Sorority suspended for "Indian Party."

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

I don't know if they officially reduced the holidays or just the days of obligation. It seems as most of the days of obligation were turned into festivals of some sort, Michaelmas for example was a harvest festival.

Yeah, I have no idea of the technical/canon law terms for all these things since I'm not Catholic. But there were a lot of days in the pre-Trent Church were all peasants had to be given the day off from work. Like a hundred or more. Trent reduced those numbers drastically and reformed saints' days and festivals more generally. Right now I can't seem to find reference to the exact numbers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident...oman_calendars

I still don't think a non-Christian using a Christmas tree is anywhere near as offensive as dressing up as an "Indian" for a lame party. Most non-Christians who put up Christmas trees are not intentionally mocking Christians.

MysticCat, while I respect your views, I have to point out that part of the reason early Christians put their holidays at the same time as major pagan holidays (Christmas and Easter are just two notable examples) was not just to "replace" pagan holidays but to encourage observance by rural/pagan people who might not really know all the details of theology. The Church (and here I'm speaking primarily of the Catholic Church) has had a long tradition in the history of its missions and proselytization that allows new Catholics, former practitioners of other religions, to practice their old rites, but usually under a Christian guise. See the syncretism of early Christianity (this includes the holiday issue we've been discussing, but also things like the cult of saints itself, and often specific saints who have no written historical record), the Christianization of Latin America, the Christianization of the Kingdom of Kongo, the Chinese Rite controversy of the 17th/18th c., etc., etc., etc. It wasn't just about "replacing," but often about respecting and incorporating the former religion's rites. Of course Protestants and some Catholics might be offended by this today, but the historical record stands.