A post by Douglas Rushkoff about Hanukkah and a Slate article about Kwanzaa each make the same point: call them made-up holidays if you want, mock their dubious origins, but recognize the very valid role each holiday plays for its culture by asserting “distinctiveness in the face of the forces of assimilation.” And speaking of holidays of dubious origin, I’ve taken to answering “Merry Christmas!” with “Io, Saturnalia!” although my family does celebrate a pretty traditional Christmas. So far, I’ve only gotten smiles in response. Next year I may try “Blessed Solstice!”
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3 comments
Io, Saturnalia to you too! I was flying to Boston on Solstice, but I still managed to celebrate with mini, airplane sized libations. “Happy Holidays” still takes the cake for cheesing off Christians though.
But did you have a giant phallic totem fashioned of pine twigs and mistletoe tied to your head, Peter??
Some Saturnalia. Pshaw.
If you want to talk about made-up holidays with dubious origins, you might want to include Christmas as well.
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