Bringing Religion Into It

This week, I commented on a friend’s status on Facebook. The status basically said something about their concern for their children’s well being when Christmas rolls around and suddenly presents come out of nowhere.

Completely logical concern. Absolutely. I think most caring, loving parents think about the ramifications of large amounts of gift giving for no apparent reason. This is why I wanted to post something to let my friend know that I don’t believe Christmas is a time to just give gifts. There is a reason to give gifts. We give gifts to celebrate life. 

To paraphrase my comment to their post, it went something like this, “Jesus Christ is the reason for the season.”  I wrote a small paragraph and I did mention Jesus Christ….and, of course, panties were bunched.

I cannot mention Jesus on anything without causing a problem. If I had said I thank God for Christmas….or I thank God for all my blessings….it may have been left alone…maybe. But, dare I say Jesus, and someone wants to argue with me every time. I’ve offended someone. Someone wants to start a fight, and can I just say that this is the real reason Jesus was crucified?! It does not matter if you are Christian or not, Jesus Christ was a person who walked this Earth and was killed for claiming he was God. Mentioning his name then meant persecution. Times have not changed.

Here is the reply to what I wrote:
(I have no idea who the person is who posted this, but since it’s on Facebook…I have no problems sharing it here.)

"Ummm what?!? Since we're bringing religion into this... Christian's took Yule from the pagans to use as Jesus' month of birth rather than the more true date. St. Nick and Jesus were merely put in as placeholders with the Romanization of Britain."

After reading this reply, I decided to take a moment, refresh myself on what the history of Christmas is and then respond. You see, I have a degree in Religious Studies….so as I, myself, choose to be Christian, I have in fact studied many, many other religions. Way back when….in a time before children, I went to College. So, I too, like many Athiests, and Agnostics, consider myself to be a bright individual.

I do not consider myself brainwashed. Let me say that again….I do not consider myself brainwashed. I have a very well rounded education…I did not grow up in Church. We went to Church on Christmas and Easter….that’s it. This is a choice based on experience, emotion and education.

So, as an educated person, I looked into what this Facebook reply said and refreshed my memory on Christmas, Santa Claus and the glorious pile of presents we so willingly give our children on Christmas morning. 

No Christian should ever argue the fact that Jesus Christ was NOT born on December 25th. He was more likely to have been born in the springtime when the weather was better, seeing as though a 14 year old girl gave birth to him outside. And not only that, but based on the life and death of King Herod, Jesus’ birth is probably off by about 4-5 years. This is common knowledge.

Winter Solstice, the middle of winter, has been a time of celebration forever.  In Europe, light and birth were celebrated in the dark of winter. The Scandinavians celebrated Yule from December 21 into January. Romans observed Juvenalia…Germans honored the pagan god Oden…and so it goes. Throughout history, winter was a great time to celebrate life, food, love and, well…..blessings.

In A.D. 525 Dionysius, a Greek scholar dedicated the end of December to celebrate Jesus’ birth, since his death was already known and Easter was already being celebrated. The Pope did not want two holidays celebrated so closely together, so the traditional Christmas date was born…pun totally intended. 

Turns out, St. Nick was an amazing man……who was Christian and wanted to be like…..wait for it…Jesus Christ. St. Nick was born to wealthy Christians. He was young when his parents died and left him their inheritance. He lived by Jesus’ words, "sell what you own and give the money to the poor." St. Nick, who became Bishop Nicholas, left a legacy after his death. This legacy evolved and spread into the Santa Claus we know here in America.

In the end, I deleted my original comment to this friend’s post, due to not wanting to take over their facebook page for a religious debate.

I think it’s absolutely absurd that I be called out for “bringing religion into this” as if I’m trying to start a fight…as if I’m some dumb Christian who’s trying to turn everybody Christian. As if I'm saying something that isn't true. The modern world celebrates Christmas because of the birth of Jesus Christ….IT IS A RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY!!!!!!!

You’re darn right I’ll bring religion into it.

I actually left the house.

Well, I had a hit or miss weekend with the kids. The husband was working, so I decided to actually get dressed and take all three of my babes out to do stuff……

Library…big miss. Note to self, don’t ever do that again.
Barnes and Noble….hit
Chevy’s restaurant….HUGE MISS…should have never left the house.
2 year old’s birthday party…big hit.
Lunch at sushi restaurant. HUGE HIT!! 

We love going to Momotaro in Burbank. Hayden cannot ever get enough of the Edamame. 

 Really, it's what he eats almost the entire time. 

Shelby loves Miso Soup. 

It was Courtney’s first trip and she had a blast too. 

 


Shelby tried new foods and got a star on her chart at home for doing so. 

She loved the first one, the second one fell apart in her hand. 

Shelby is awesome at entertaining the baby when I need to step away for a second.  I let Hayden use the restroom by himself (single person toilet), so I stood halfway from the potty to our table and kept eye on both places.

My kids are adventurous and up for anything.

I love that.

Gobble Gobble

There are a few jobs in this world that I have a hard time understanding. I don’t have a hard time understanding the job; I just can’t understand why people would do them. Let’s take the Esthetician, for example. This person, by choice, goes into the most secret parts of your body to remove hair. Why on Earth would someone want to do this? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful….and in awe, but concerned for their well-being. Also, how does one become ok with the task of pulling up a shoulder length rubber glove and inseminating livestock by hand? I have nothing further to add to that.

There is…on my list of crazy, insane and most of the time necessary jobs, one job in particular I stand in deep respect for. My heart aches for the love the people who do this job have for life…or the caring of the end of it, rather.

The Hospice Nurse.

Tell me, please, how can a person possess so much kindness as to partake in the comforting of loved ones in the end times of a cherished person? How can those sweet angels of people do this job again, even after experiencing one single death? Because, I have to tell you, once was enough for me. One death was enough for me to witness, to know I don’t ever, ever want to witness another.

I know this is impossible. I am young, and I am guaranteed to lose more loved ones. And the truth of the matter is, is that I felt honored to be there with my mother as she passed. It was terrible, and traumatic in many ways, but I wouldn’t have been anywhere else than at her side.

Maybe this is how Hospice sees it? I don’t know, but whoever started Hospice care, was an intensely caring human being. Without our Hospice nurse, the end of my mother’s life…well, I don’t even want to think about how it would have gone without them involved. Thank you Hospice.

Obviously my mother is the reason I started The Rose Run, and a major sponsor of The Rose Run is helping to put on a run this Thanksgiving to raise money for Hospice. Dave’s Performance Footgear is sponsoring a “Turkey Trot” that has been going on for over 20 years in Toledo…and all I’m going to say, is you should do it. You should run it…walk it, get the kids to do the free fun run and encourage your family and friends to do it too. If for no other reason, than to burn a few calories before you consume the most in one meal than you had all week long.

The Smoke The Turkey Trot has fantastic prizes for top finishers and Schmucker’s pies for those who place in their age group. I don’t know about you, but if I won a pie after a race, I’d be eating it with my fingers in the car at 10am on the way home.

This cause is so worth it, and if I were there, you’d see me bundled up running….well, jogging, due to the massive amount of weight stuck on me post baby. (Forget what you read about the pie in the previous paragraph) But I’d be there. Oh, and one more thing...there is a prize for the best dressed Ohio Sate Fan or Michigan Fan! Run sporting your Maize and Blue....or those other colors.

Go for a run this Thanksgiving for those amazing people of Hospice.

For more information and to register online, visit
http://www.imathlete.com/events/EventDetails.aspx?fEID=6713






You can also email me at jessica@theroserun.com and I can send you a paper form to print and mail in or take with you Thanksgiving morning.