So while the Pagan origins make it odd, I'm not actually worshipping any of the pre-Christian Celtic deities.
Yeah, that's what I was getting at.
That leaves the notion of "the days between the years" in another religion's calendar as the mysterious part.
Just because ancient Babylonians worshiped the sun doesn't mean the sun doesn't exist, nor that Christianity requires it's adherents to disbelieve in or ignore the sun. It merely requires them not to worship it as a god.
The secular calendar most of us use is, let's face it, the Christian calendar.
Well, a Christian calendar, as my raised-Greek-Orthodox-bf would be happy to point out. :)
To that, I can only say that I feel it, though I can't explain it within the context of my religion, and note that yes, it does coincide date-wise with the explanation from another religion. That I can't explain it using only my religion isn't a big deal -- my religion doesn't explain how gravity warps space or the U.S. Supreme Court, either.
Right.
That it happens to line up with a major holiday for someone else is ... interesting. So there is again strangeness but no outright conflict.
Right, but furthermore, there's a difference between religious tradition and religious theology. Memorial Day is traditionally observed with religious observances, and, being here in the US, that means Christian observance. It is traditionally Christian. But what is being commemorated is not "owned" by Christianity. If/when I observe Memorial Day, I would not say that my non-Christian Memorial Day "happens to line up with" the Christian Memorial Day. It is Memorial Day, and I am observing precisely what my Christian neighbors are observing -- the sacrifice of those who have served this country -- and the fact that this tradition may mean something theological to them (e.g. a religious duty to pray for the souls of the dead) has nothing to do with me.
(no subject)
Yeah, that's what I was getting at.
Just because ancient Babylonians worshiped the sun doesn't mean the sun doesn't exist, nor that Christianity requires it's adherents to disbelieve in or ignore the sun. It merely requires them not to worship it as a god.
Well, a Christian calendar, as my raised-Greek-Orthodox-bf would be happy to point out. :)
Right.
Right, but furthermore, there's a difference between religious tradition and religious theology. Memorial Day is traditionally observed with religious observances, and, being here in the US, that means Christian observance. It is traditionally Christian. But what is being commemorated is not "owned" by Christianity. If/when I observe Memorial Day, I would not say that my non-Christian Memorial Day "happens to line up with" the Christian Memorial Day. It is Memorial Day, and I am observing precisely what my Christian neighbors are observing -- the sacrifice of those who have served this country -- and the fact that this tradition may mean something theological to them (e.g. a religious duty to pray for the souls of the dead) has nothing to do with me.
Am I making any sense?
Yes, precisely so.