Secularizin Religious Holidays

We are coming out of a winter holiday season in which the Christianists made themselves extraordinarily obnoxious over the "secularization" of religious holidays, particularly Christmas. (The Ivory Madonna prefers to call it Krismas, a celebration of the birth of Kris Kringle . . .but she's also rather fond of "Happy Chrismahanukwazakah" as a greeting.)

How odd, then, that St. Valentine's Day came and went in a thoroughly secular fashion, without a murmur from the Christianists. How odd that they aren't out in the streets protesting the secularization of St. Patrick's Day.

Or, perhaps not so odd. They realize that Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, like Christmas, have become the property of the larger (secular) culture, and that they'd sound pretty silly protesting that no one honors the "sanctity of St. Valentine's Day" or the "deeper meaning of St. Patrick's Day."

What they don't realize, is that their identical arguments about Christmas sound equally silly.

-M

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The Ivory Madonna's story is told in Dance for the Ivory Madonna by Don Sakers.

South Dakota

So the South Dakota legislature has passed a bill outlawing abortion, and the Governor seems certain to sign it into law.

This kind of theocratic, non-inclusive politics no doubt explains why South Dakota is such an economic, intellectual, and cultural powerhouse.

The phrase "cultural wasteland" springs to mind....

-M

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The Ivory Madonna's story is told in Dance for the Ivory Madonna by Don Sakers.