Ausmumof3 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I was thinking about happy holidays and then thinking about the fact that most religions have both a "happy holidays" type celebration and a pause and reflect maybe some form of fasting type celebration. Christmas and Easter, Eid and Ramadan, Hanukkah or maybe succoth and Yom Kippur. Even with national holidays there is Australia Day which tends to be a big party then Anzac Day as a time to reflect. I'm not American but I'm thinking 4th of July/ thanksgiving maybe? Is this common to all religions? It's like a balancing out type thing. After a period of joy and indulgence a period of seriousness and maybe deprivation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Well, Australia Day is a day of mourning for many Australians. And some of us don't mark Anzac Day at all. But I take your larger point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Yep. I did think of that but didn't want to complicate the thread any more than I already have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I don't know enough about world religions to determine that. One thing I never particularly liked about Evangelical Christianity was that there weren't true Holy Days in the same sense that other religions have. Jewish Holy Days make more sense to me, because they are deemed Holy Days by the Torah (right? I am not Jewish, so I don't want to say this wrong). The Holy Days are linked with specific miracles or events to be remembered by the people. Evangelical Christians - of course Easter and Christmas are meant to be Holy Days but the symbols, the dates, etc. are all "borrowed" and do not correspond to real doctrine. Good Friday may be the closest thing, and many do fast, but it used to kinda bug me that there was not a unified thing we would do. It is something I like better about other faiths, or perhaps Orthodox Christianity. As far as US national holidays, I would say July 4th is the major party holiday, while Memorial Day is more reflective (though it is often still a party time). There is more acknowledgement of the sacrifice made by service people on Memorial Day (fittingly, or course), even though Independance Day only came about with much sacrifice as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) Ignorant American moment - why would Australia Day be a day of mourning? That's the first I've heard of that. Edited December 16, 2015 by Arctic Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Ignorant American moment - why would Australia Day be a day of mourning? That's the first I've heard of that. For indigenous Australians and rights activists it is often known as invasion day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 For indigenous Australians and rights activists it is often known as invasion day. I can see that. I have a good friend who is Native American (Cheroke) and she feels similarly about Thanksgiving. (Although she is not above having a slice of pumpkin pie.) ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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