It is not "or" it is both. It is now cultural habit because the majority of the country is Christian and as a society elected to take Christian holidays off for several generations. If this tradition was suddenly halted, the majority of the country would be in uproar. Not because of the a halted tradition, but rather because we no longer celebrate Christmas and Easter as public holidays. According to your view it just so happens by coincidence we are already off 2+ cumulative weeks for those days for potentially, solely, "cultural reasons", therefore cannot count them as Christian holidays. This is an erroneous view. The hypocrisy argument has weight if you traded holidays, not merely adding another one one.

This post was edited by Bazi on Sep 28 2015 12:56pm

No... You don't see hypocrisy in purging one religion out of a system with the ideal of 'no religion in government' only for them to allow for acknowledgement of another religion's holiday?

It is to me O.o

Surely you see the nuances that create the hypocritical situation..... Sure it is for easier cultural assimilation but imo schools are not the place to do so....




Considering they don't give those days off because they are religious holidays, but because they are simply what our culture has been doing for a long time which creates the norms that would make people cause the uproar they would if they canceled them. If they gave those days off in a religious sense, then added the other religion, then it is simply equality. But taking away the religious intonation, then adding another holiday which has a religious intonation is surely hypocritical... I don't see why you guys don't see it that way.

This post was edited by ChrisKz on Sep 28 2015 12:59pm

I don't see the need for random scattered holidays to be added.

I'd prefer if we kept just a "summer break" (weather related holiday) based on location + New Years break. 1-2 weeks at the very end / start of year.

I'm afraid every other religious cultures out there will start crying foul and rallying for their holidays to be included next....

Give each student a quota number of "days out allowed for religious purposes" maybe?

In the end, those holidays don't really benefit the students academically anyway...

I agree, I'm for year round schooling

Here in the Midwest most kids would rather have the two weeks off in November, screw December and January. November is Hunting season!! It would cut down on a lot of "sick and tardy days"

=O

never thought of that

i haven't been able to hutn for years cuz of school/work =/

Just because the most prominent holiday in the world, which has been celebrated worldwide for countless generations, has become a cultural event across the globe; this doesn't take away the original sentiments behind the existence of the tradition. Just because Veterans Day is a culturally accepted holiday after x generations, doesn't take away the original ideas behind this day of thanks

Basically this doesn't work:
holiday = celebrated for many generations = cultural norm overtime =/= holiday

This sounds like a job for the Church of Satan!

Which Satanic holidays will they get off next year...

That has nothing to do with the schools or the government though, they are the ones recognizing the other religious holiday while simultaneously dissolving all previous Christian elements(spiritual) from schooling.

I'm okay with this. Either all or none. I prefer all.