Why are Christmas Eve/Day and MLK National Holidays ?

The Romans celebrated the solstice on December 25 (Brumalia). Of course, it depends on what calender you are using and what calenders were used in the past.

 

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2360714449297857193&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr

"ONE IS NEVER JAILED FOR NOT HAVING A TREE FOR NOT GOING TO CHURCH FOR NOT SPREADING GLEE!"

 

Pretty much this.

 

What if I need my government to provide a service to me on Christmas day?

Oh wait, they're all off work.

Nice of the them to uphold their declarations and fully separate church and state. Not.

 

No...no, actually IT IS freedom from religion.

 

That's what they said in Georgia circa 1860.

 

Ah, the "I float at a higher level than you" pose. OK...

Separation of church and state? I defy you or any other high-flyer to show me that phrase in the Constitution -- anywhere!

Next: "holiday". What is the etymology of the word, "holiday"? Now -- get back to work!

 

Christianity will not survive this century as a needed element, and religion is on the outs - there is no God. Get over it .

 

The point, imo, isn't that the federal holiday props up Christmas by making it a holiday. We also have stuff like labor day, but no one really knows or cares about the meaning of it. Christmas is a nationally celebrated day, by Christians and non-Christians alike, but the point of it is that it's the most important day to the nation (for anyone who doesn't understand what the word nation means, don't bother replying). If we got to the point where the most important day to our nation was Halloween, then we should make Halloween a national holiday.

The government should be representative of it's people, not above it's people by recognizing holidays they don't care about and refusing to recognize the holidays they do care about.

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"Elections have consequences, and I won."

*shrug* interesting, but not really relevant.

 

"One of the proud and few JFK Democrats left in this country"

Now lets get rid of Christmas!!!!! Yeah, you and JFK are like two peas in a pod.

 

When it comes to religion, individual rights rule. The Bill of Rights protects individual rights, in order to prevent the tyranny of the majority.

 

Not sure about where you live, but where I live the "fair work ombudsman" makes sure that even if you don't work on a public holiday, you're paid for the work you would have done. Additionally, businesses are often required to pay up to 2.5x the base rate if you do work.

That harms the rights of the business, it harms the ability of us all to conduct business on those days, and it significantly reduces the economic benefit gained by all on 10 out of the 365 days of the year.

if you don't want to work on certain days then fine, there's a solution to that - negotiate with your employer. If he's unwilling then go find a job you find more suitable. He's under no obligation to do what you want.

Moreover, businesses aren't charities. Neither are individuals. If you increase the cost of hiring a worker, through the 12% superannuation addition for example, you're not actually getting more pay - they effectively take that out of your normal wage.

Public holidays are just another convenience at work. You trade off wages for working conditions. That's fine, I'm all for people having the choice to work in a job where there's high wages and lower working standards, or one with lower wages but higher conditions. That's your choice - but public holiday legislation takes away this choice. I'm forced into the latter when to be honest I'd probably prefer to take it in my hourly wage.

 

Why is that?

 

JFK would be considered a socialist by today's right wing retards. And I don't remember JFK envoking the Bible as paramount over any other faith. You know little of JFK.

 

Are you sure you are old enough to "remember" ANYTHING about JFK? Throwing out childish names like retard is usually reserved for 8 year olds on the playground.

Now excuse me while I try to imagine JFK walking out of Catholic Mass while pondering the federal government abolishing Christmas a national holiday.

 

Who said anything about doing away with xmas? We're talking about it being a national holiday and paid day off for federal employees.

 

Well having Christmas as a national holiday technically violates the separation of church and state by having the government legally recognize Christian belief as part of official US policy.

 

Christmas is a recognized national holiday, but one can just simply ignore it they wish to. And many businesses do just that by staying open on Christmas. Martin Luther King Day, however, is an entirely different matter. It is considered to be a sacred national holiday, and because of massive popular accord, cannot be ignored without serious, overwhelming and dire consequences.

Many businesses, white racists and conservative politicians have tried to ignore, show contempt and mock it, but the nation's white Democrats and blacks have ganged up to label them as racists, tar and feather and run them out of town on a rail.

 

I was born in '79 so i don't remember anything about JFK - that's what history books are for, though. It enables you to learn about things that happened before you were around. They are found in libraries throughout the country. You should check them out. And if you paid attention in high school you would have realized there was even a history class.

 

So if congress voted to make the last day of ramadan or Mo's Bday a national holiday people would be good with it?

 

Actually, no, it's not.

 

80% of the world's population sez you're wrong... but don't let that stop you. Obviously you consider yourself much smarter than them.

 

This is absurd, most business's stay open on MLK day, as they do on President' Day. There is no blowback.

 

Atheists are smarter and more courageous as they don't need to be told what is right or wrong by some absentee celestial dictator in the sky.

 

LOL, they may be smarter and more courageous, but their money still sez IN GOD WE TRUST and Christmas is still a federal holiday.

Guess that means nothing they can do but whine about it, eh?