At last.

Merry CHRISTMAS?

Where have you been??? Missed you! :o)

Engaged?

Whatever the news - Merry Christmas and welcome back. Charlotte (Mystic)

I almost took you off my blog list. Can't wait to hear what the announcement is!

your getting married.....huh?! good to see you "might be back" :-) merry christmas and happy new year.

Welcome back.

the fake African holiday that hardly any black people celebrate.

That's already starting on a note that's wrong. The creator of Kwanza said he created it based on things from different African countries.

So, there's nothing fake about it.

You're right that a limited number of people celebrate it, so what's the fuss?

Really?

I think the fuss is that it's stupid.

Yeah, I said it, stupid.

And, also joining the "I think she's engaged" bandwagon.

Ohhh yea -- forgotit was KWANZAA .. happpy kugijaka whatever ... so whos the guy? Said a date yet?

PS glad your back.

I dearly hope it's not that, after a month and ten days of thinking about it, you've become a liberal.

First sign of Spring -- Ambra Nykol emerges groggily from her winter hibernation.

Welcome back. May your voice be heard throughout the land.

think the fuss is that it's stupid.

Yeah, I said it, stupid.

Guess what? I really don't care one way or the other.

But when Kwanzaa has more written against it than Mardi Gras or the corruption of Christmas, then there is an issue here and it's race based. And I don't care if it's Blacks writing against it or not.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Ambra!

My first thought was an engagement, but I'm starting to lean to Peace Corps, following in the footsteps of Jimmy Carter's momma.

If people want to "do" Kwanzaa, then let them have at it. Christmas will come (and go) either way.

Merry Christmas we've missed you; and o by the way on your announcement, congratulations on winning the lifetime shoe shopping spree at Nordstroms:-)

I'll never get the fixation with Kwanzaa either way. Do I celebrate it? No! Have I been to a Kwanzaa event or two in my lifetime? Yes. Is it a replacement for Christmas or any other religious celebration? No ... not to any of the practicing Christians or Muslims or Agnostics I know. Kwanzaa and Christmas celebrations aren't mutually exclusive events and Karenga himself said he never meant it as a substitute. It is no more fake that choosing to ease Christianity on the pagans by declaring that the celebration of Christ's birth should be held at the same time as the Saturnalia celebrations ... I'd think true "Christians" would be trying to celebrate his birth somewhere close to the actual month/date.

In any case, Christmas is over and Kwanzaa and Hanukkah have begun. Let's can the totally manufactured "war on Christmas" until next year!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! What happened to you? Are you with child? Kidding. Glad to have you back.

America ? the greatest country in the world ? was founded on the concept of religious freedom. In America, you can be a Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist or pagan, without fear of persecution. While government cannot endorse one religion over the other, individuals can.

[Discussions about Christ are taboo in government schools, but Kwanzaa isn?t. From a reader: ?Today a gentleman was invited by my child?s kindergarten teacher to talk about Kwanzaa to the class?If the philosophy of Kwanzaa is allowed to be discussed in public school should I be allowed to discuss Jesus Christ with the class also?? Answer: Of course you should be allowed, but you are NOT.]

For decades, the media have given credence to many a self-appointed black ?leader,? no matter how outrageous. Now they?re doing the same with a pagan ritual called Kwanzaa, a so-called African-American holiday.

A made-up, anti-Christian observance, Kwanzaa is celebrated by blacks who profess Christ. In our politically correct climate, even President George Bush, a believer in Christ, feels obligated to praise this ritual.

[All holidays are made up! True. But in this context, here is what I meant: Kwanzaa is a jumble of political ideology, pseudo-cultural, and spiritualized ?African? rituals. Unlike Christmas, the Christian observance of the birth of the Savior, Kwanzaa isn?t a deep-rooted, historical, or true observance of anything African. An ex-convict created a faux African Christmas replacement for black folks.]

Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by Dr. Maulana ?Ron? Karenga, a former black militant, Marxist and convicted felon. Claiming to have the unity of black people in mind, Karenga committed most of his crimes against blacks.

Just five years after his invention, he was convicted of torturing two black women by stripping them naked, beating them with electrical cords, placing a hot iron into the mouth of one and mangling the toe of the other in a vice. During the ordeal, he forced them to drink detergent.

Observed from December 26 to January 1, this ?alternative? to Christmas is based on a mixture of East African harvest rituals called first fruits ? according to Karenga ? and 1960s radicalism, although most ancestors of black Americans were from West Africa.

[I cringe when I read news stories that assert Kwanzaa is a ?celebration of black culture.? ]

Participants acknowledge their African roots and promote seven, harmless-sounding principles ? unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

While they sound commendable, the guiding principle behind Kwanzaa is based on race, not on faith in the one true living God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Paganism is a ?religion of nature.? Those who practice it and other New Age fallacies see the divine in the created ? humans, sun, moon, stars, trees ? instead of the Creator. Christians who worship created beings are acting like pagans. It?s that simple.

[Christmas also has pagan roots! False. While it?s true that certain objects associated with Christmas have pagan origins (the Christmas tree, mistletoe), the commemoration of the birth of Christ itself is not pagan. Critics often make the mistake of dismissing our claims simply because Christians may have borrowed ideas from other cultures. But Christians know the Bible is our final authority, not the culture. Although it doesn?t command or even instruct believers to set aside a day to celebrate Christ?s birth, the Bible doesn?t forbid it, either. The whole point behind Christmas was much clearer before the days of politically correct thought control and speech codes.]

Karenga and his followers worship the created, their African ancestors, in a ?libation? ceremony, and believe these dead ancestors to be spiritual intercessors between humans and God. But Christians know (or should) that only Christ is the intercessor between us and God.

[Unfortunately, I?ve participated in a Kwanzaa ritual, and it was quite worshipful. Fortunately I was an unbeliever at the time.]

Attention Christians: Kwanzaa is a made-up creed cobbled together by a man hostile to the very God you claim to worship! According to Karenga, Christianity is a myth. He does not believe in the God of the Bible. He says this about Christianity: ?Belief in spooks who threaten us if we don?t worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives must be categorized as spookism and condemned.? He believes that the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the whole rationale behind Christianity, is a myth.

[As a Christian, I don?t feel that Kwanzaa is religious in any way. I see it as a cultural celebration.

??I think African American Christians must recognize that Kwanzaa is not a simple appreciation or reaffirmation of one?s ancestry, said Eric Redmon, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Temple Hills, Md., a predominantly African American congregation. The concept of self-worth based on one?s ancestry is inherent in the system of Kwanzaa, and perhaps can reflect ?the majesty of the image of God in all people,? Redmon said. But he noted that Kwanzaa overlooks the depravity that can arise within any human culture.? ] (Source)

Over the years, Karenga has altered his pagan intentions to attract more black Christians into the fold. He now claims that Kwanzaa is a time of giving ?reverence to the Creator.? Just what creator he refers to is unclear. Red flags should jump out at any Bible-believing Christian when someone reveres a ?Creator? but denies the deity of Christ.

Christians must understand that Karenga intends Kwanzaa to be an alternative to Christmas so that blacks can celebrate themselves rather than the birth of Christ.

Kwanzaa is not an innocuous celebration of black history. It attempts to spiritualize that 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.

Pagans have argued that Christ was not born on December 25. Insignificant. While no one knows exactly when Christ was born, the fact remains that He was born. Christmas is a time for Christians to celebrate this joyous fact.

Christ became a man to save men, not to lift up one race or culture in worship. As with any man-made religion, Kwanzaa is just another attempt to make gods of men. All Christians must be discerning when faced with these false doctrines.

The Fall of Man was the direct result of our determination to become gods. The pagan ritual of Kwanzaa is merely the old Lie wearing a new disguise.

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That Kwanzaa is taken this seriously in a supposedly informed and enlightened society is scandalous , especially when you learn the background and history of Ron Karenga. What a detestable human being.

Yet in my daughter?s Blues Clues Holiday video, I have to watch it be treated on equal footing with Christmas and Hanukkah as an affable Tyrese Gibson tells Steve and Blue how great it is.

People are afraid of being branded as racists for calling Kwanzaa out as the phony ?holiday? that it is.

One day after celebrating the birth of Christ it is sad that some people run to embrace a racially segregated ?holiday?, daily straight into the New Year.

My geater concern with the proliferation of Kwanzaa is this: I view it as another attempt to further divide Americans from each other. To my mind, Kwanzaa is as dangerous as the Aryan Nation, in that both seek something ?pure? to their respective race and cultural, in order to set it apart, and above, everyone else.

America cannot stand as a house divided, yet those who would push for the recognition of Kwanzaa seek just that result. Divide and Conquer. Control one part of the population at a time. It?s a slow and persistant process, but in this case, it uses the cancer of racism cloaked in faux tradition to achieve it?s goal. That goal could easily be seen as modifying our national motto: ?E Pluribus Unum? to ?E Pluribus Maxima Pluribus?.

Dark Star,
Kwanzaa isn?t being attacked because blacks are celebrating it, it is being looked at for what it is. To even state that it is under scrutiny because of black involvement seems to be racist.

I know of three black families in my neighborhood who do NOT celebrate Kwanzaa because to them it is a false tradition, based on humanist aspirations rather than Godly ones.

Yes, the devil can mask the lie with a truth?we call it sugarcoating. Kwanzaa sounds noble, but it does not remind one of where the traits come from, nor is there a covenant relationship with Diety or family.

Even the ancient Israelis had their feast days to remind them of certain blessings and events in their history, to show them the Hand of God in their deliverance.

Kwanzaa seeks to place man where God should be. It discriminates against God.

One more thing, Dark Star:
You correctly state that Santa Claus is nearing diety status. Why is that? Could it just possibly be that with removing Christ from Christmas the Fat Man and his reindeer have replaced the Reason for the Season? And who do we blame for that? The schools and the ACLU with their bleating and whining about the separation of church and state? The annoyance lawsuits about some aggrieved feelings regarding being traumatized by the Babe of Bethlehem?

Christ is not as oppressive as those who would place tyranny over my mind and my life by telling me I have no choices.

And Christians have long deplored the blatant hedonsim of Mardi Gras, as well as other unholy and impure practices.

Shouldn?t that be Dr. Ron ?Maulana? Karenga? After all, Ron is his REAL name.

I?m not so sure about the Karenga either?.

There?s something so phony about Black Nationalists reinventing themselves as some kind of ?Authentic? African (As if all of Africa is a grand unified whole - which has never existed). I?m reminded of how Wilson Goode, after he got out of prison, traded in his expensive suits for some ?African? robes, just long enough to get re-installed as Mayor of DC. It was such a transparent ploy, and what was most disgusting is that it worked.
This pseudo-holiday was introduced to our family by my late grandmother. In hindsight her intentions were truly noble, however she would be very disappointed to find this ?holiday? was created by a convicted criminal who was is by no means noble.

My awakening about this nonsensical holiday came about while in college. I was a political science major; one course I took was called African Politics. Sitting in this class, I realized Africa as a continent encompasses so many cultures, ethnic/tribal groups and religious groups, there?s no historical accuracy to Kwanzaa. It?s obvious that Mr. Karenga had no concept of African history; it?s just a hodgepodge of Swahili phrases.

In this context, it saddens me when reading Dark Star?s comments. In a deeper sense, he/she represents many individuals who embrace Kwanzaa-a total lack of historical knowledge. If this individual had bothered to read a basic history book, he/she could see Kwanzaa is totally bogus!!!

If you are indeed concerned about celebrating Jesus? birthday on a Pagan holiday, then don?t. Celebrate it in April, where it more properly belongs. jesus wasn?t born in December. heck, he was probably born around 6BC.

Emperor Constantine matched up Pagan and Christian holidays in order to simplify things in Rome. He was tired of Pagans protesting Christian holidays, and Christians protesting Pagan holidays. If One group celebrated the birthday of Sol Invictus and the other Jesus, and both on the same day, then they would be busy with their celebrations and not at each other?s throats, and life might be a tad bit quieter in the Empire. And so it was?

Heck Metri, if you are that hung up about Paganism and non-Christian influences, then you ought to worry about the days of the week too. They are all named after Pagan gods.

Me, I am more concerned about a made-up holiday like Kwanzaa that is being used to further divide the nation, black from white, Christian from Jew, from Agnostic, etc. It?s no different than Black History month. Why should a people with such a rich history have all of it crammed into one month? Why not celebrate or study it all year round, as a part and parcel of being an American?

Why is it that so many educators and ?leaders? have such a hard time wrapping their heads around a concept of ?American?? We will either live and prosper as one nation, one people, or we will reap a bitter harvest of stagnation and suffer the dissipation of that great dream our founding father?s had.

Kwanzaa is a step backwards on our journey as one people.

Send this information to all your newspapers-radio and TV stations! Write editorials- send to school districts! Send to Congressmen and Senators! Get this ?holiday? eliminated. I white it out of all my calenders if it is there. Hanukkah also- it is not the equal of Christmas- why in 2004- in fell in November! It is the 7th most important obligation/holiday to the Jews. #6 is saying your daily prayers, that is how lightly regarded it is-why is it major status now? Jealous? They got their Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur which are days off from our school here. The blacks got MLK day (stolen from Lincoln- the man who freed the slaves- ironic) ((Lincoln and Washington?s B-days are now just Presidents day-phhtt- I don?t celebrate clinton)) They also have ?Black History Month?- another load. The PC crowd are stealing our holidays and I?m sick of it. Columbus day is ignored now because of the PC?ers. This is WAR.

Probably the most disturbing thing about Kwanzaa is the fact that those who celebrate it almost always know nothing about it?s origin or history.

It is mind blowing to me what people will endorse even though they know not why they do so.

Sheeple, that?s what I call ?em (and I actually do have an aunt that celebrates this observance).

You know less about it than me and never celebrated it, so how is it that you are passing yourself off as an authority. You're a hater, and I'm going to expose you.

Welcome back, Ambra! See what fun you've been missing out on? ;-) I hope that you had a Merry Christmas.

Cobb says, "You're a hater, and I'm going to expose you."

And that's because exposing an alleged hater is what? The "loving" thing to do?

Or maybe it was a joke?

Oh yeah, as we have all agreed that there is an egagement, I am awaiting hi-res pictures of the ring.

Welcome back, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and... congratulations? Maybe. Hope so!

Ambra? Who's Ambra?

Hi Ambra, it's nice to have you back blogging. I missed reading your columns everyday! Corey.

"I have a big annoucement to make (nope it's not about the book).

obviously, the lay off has not diminished Ambra's skillz as a tease artist. to Ambra's future man: forewarned is forearmed.

p.s. i'm bettin a nickel the announcement's gig-related.

Looking foward to the announcement! Just don't wait a month & a half :-)

zzzzzzzzzzz

isn't Christianity founded on pagan concepts?
the concept of the Trinity is not Xian in origin. easter is based on a "pagan" celebration as is Xmas.

Actually, Easter does have pagan roots. I don't celebrate it for that reason. I've written about that at length here.

Also, yes you are correct in that some of the rituals celebrate during Christmas also have pagan origins. I find that many Christians don't do a lot of their homeworks on these things...

What is your evidence that the Trinity, as Christians understand it, was derived from pagan sources?

No matter the roots, I celebrate Easter as a time to remember the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. What's not to celebrate about that?

Look at it this way: growing up I was taught that the purpose of Easter was to remember the sacrifice of Christ. All my life even before I was saved I knew this. Suddenly because somebody says "hey, that's pagan!" I should stop?

Nah. Scripture shows us that it is good to have remebrance times at regular intervals and at Easter I revere His sacrifice. I truly don't care what its roots are because I know what it is for me now.

If someone is brought up believing something else then it would be wrong for me to dog them for having a hard time with it, but at the same time there is no amount of homework revelation that will stop me from gathering with the Body to thank Him for His sacrifice.

Test

There are Seven Festivals that were scripturally mandated.

1. Pesach or Passover
2. Hag HaMatzah or Feast of Unleavened Bread
3. Bikkurim or First Fruits of Barley Harvest
4. Shavuot or Feast of Weeks/Pentecost
5. Yom Teruah or Feast of Trumpets
(Also known as Rosh HaShanah)
6. Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement
7. Sukkot(h) or the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths

Now the 7 (SEVENTH) festival of the Messiah is interesting because it was during this week (Festival of Tabernacles) that the Messiah (Yeshua) was born. Folks were heading to Bethlehem during this Festival and were extremely elated because they knew that Prophecy (From Isaiah 53) was being fulfilled.

Tishrei 15-21 in Gregorian from Mid September to Mid October and it fluctuates..

Soo..if one made a choice to avoid scrutiny and rise above this mess in December, just find a fellowship, church, synagogue that observes the Festival of Tabernacles and you have the birth celebration on lock. Period.

(cont)

Furthermore..

If you ask me what it's all about, I'm going to tell you, and I am without a doubt born again, filled with the Holy Ghost, fire baptized Disciple of Yeshua (cause that's his REAL name) the Messiah who will NOT condemn people for what they do, because the WEIGHTIER matters of the Law are JUSTICE, MERCY, and FAITH.

No matter what you celebrate or observe, the bottom line is do you seek to promote justice and correctness at all times in all places in the known universe?

Do you love your neighbor?

Do you abhor the works of the flesh: fornication, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, FITS of anger (which is different from righteous indignation), rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness,gossip, backstabbing, covenant-breaking, lawlessness, lying and all kinds of other stuff wholly unbecoming of one called by HIS name?

Now.. what matters most?

I'm with Patrick on the feasts and festivals...