Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cmu-cs-edu1.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rochester!cmu-cs-pt!cmu-cs-edu1!rafferty From: rafferty@cmu-cs-edu1.ARPA (Colin Rafferty) Newsgroups: net.religion,net.religion.jewish,net.religion.christian Subject: Re: Separation of Church and State ? Message-ID: <396@cmu-cs-edu1.ARPA> Date: Sat, 6-Jul-85 21:05:05 EDT Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-e.396 Posted: Sat Jul 6 21:05:05 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 8-Jul-85 05:27:46 EDT Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI Lines: 32 Xref: watmath net.religion:7213 net.religion.jewish:2172 net.religion.christian:839 > If there is "Separation of Church and State" how can Christmas be considered > a "National" Holiday ? > > Avi Feldblum proposed (correct me if I'm wrong Avi), that a "National" > holiday does not mean from the "State". Rather, "National" means a > collection of holidays, some of which are linked with the "State" (4th of > July comes to mind), and some that are "National" holidays only because > everybody would take that day off anyway. > > Does anyone have an official list of "National" holidays ? > Are there other "Quasi National" holidays, like Avi proposed ? > Does anyone have an official definition of a "National" holiday ? > > ==> Ephrayim J. Naiman @ AT&T Information Systems Laboratories (201) 576-6259 This is just my ignorance talking, but I seem to have heard somewhere that the word "holiday" was derived from "holy day". Not much separation there. I also know for a fact that one of the first things that Ford did after he became president (after pardoning Nixon) was declare "Lief Erikson Day" on October 23. This was in memory of the man who was really the first to discover America, back in the twelth century. Just spreading my ignorance. ---- Colin Rafferty { Math Department, Carnegie-Mellon University } "According to convention there is a sweet and a bitter, a hot and a cold, and according to convention, there is an order. In truth, there are atoms and a void." -Democritus(400 B.C.)