A Miscellany 124
For those who need a reason
To celebrate the season
by JT
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Over the centuries, those most opposed to celebrations during the last couple of weeks of December have been Christians. The Puritans even managed to make celebrating Christmas illegal in England and Scotland in the seventeenth century.
The spiritual descendents of the Puritans have continued to oppose festivities down to the present. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses ban the practice, as did the Worldwide Church of God, until its founder Herbert W. Armstrong, passed away. Some of its breakaway factions still follow Armstrong's dictates. And of course, there are numerous Christian groups which demand that we put the Christ back in Christmas, and strongly oppose the commercialization of the season.[1]
So - if you need a reason to celebrate the "festive season" (and who really needs a reason to party?) then remember, by doing so, you are sticking a finger in the eyes of all those whose chief pleasure in life lies in demanding others not to enjoy themselves.
Eat, drink, and be merry. Leave the Scrooges and Puritans of the world to their misery.
Footnote:
- These same groups are the same ones who threatened to boycott Wal-Mart until it had its greeters return to the "Merry Christmas" salutation rather than "Happy Holidays." Seems to me that it's rather inconsistent with being anti-commercialization.