My SIL's Happy Birthday Jesus cake tradition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is very sad, especially seeing how freely and gleefully some folks feel they can mock Christianity, and also those who feel like they need to resort to insults or profanity in response.

They're not mocking "Christianity."

They're mocking the birthday cake.

Learn to tell the difference.

[Anonymous]

This is a little odd to me, given that there is so much Christmas iconography and tradition that already beautifully celebrates the birth of Christ -- nativity scenes, songs like "Away in a Manger" and "O Holy Night," etc -- and if you are religious you're likely going to services that day too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be honest - my mom never did this until my cousin married a Jewish person and now it's "what we do every Christmas." I always keep an eye out and when my mom gets out the cake I see my cousin's wife quietly leave the room and I go with her and sit in another room and chat. She's never brought it up but I hope I bring some small comfort.

Now this I totally don't get. Why does your Jewish cousin in law need to leave the room because of the Jesus Cake?

[Anonymous]

This could create a lot of misunderstandings:

"I didn't say come over for a nice piece of Jesus cake, I said come over for a nice piece of Cheese cake."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have always had a candle and sang happy birthday to Jesus, where is the horror in this? The kids loved it when they were younger and love it now that they are older.

Actually, I have a real, authentic theological issue with this. Christmas is not "Christ's birthday." It commemorates the day Christ was born, not Christ getting a year older. You don't sing happy birthday to a baby when it's born, do you? The idea is to celebrate the holiness of the birth itself as God being made incarnate; not that Christ needs to eternally celebrate his special day as he gets a year older.

[Anonymous]

Ridiculous but, harmless. Whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have always had a candle and sang happy birthday to Jesus, where is the horror in this? The kids loved it when they were younger and love it now that they are older.

Actually, I have a real, authentic theological issue with this. Christmas is not "Christ's birthday." It commemorates the day Christ was born, not Christ getting a year older. You don't sing happy birthday to a baby when it's born, do you? The idea is to celebrate the holiness of the birth itself as God being made incarnate; not that Christ needs to eternally celebrate his special day as he gets a year older.

Interesting POV. Do you say this as a devout Christian?