A
Angel_Gabriel
Guest
I don’t mean to get too personal but do you feel like you turned your back on your history? I remember when I told my mom I was becoming Eastern Catholic…the first thing out of her mouth was something along the lines of" I can’t understand wanting to turn your back on your own traditions and culture". I didn’t understand that then and I don’t now, namely because as an American (and one whose family has been here for a long time) I don’t have much “ethnic” culture anymore. Sure, I go to our local Germanfest and I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but that’s about it. America is a big melting pot and if you’re here long enough, people’s cultures combine and new traditions evolve. I became Eastern beacuse I love the byzantine rite and the theology. I’m lucky in that our parish isn’t ethnic at all and we are all “converts” to Eastern Christianity.
We have this mindset over here as well, except replace Islam with Christianity. There are tons of secular “Christian in name only” people around here. Oh sure they celebrate Christmas and put up all the decorations etc…they may even celebrate Easter but it’s all purely secular. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are the big stars, not Jesus. It’s frustrating to me because I love Christmas and Easter but mainly because of what they represent as Christian Holy Days. The older I get the more I love them. Unfortunately the older I get the more commercialized the holidays are. Even St. Patrick’s Day is nothing more than an excuse to drink green beer, get drunk and pinch people who don’t wear green. It’s absurd!
Even more sad are the people who turn their back on organized religion and proclaim themselves to be “spiritual but not religious”. New Age practices are alive and well over here. Even Christians get caught up in it.
