Learning About Australia

[stormtrooper]

Both Thanksgiving and Halloween have Pagan origins, Australia is slowly getting into Halloween but just as a bit of fun nothing more. Thanksgiving has never been anything here as we are always thankful in Australia for what we have and we don't need a day set aside to show it lol.

Betty Windsor (or by her title Queen Elizabeth the 2nd) is the Queen. If England had a King we would have the same deal so it's neither here nor there. I like it cause I get a break of work and when its your own birthday it is something you appreciate.

ANZAC day has already been pointed out to you and it is huge here, we have dawn rememberence services and all the games of Two Up spring up everywhere cause its the only day we are legally allowed to play it.

Boxing day is named Boxing day cause guys would go and have Boxing tournaments the day after Christmas.

 

[jibbby]

Stormy - Thanksgiving is of pagan orgin you say? That's news to me, it's a holiday to give thanks, eat, pilgramage, etc... Nothing pagan about that....I may have to disagree with ya on this one...

Holloween does have pagan orgin for sure...A little devil crap here and there.... However, most of us Yanks just have fun and dress up in scary costums and go trick or treating at night... "Trick or treat" - That is where you and your kids go door to door with a big bag and each resident gives you candy... You go in costum and knock on doors... At the end you should have a ton of candy in that bag.... Kids love Holloweenie obviously......

Shallis2 thanks for the reply = Well, you Australians got some holidays for sure... Boxing day is for boxing gifts.... I was thinking 12 rounds with gloves... Cool... Always nice to give to the less fortunate...

I don't know about this Queens day stuff...That sounds like it as an England deal that carried over to you guys or something?

 

[stormtrooper]

Stormy - Thanksgiving is of pagan orgin you say? That's news to me, it's a holiday to give thanks, eat, pilgramage, etc... Nothing pagan about that....I may have to disagree with ya on this one...

It originated in Pagan Europe, it is a mishmash of Keltic and Germanic fertility festivals.

Christmas is Pagan in origin to, it was originally Saturnalia from memory and was Roman festival of gift giving. There is nothing we have today of "regular" festivals that does not have Pagan origins.

 

[jibbby]

Well I celebrate both those holidays so does that make me a pagan? If so I better sacrifice a small animal, light some candles, draw an upside down star on the ground, and play with a wigi board or something... Evil old Lew is going to be upset with me because I haven't been giving him the proper respect on these pagan holidays.... (Always joking)

Wow Stormy, I think we are talking about different hollidays and their meaning..Thanksgiving is truely an American holiday I thought that has no roots in Europe... It has to do with American settlers and pilgrams on our home turf... I don't see how it can be of European orgin.. However, our earliest settlers were of European orgin though, hmmmm?

Christmas - Is the birth of Christ celebration... Nothing more... Start throwing in Santa Claus, reindeer and what not and then your living a lie... But then again without fat ole jolly St. Nick (AKA Santa), also Rudolf and company Christmas might not be the same for the kids.... It's a fairy tale with a fun twist....Heck, I still believe in Santa and no one can tell me different... I just don't know he keeps his red suit so clean climbing down all those chimneys...

 

[XR8tt]

Ha ? We don't have chimneys here or not many..
Commercialism is taking over many of these holidays etc..
To me mothers day etc is a day we take Mum out for dinner or
have BBQ at home with Mum and Dad, family and friends.. NOT to buy something...
We don't need a special day to celebrate with family, friends...
Any time of the year is an excuse to have a good time down here...
You can see that in the beer adds.. With a twist of hummer...

 

[jibbby]

Same out here xr8tt...Mums day is a day to take mom out to dinner basically with the whole family, and treat her real well.....Australians and Americans aren't all that different in that regard... We got fathers day too..

Yanks got the little holidays that fall on the weekend usually..You don't always get off work on these too...

Presidents day, Labor day, Memorial day, Martin Luther King day, New Years day, etc... The big ones are -

Christmas
Easter
Thanks Giving
Holloween
Independance Day July 4

 

[stormtrooper]

Christmas - Is the birth of Christ celebration... Nothing more... Start throwing in Santa Claus, reindeer and what not and then your living a lie... But then again without fat ole jolly St. Nick (AKA Santa), also Rudolf and company Christmas might not be the same for the kids.... It's a fairy tale with a fun twist....Heck, I still believe in Santa and no one can tell me different... I just don't know he keeps his red suit so clean climbing down all those chimneys...

They don't know when Christ was born let alone if it was December 25, infact our calender could be 4 year out of date going by the records kept about the persecutions in Judea.

St Nick was from the area of modern Turkey, Santa Claus was from Scandinavia and wore Green not Red. Coca Cola bought the rights to Santa Clause years ago and all of a sudden he started wearing Red, wonder why hey.

As for talking about the same holidays well, yes we are. Sorry to put a dampner on things for you.

 

[jibbby]

Stormtrooper are you a biblical scholar of some sorts?...You sure sound like you know your history... I'm impressed...

No damper here... Ignorance is bliss so I will simply erase these lasts few holiday posts from my mind and celebrate the holidays as usual...... Now what were we talking about?

If Jesus wasn't born on December 25 that's new news to me also..


It seems to me like England started the Christianity thing and spread it around the world...The reason I say that is that I go to islands like Jamacia and find that the people their are mostly devote Christians and Rastafarians as a whole.. They implemented everything that England stood for basically from what I can tell ..That goes for alot of other places I traveled too as well.. England was definetely a concuring nation in it's time...



I supose Australia got a good dose of Christianity back in the day too when it's first settlers took homage in Australia from England....

Am I correct in assuming all that?

 

[stormtrooper]

Stormtrooper are you a biblical scholar of some sorts?...You sure sound like you know your history... I'm impressed...

lol I am the son of a retired Presbyterian Minister, in my Bachelor of Arts I majored in History cause I am fascinated by humanity and the things we do. After my BA I started a Bachelor of Social Sciences to get a degree in Anthropology, stopped after 2/3s way through to do my Masters in Applied Linguistics as a means to make money through teaching when I go back to Anthropology. I read massive amounts of info.

Your assumptions about England and its effects on Christianity are close in the modern world. Certainly England's expansionism through Colonialism helped to push the "Protestant Ethic" throughout the world. Having said that If England wasn't so brutal in its colonalism more people would probably be "Christian" today, India/Pakistan/Bangladesh/Sri Lanka are great examples of the negative impact if English Christianity.

 

[jibbby]

Well that explains it Stormy, very good...... Unlike you, I grew up hating history, ditched all the classes in high school and went to the beach instead...However, later in life I started to be fascinated by it, read alot, watched the history channel, discovery, and other historical shows, etc... Started watching shows like jeopardy and what not too... I've have read the bible several times to date which includes the old testiment too..

King James bible - It really is a old wise book and it's hard to believe the wisdom and knowledge that it possesses for it's time, but most of all it's truely amazing that it was written so long ago and still makes clear sense today...

Anyway this is a thread about Australia and don't want to derail it to much...


PS. I again saw a show last night on paranormal occurances... Phsycic detectives solving real crimes from scratch (incredible), paranormal kids that see spirits and were taken to theropy to help them fit in with other normal kids, and the paranormal state in general... It's well documented and I am a firm believer... I also was always skeptic about the supernatural occurances but not any more..Facts are facts... With that being said I am curious and must ask this question to the Atheists? If an Atheist believes in a spiratual realm and or ghosts and spirits but not a higher power or a god are you still considered to be an Atheist?

 

[XR8tt]

In some ways I just don't care.. It's a little like gay people IMO .. They seem to want to advertise their life style..
To me life goes on...My belief's don't really concern any body else really..
I live like a christian life style. But don't go bible bashing...