say something doesn't mean its fact, the fact is no one knows for sure if there is a God or not, we will only find out after our passing, so everything else people bang on about, being for or anti, is just their own opinion , no more no less..

Cactus may be prickly but has hit the nail on the head, in trumps. I don't know whether he/she is referring to the UK or Cyprus but it is still relevant.

I would hate having a carol service played in the background in a bar.

Fact Check
Did Cadbury Candies Eliminate the Word 'Easter'?
Although some Cadbury chocolates did not feature the word "Easter" on their packaging, the company didn't eliminate references to that holiday.

Claim:
Cadbury has entirely eliminated use of the word "Easter" on the packaging of their chocolate candy products.

The SUN newspaper kindly brought this nonsense to their UK readers. Of course, this was also as everyone was being prepared for the Brexit vote...

The article is discussed here on Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cadbu ... ed-easter/

And....

All I know is that when searching for Easter Eggs, for my great grandchildren, it's hard to find one with 'Easter' on it.

Out of idle curiousity, why do you bother looking for one that says "Easter"? I'm sure the child doesn't mind either way.

Because it's to celebrate Easter, why else sell them at Easter if it doesn't mean anything.

Children should know what Easter means to Christians.

I don't think I saw a single Easter Egg in Church during Easter celebrations when I was a kid. I folding a reed into a cross, on Palm Sunday, and the theatre of Maundy Thursday, plus the long, long Easter Vigil. But no Easter Eggs.

Oh we had Easter Eggs. But they were given at home, with no Religious significance attached at all, apart from the fact that we were given them at Easter.

My easter eggs given to me as a child could still be found in the back of the cupboard in the sideboard come Christmas.
I only ever ate the contents inside the shells.

I am an only child so didn't have anyone else to share with and my parents weren't chocolate eaters.

Needless to say, they never see light of day in our house, along with selection boxes.