Ditto

Absolutely.

We had a full Catholic Mass as well, and I have always said it was because I wanted my wedding to take longer than my divorce proceedings.

My best friend had a 5 minute wedding. She was so nervous and never really had time to calm down. She finally calmed down about 10 minutes after it ended. So she completed zoned out for her entire ceremony. At least I had plenty of time to calm down!

A Jew or atheist having a Christmas tree is different from appropriating a religious ritual. There is no Christian tradition that mandates a Christmas tree. Heck, if there's a Christian tradition that even recommends a Christmas tree, I'd like to learn about it. Decorating one's house with fir boughs, candles, etc., as well as giving gifts and having a feast, was a pagan practice that long predates Christianity. A Christmas tree's historical, and to a large extent its modern, purpose is to be pretty and bring some light and warmth into the house during the winter solstice. It's different even from displaying a creche, with its explicit Christian meaning, and miles away from, say, holding a "mass" in your living room because you like the text and you think the wafers are cool (which would be disrespectful and offensive).

We generally don't find it weird for non-pagans to celebrate Halloween, or for non-Puritans to honor the first Thanksgiving, because those practices carry so much secular, cultural meaning. It doesn't bother me if people want to move huppas or smashing a glass into that space. I have a bigger problem with churches deciding to host "Seders" without Jewish leadership. That is appropriation, and making a parody of something others hold sacred. I'm not a fan of the trend of using Jews and their rituals as mascots to validate a false "Judeo-Christian" presentation. Christians who genuinely respect Jews and our traditions don't keep a Jewish Stepin Fetchit around to make a political point about how much they love Jews.

I don't know about this. I don't personally see an issue with Christians celebrating Passover, though I would expect some additions to the traditional sedar to reflect our beliefs.

The problem isn't celebrating it. The issue is holding their own "Seders" without Jewish leadership (or even input). Would you see an issue with a bunch of Jews holding a "Mass" without bringing in any Catholics? If you want to experience Passover, countless Jewish organizations and families would welcome you as a guest.

This. A million times this.

I would have an issue with non-Christians holding the Eucharist, because it wouldn't have meaning to them. However Christians hold the Tanakh to be scripture, so some, but not all by any stretch, might celebrate Passover because of the command in Exodus. Since they won't have Rabbinical tradition to draw on, it would probably take a different form. Especially since we associate the Last Supper with Passover.

Now Vito, you know I've got to give you a bit of a hard time about this. :D Christians do celebrate Passover in their own way -- we call it the Eucharist.

Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia!

Or we call it Easter, if you're talking about the day instead of a rite. I think that in most European languages other than English and German, the name of that day is derived from Pesakh (Passover).

What I took Low C Sharp to be talking about is the Christianized Seders I see sometimes, where everything in the meal is re-interpreted/misinterpreted/understood (depending on perspective) to give Christian meaning to all aspects of the seder. These kinds of things make me very uncomfortable. Part of the reason it makes me uncomfortable is the fear that it will offend others. Part of the reason it makes me uncomfortable is that it indicates to me that we don't understand our own tradition well enough to see that the Eucharist is our Passover meal.

On the other hand, I do think participation in a seder can be a valuable, educational and very meaningful experience for Christians; we all too often forget our Jewish roots (and forget that Jesus was Jewish) and neglect, as result, to consider the implications of that for us. Our congregation has had seders for this purpose a few times in the past, and we've asked people from a near-by synagogue to join us for it, help us plan it and lead us in it.

There are indeed some (small, non-mainstream) Christian groups that consider the command in Exodus binding on Christians.

A seder is the retelling the story of the book of Exodus. Yes, there are distinctly Jewish elements (the Four Sons). But there is a worldwide and cross cultural implications: It is the story of freedom, the yearning for freedom and historical in that it discribes the growth of a group from paganism (worshipping the golden calf) to the understanding of one God.

It is considered a mitzvah (good deed) to invite anyone of any faith and background to a seder.

We went to a Catholic/Jewish wedding recently. It was held in a church with the Archbishop and a Rabbi officiating. (Yes, this had to be a very liberal church.) There was incense which I understand is rarely done. The Archbishop invited everyone up to take communion. A bit of an awkward moment. But it was very inclusive and that was nice.

Good point. Especially true since the Great Thanksgiving among other things usually mentions the Exodus.

Actually incense is very traditional. It's why some low church Anglicans refer to both our own High Church services and Roman services disparaging as "smells and bells." The fact that the Archbishop not only celebrated with a Rabbi, but invited all to communion? It probably would have caused a few coronaries in Rome if they found out.

Regarding the inviting all to communion bit: how is the officiant to know who is allowed communion and who is not? It's not like people have big neon signs over their heads that announce their faith. When I've been at weddings where communion has been served, they invite all, but people who are another faith or nonbelievers generally abstain.

It's one thing to commune all who ask for the Sacrament, it's quite another to invite all, especially when the official position is against it.

People rock the mustaches at weddings? That is effing lame. I've seen it in engagement photos and just parties in general. Someone should tell those wannabe hipsters that isht was over in 2009.

I don't know why people are so afraid of traditional weddings. Obviously people can do whatever they want, but at that point, it seems like it's less what people really want, and it's more of what will seem "quirky" or "different.

The wedding I went to last weekend (a Jewish wedding that consisted of two Jewish people!!!) was very traditional in religious, cultural (reflecting their backgrounds) and wedding terms. It was "different" because it was traditional, LOL.