holidays

St. Patrick stain glass window

I don’t actually have a lot to debunk about St. Patrick Day.  More like just giving up tidbits of information. Feast Day March 17 is the official feast day for St. Patrick.  Theoretically, it’s the date of his death.  In truth, we have no idea when he died, nor, toContinue Reading

17th century notice punishing Christmas celebrants 5 shillings

For a long time, I often abbreviated Christianity and Christmas to Xtianity and Xmas in class for no better reason than it was quicker. Then, one day, I had a student complain the spelling was anti-Christian. This student had been a semester-long pain in the ass (accusing me of workingContinue Reading

Oh, Valentine’s Day, how you don’t make any sense. Valentine’s Day comes from the Catholic Feast of St. Valentine, but even that holiday is problematic.  There are at least three early saints with that name, and it’s not clear which one  Feb. 14 was meant to celebrate.  The Orthodox ChurchContinue Reading

Pointsettia

Three times a year – Easter, Halloween, and Christmas – I find myself assaulted by claims of how Christian practices and beliefs were entirely cobbled together from pagan sources. There are filters I put on certain searches in order to limit my annoyance, but I still run into them. First,Continue Reading