LaShawn Barber is commenting on Kwanzaa. She isn't the only one and this is not a direct response to her, except in one instance.
Every year around this time, there are a flurry of comments about Kwanzaa, what it is, it's origins, etc. And each year, there are the same comments made about it.
So, let me "respond" to a few of the more common comments.
"It's a made up holiday."
Correct. It is a made up holiday. So what? Name one holiday that isn't made up.
"Karenga is a felon."
Correct. If you can show he is still doing illegal activities, then you will have a point. Otherwise, it doesn't matter. If you think it matters, here are some names for you: Don King, G. Gordon Liddy, and Oliver North.
Don King killed a man, but he was good enough to be used as a Bush backer, wasn't he? Liddy was a central figure in Watergate. He helped plan the break in. Oliver North was convicted for his part with the Iran-Contra scandal. Does it matter for them?
"Kwanzaa is not an African celebration".
True. But Karenga never said it was a genuine African celebration. He said he made it up. So, duh.
However, this last one, concerning Christians celebrating Kwanzaa, is one that has the greatest merit. This one comes from LaShawn.
[Kwanzaa] attempts to spiritualize [Black] history, replacing Christ-centered theology with pagan principles. For Christians, the only principles by which to live are found in God’s word, the Bible.
That is truth. That is firm ground.
To "respond" to this, all I can say is there needs to be more consistancy in speaking out against other celebrations. For example, Mardi Gras is straight debauchery. It's a celebration before the period of Lent. The over indulgence of alcohol, food, and foolishness should be called what it's is.
Then there is the current celebration of Christmas with the idols of Santa (and the forgotton Moor Pete), Rudolph, "The Grinch", etc. I'm not a wordsmith by a long shot, but I used the world "idol" for a reason. Then, to add on this, is the commercialism of gift giving. The commercialism so important that it is said that many businesses do not make a profit for the year if they don't make money during the time between Thanksgiving and the end of the year.
So, how about some consistency in the criticism?
Booker Rising gives another view.
From The Sacred Origins of Profound Things (p.216):
It is important to note that for two centuries after Christ's birth, no one knew, and few people cared, exactly when he was born. Birthdays were unimportant; death days counted. Besides, Christ was divine and his natural birth was deliberately played down. In fact, the Church even announced at one point that it was sinful to contemplate observing Christ's birthday 'as though He were a King Pharaoh'.Posted by: Lester Spence at December 19, 2004 12:25 AMOn December 25, pagan Romans, still in the majority, celebrated Natalis Solis Invicti, 'Birthday of the Invincible Sun God,' Mithras. The Mithras cult originated in Persia and rooted itself in the Roman wolrd in the first century BCE. By the year 274 CE Mithras was so popular with the masses that Emperor Aurelian proclaimed it the official state religion. In the early 300s the cult seriously threatened Christianity, and for a time, it was unclear which faith would emerge victorious.
Church fathers debated their options.
It was well known that Roman patricians and plebeians alike enjoyed festivals of a protracted nature. The Church, then, needed a December celebration.
Thus, to offer converts an occasion in which to be pridefully celebratory, the Church officially recognized Christ's birth. And to offer head-on competition to the sun worshippers' popular feast, the Church located the Nativity on Dec. 25.
I believe Ms. Barber's confusing Kwanzaa as a religious festival, which it is not from my understanding. In that sense, I suppose it's accurate to call it 'pagan', but it's not an attack on any particular religious belief. It flows from the same logic that New Year's Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, etc., are identically pagan holidays that most American Christians celebrate (which would qualify these folks as idolators). Similarly, Christmas and Easter are manifestations of so many pagan rituals -- including their mythology and many symbols -- that the entire rant against Kwanzaa serves as a huge straw man.
Posted by: MIB at December 19, 2004 10:25 AMI guess you didn't read the "I'm working on a Christmas-is-not-pagan post
Yes I did and I can't wait to read it. It will be interesting to see if you write what my pastors said about it.
Posted by: EBrown at December 19, 2004 11:00 AMKneegrows arguing about whose *authoritative* writing and preaching they've accidentally encountered and uncritically accepted - makes for amusing sport - except Christians are called to remember themselves. He who pities another - remembers himself.
In his Care and Feeding of White Folks series, Earl Dunovant made some piquant observations -ironically applicable in spades - to the coterie of confused afro-saxons who eagerly expend more energy arguing about the virtues of their random brand of pseudo-Christian doctrine than they spend engaged in actual Christian praxis.
Posted by: cnulan at December 19, 2004 05:57 PM
I guess you didn't read the "I'm working on a Christmas-is-not-pagan post," either. The blogosphere is great, isn't it?
Posted by: La_Shawn at December 18, 2004 10:56 PM