To be surprised that the Royal Mail Christmas stamps are all religious?

[stampsurprise]

I thought for a change I'd get proper Christmas stamps this year. Didn't expect them to be all religious and no choice!

Is this usually what's on offer? I don't object personally, but I think most of those I send to won't care for a religious stamp.

The Christmas story is the whole point of Christmas. Whether you believe it as truth or as myth and legend, it's still why we have Christmas.

But it is pagan in origin- as many of the elements surrounding the festival.
Christians may have hijacked it, but most of us celebrate a secular festival.

The name means nothing- Easter is an example of that- another hijacked festival.

Good lord - I'm not religious at all but I certainly lwouldn't be offended by receiving an envelope with a religious stamp on it

For the people that are so offended by all things Christmas and all things Christian, are you offended by other religions and their holy days, or is the vitriol just reserved for Christianity?

What other religions in the UK try to pretend they are the religion of the whole country?
And what vitriol would that be exactly? Pointing out that Christians trying to pretend we're all christian and that Xmas is a Christian celebration are wrong is vitriol? Tough luck, because they are wrong and they should stop trying to make themselves more important than they are.

The Christmas story is the whole point of Christmas.

Rubbish.

I assume you mean the jesus thing.

Show me stockings and santa, reindeer and misletoe in the bible.
The bible does mention christmas trees- but only as a warning "follow ye not the ways of the heathen"

@ancientgran

I think "Fuck it, it's cold and I want presents" Day has a nice ring to it. That seems about right. My mother wasn't religious and she much preferred New Year, if she was alive she'd be annoyed if there is a 5 day break for Christmas and then lockdown for New Year.

I always find New Year depressing, I suspect I was swapped at birth, bit awkward as I was born at home but I can't thing of another explanation.

I think you might have been swapped with me! Love New Year. I don't like Christmas. For one thing, I'm not religious so I can't really celebrate that element. However, I also find it pretty distasteful that Christians are told that their festival isn't their's anymore. I understand the need for people, religious or not, to have something to celebrate but surely just make a festival up for yourselves?

Soupdragon do you not realise that you need to send Christmas mail abroad much earlier if it is to get there in time for Christmas. I have sent my sister’s & Bil card to Australia, my card to my sponsor child in Ethiopia is to go tomorrow and the rest later this week. Then I do the Scottish ones and local ones last. Then the hand delivered ones for church and village.

My sister gets stroppy if it doesn’t arrive in time as last years didn’t turn up I sent it extra early.

Allerigic That's what I was saying before -- the strict Christian sects often do not do any of the 'pagan' parts. My neighbours don't decorate or anything. I guess they just do the Church part?

So if you do presents and trees you're not really doing a Christian thing?

I understand the need for people, religious or not, to have something to celebrate but surely just make a festival up for yourselves?

But Pagans HAD a festival, called Yule. Just because a Johnny-come-lately religion like Christianity decided to hi-jack the date, why should they change

I don’t think it matters if most people in the U.K. celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday. It is still convenient for Christians that it is set as a holiday time for the whole country.

Plenty of non Christians like a trip to an art gallery or church to look at religious art.

Christianity was actually in the U.K. before the Germanic religions anyway, which is where Yule comes from.

Christianity was placed on 25th of December because the Romans wanted it on the same day as Saturnalia.

I am amused by all the "Let's just be secular and call it Holidays" The origin of Holiday is Holy Day!

Yeah totally. If I receive a greetings card and the stamp doesn’t exactly reflect my personal moral, religious, political and ideological beliefs then I bin it straight away

I assume that was a tongue in cheek comment

TBH I don’t even notice the stamps, and I didn’t know they alternated secular and religious stamps. I learn something new every day.

I know that the Christians hijacked the winter celebrations, and they also piggy backed on the spring fertility celebrations – hence Easter eggs. TBH I can’t get wound up about stuff like this. Whether Christmas has religious, spiritual or just chill down time significance to someone it doesn’t really matter. I like the idea of peace to all mankind though.

People actually think Xmas is about God and Jesus and the Church, in 2020? That's SO cute. Stupid, but cute

Are you always this rude and patronising @FudgeDrudge? Would you say this to a Muslim, Jew or Hindu about their religions? Have a bit of respect
And no, I’m not religious, but I’m broad minded and accept that other people have faith in a higher being/several higher beings.

f the Christians are offended, good. I've been offended all my life by Christians and Christianity, I hope they are bloody offended. But there’s hardly any of them left, so who gives a fuck?

Why are you so angry? Why does someone having a religious faith offend you so much?

Anyone who think Cmas in the UK is a religious festival is an idiot

And anyone who thinks it isn’t a religious festival for Christians is an idiot.

The Christmas story is the whole point of Christmas. Whether you believe it as truth or as myth and legend, it's still why we have Christmas

Exactly @BecomeStronger

Last year when I was helping with the Lions Father Christmas Sleigh, one of the other volunteers was complaining that the people with all the lights and decorations probably didn't even go to church for Christmas. She wasn't happy and said they shouldn't celebrate unless they go to church as Christmas is only about the birth of Christ. I had to bite my tongue and not tell her that she should stop having a tree, decorations, giving gifts, having nice food and celebrating with friends and family as that was all being done by the pagans before Christianity was invented. If non Christians aren't allowed to celebrate Christmas then Christians shouldn't be allowed to do the non Christian aspects which I believe are only going to Church and the nativity?

Would you advocate Christmas stamps being sold in Israel?

No need to advocate as it has been done previously, what with the sizeable Christan population there, though it may not be done every year.

I don't tend to notice stamps unless they're particularly interesting. As someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, I wouldn't be bothered by a religious stamp, though I do wonder when someone sends me a religious card.

Most other holidays at this time of year weren't always celebrated on the same date. There is evidence of Yule celebrated during November, December, and January. Holidays tended to vary around a lot more and people weren't always as precise on dates or knowing exactly we were getting more/less of it in all areas. Trying to make exact shifts between Christmas and any other holiday is never going to be as neat as some might like as that date varied around a lot too for a while and, by some hypotheses, tends to be more about people trying to guess his conception than birth or trying to pin it to the growing light shortly after winter solstice.

And this is incredibly annoying. It's a made up date pasted onto a pagan festival, at a time of year when most traditions have lights, green boughs, food and presents. None of that is religious.

How so?

Can we just buy plain ones?

I understand the need for people, religious or not, to have something to celebrate but surely just make a festival up for yourselves?

Why would we? We already have Christmas!!

Look around you. Santas, reindeer, red white and green and gold, snow and chocolates and drinking and presents and family. Turkey and pigs in blankets and TV specials, tinsel and baubles and mulled wine. Thats whats on every advert, every Christmas mention. Nobody ever talks about God and Jesus. Almost nobody attends church or does any religious stuff.
Cmas is not about Christian religion. Not any more. Things evolve. It is literally ridiculous to call Xmas a religious festival. It's completely illogical when no-one even thinks about the religion that its supposedly about.

Sure there are still a few people who think its all about their God. Good for them, have at it. But they are a small minority, and can't pretend otherwise.

Not sure why I'm surprised at this ... Christmas is a Christian festival, why shouldn't they be religious?? Normal stamps are available!

Nearly all the traditions have literally nothing to do with Jesus.

Have a bit of respect

No thank you! I do not respect organised religion in general and particularly christian religion. No reason I need to, it's not compulsory, or necessary.

Because its 'Christ' mas.

However, I also find it pretty distasteful that Christians are told that their festival isn't their's anymore.

But they stole it. It was never theirs.
If the bible were even true scholars suggest that jesus was not born in december anyway.
In winter time shepherds move their sheep to lower areas as there was no grazing in Bethlehem during the winter months. The climate at that time was no different to modern day.

shesellsseashells99

So your Easter celebrations is to honour the goddess Oestre?