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I'd say the one that comes to mind most after Christmas is Halloween in America. It went from being All Hallows Eve, a time to celebrate the dead, especially sa
by smhenderson 5y ago
I'd say the one that comes to mind most after Christmas is Halloween in America. It went from being All Hallows Eve, a time to celebrate the dead, especially saints past, to becoming a commercial holiday to sell costumes to kids and candy to parents.
I can't think of anyone I've ever met or heard of close to me celebrating the religious aspect of this day, just the "fun" part. Not nearly as big a deal as Christmas but still a religious festival that became highly commercial and secularized over time.
- ido 5y agoI think it’s interesting to note Christmas itself didn’t used to be “that big a deal” - the major holiday of the year was Easter.
- monocasa 5y agoInterestingly, like Christmas was, the religious aspects of Halloween were specifically de-emphasized by the dominant religious orders of the time, leading to (re?)seculrization of the holiday. The protestants weren't a big fan of venerating saints, or some of the underlying ideas of the the group of holidays (like the idea of souls resting in purgatory until those days) as those ideas were based in some of the philosophical differences they had with Catholics. Good luck taking a feast and dress up day from the people though once you remove the religion out of a holiday.
- smhenderson 5y agoThat's true, have to admit that although I don't practice at all anymore I think what I wrote was coming from the memory of my Catholic upbringing... I sometimes forget how vehemently some sects of Christianity can disagree with each other!