Just a thought on harry potter...?

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Question:

so how come wizards celebrate Christmas and Easter!? i mean, they do magic and stuff, so why would they have the Birth of Christ and the Death of Christ as a major holiday!?!?!? why do any non-Christians celetrate Christmas and Easter for that matter!? some of my friends do just because its a reason for celebrating but still!.!.!.

but then again, why do Christians celebrate halloween!?!? i dont know what im asking now!.!.!. answer whatever u want!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

In the Harry Potter world magic is the replacement for science!. It doesn't solve the mysteries of life and it does not replace faith!. I know many church official view magic as fundamentally evil, but this is fiction!. Magic in these books is simply there, it's a neutral phenomenon!. So, they do believe in god, the same way modern people with scientific explanations for much of the world still believe in god!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I've no clue - in fact I was wondering that one myself!. I guess it's just the same reason any non-religious person would celebrate a religious holiday - tradition!.

As for what Trini said about Halloween - that's incorrect, it's not a Christian holiday!.
Halloween began as the Celtic festival of Samhain which was a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture!. According to Wikipedia: The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops!. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown!. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them!.
The term Halloween is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day"!. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1!.

Most people these days don't actually celebrate it for what it is!. It's just a day to dress up and get candy!. It has lost actual meaning for most people - which is why you'll find Christians "celebrating" it!. Though it seems only pagans really have any true business celebrating that holiday!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

idk about the wizards but i know why christians celebrate halloween!. Halloween used to be a holiday for christ!.!.!.!.hallow means holy!. ween means eve!. so it used to be the holy eve when we would celebrate how kind our father from heaven is!.

However, as time increased, people turned it into costumes and fun and free candy, which is now our postion today!. Much like easter, it did not derive because some kids 5000 years ago went "hey lets make a day for the easter bunny!!" =]
It was originally intented to celebrate the rebirth of christ!.

That is why christians celebrate halloween!. It was origianlly intented for good!. And we strongly believe that as long as we do not admire or adore the devil in this 'holiday', in any way or form, its harmless!.

In addition, my parents only let me wear unique, pure stuff lyk an angel or egypitian, or even star wars costumes because we are big fans of star wars!. Hope I answered your question!. Oh and by the way that was composed in 2 minutes out of pure memory!! =] My parents would be proud!! JK!.!.!.!.!.!.LUV TRINI!! Again, I hope i answered your question!Www@QuestionHome@Com

And why do Christians celebrate the holidays!? Did some ancient record keeper actually produce a birth certificate for Jesus saying he was actually born on Dec 25!? Ever notice that Easter is not a set day of the year!? No, the real reasons are that our holidays followed the ancient roman holidays Saturnalia and the Vernal Equinox!. I recommend that you research the holidays first before going off on why fictional characters celebrate Christian holidays!.

The characters might use magic, but that does not mean they do not have religious upbringings!. Those raised in the Muggle world probably have stronger religious ties; but then again it is only my opinion!. Rowling did not deal much with religion in her stories!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

First of all, wizards aren't real!. They, technically, don't celebrate anything!.!.!.because they aren't real!.

Perhaps you should be asking yourself why Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter - if you do some research into the dates of pagan holidays in place for thousands of years before the first Holy Roman Emperor - you would find a disturbing trend there!.!.!.

just my 2cents
cjWww@QuestionHome@Com

Hedwig is the name of Harry Potter's owl; he was named after Saint Hedwig, a marvelous woman who administered charities very skillfully!.

Point being, the HP series has many meaningful allusions!.

Brandon Sanderson's mother suggested the idea for his hilarious "Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians" (a bored and frustrated boy wizard is setting fire to his adoptive parents' (27th in a series) kitchen curtains, when he is rescued by his eccentric grandfather, and given a mysterious inheritance!.!.!.)!.

"The Great Divorce," C!. S!. Lewis,
"Expecting Adam," Martha Beck, and
"Hope Rising," Kim Meeder, also very good!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Well, my suspicion is that you are from some country other than the U!.K!. (perhaps the U!.S!., like me!?)

The U!.K!. has a history *much* older than we here in the U!.S!. For centuries, the U!.K!. was a Christian nation, run by a Christian king, and the religion was *controlled* and *enforced* by that king!. Indeed, that fact is in large part responsible for why there is a U!.S!.A!. - people leaving England to worship in a way that was *not* approved there!.

So, in the U!.K!., both Easter and Christmas are (to put it in American terms) national holidays!. Why!? Because they had been *treated* as "mandatory" holidays in that country for far more centuries than the U!.S!. has even existed!. It is no longer merely part of Christian worship there: it is an integral part of their culture!. Christmas, at least, has much the same significance still in America, though Easter does not!.

There were some good answers about Halloween, though I find portions unlikely!. It is true that Halloween is "All Hallow's Eve", and that All Hallows Day remains a "day of obligation" for Roman Catholics!. However, it seems unlikely that this day was moved to Nov 1 to satisfy the British!!! Although in Britain Samhain corresponds to the current All Hallow's Eve, both in the day of the year and in manner of celebration, it seems very unlikely that an Italian pope in Rome move All Hallows Day to coincide with some pagan celebration in that distant nation!.

We see here
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Halloween#H!.!.!.
that, in fact, the Gaelic (British) celebration of "Samhain", midway between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, corresponded to similar solar-oriented harvest celebrations by other European cultures!. Thus, Halloween was not moved to coincide with Samhain particularly (especially at that early date, the 9th century, roughly 100 years before England was a nation)
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/England#Kin!.!.!.
Instead, it was moved for entirely different reasons!.
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/All_Saints#!.!.!.

So, to sum up:
1) so how come wizards celebrate Christmas and Easter!?
These are "national holidays" in Britain!. Besides, the books do not claim that any of the wizards or witches are *not* Christian!

2) why do Christians celebrate halloween!?
This is "All Hallow's Eve", that is, All Saints' Day Eve, and All Saints Day remains one of the most important holy days of the Roman Catholic Church!. At the time of making All Saint's Day Nov 1, nearly the whole of Europe was Roman Catholic!. The "Halloween costume" is a cultural form of celebration (British) that became a part of Halloween celebration in nations where British culture dominated!.

Jim
? http://www!.life-after-harry-potter!.com ?Www@QuestionHome@Com