Comments on: The new Gap ad

By: Elysia

Elysia — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:59:15 +0000

And without the solstice, people would not be celebrating Jesus’s birthday in December. (Scholars feel that he was actually born sometime in the spring.) So why is it so terrible to include the solstice too? To say “happy holidays” and include all other faiths? I’m pretty sure Jews don’t celebrate Hannukah at this time of year just because of “the spirit of Christmas that is surrounding the nativity” so you shouldn’t assume that EVERYTHING going on at this time of year is solely because of Christmas.

By: jim Germain

jim Germain — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:36:03 +0000

WHAT a bunch of politically correct nonsense spouted here. Christians conservatives (oh no,,,) fundamentalists do not see ads like this,and go berserk. And I’m not threatened, and unwelcoming to other faiths.
Political correctness is just another weak way to hide what the individual thinks-THA’S WHY ITS CALLED “POLITICAL”.A person who is afraid to say that they think just gets in front of the political parade and pretends it’S their idea.People LOVE CHRISTMAS in private, I’ve asked them.
Without the “spirit of Christmas tha is surrounding the nativity”-PEACE ON EARTH, GOODWILL TO MEN, GIFT GIVING- there would be no wishing you a “happy holidays” or Season’s greetings”.

It would be just another holiday.Have the courage to admit it

By: Nova Brilliant

Nova Brilliant — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:29:44 +0000

I love the fact they said Solstice! Any step towards understanding, no matter how small (or commercial) is a step in the right direction.

By: Daughter OBatala

Daughter OBatala — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:53:28 +0000

Ah, lapse in editing! Apologies all!
We’re NOW valuable enough to the economy…

By: Daughter OBatala

Daughter OBatala — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:50:31 +0000

Elysia,
The use of the word ‘yule’ in reference to the holiday was part of the ‘rearranging’ of Jesus’ birthday. Yule does indeed refer specifically to ‘our’ holy day, but was replaced by ‘chritmas’ as more people became comfortable with the changeover. ‘Yule-tide’ is a lost tie to the process of past conversion.

What bothers me about the ad is the amount of angst it brings up amongst people who can’t deal with difference. The light is on, and we see where the roaches are so to speak. It saddens me to see the vehemence in the anti-Solstice comments and the righteousness in the Christmas-only attitudes. I suppose it’s good to test the waters sometimes to see how we’re doing in our attempts to evolve into a tolerant society, but the results are rarely encouraging.

On the flip side, we’re not valuable enough to the economy that Gap wants us to buy things from them to put in our stockings. The cynic in me wants to know if the economy is really that bad, or am I suddenly more affluent than I knew. More power to the Gap, whatever their reasons, but the ‘moral majority’ is s tough crowd, and however their angst manifests, are we a powerful enough demographic to counteract the potential negatives? A risk, indeed.

I’ll keep chanting for peace.

By: Erica Cornett

Erica Cornett — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:18:08 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised to hear them include solstice and I don’t think it has to be exclusively pagan. The solstice is something every religion can share. However, it does tend to run stronger in Pagan circles and any inclusion we can get is positive, even if they won’t back it up on their website. This is Gap, after all. Baby steps are still steps forward and I will be grateful for those as I continue to push toward social equality. Maybe if we support Gap enough they will be bolder next year. Go Pagans!

By: Elysia

Elysia — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:12:34 +0000

Good point, Morrigan! I think it will create tolerance, and that’s always good. I think that it will also get people to start asking “who celebrates solstice, anyway?” and connecting the dots. Yule is indeed “a” Pagan term, and of course it’s not the only one. Pagans of many stripes, not just northern European, have celebrated the solstice for millennia. But nowadays I think if you say you celebrate Yule, many folks just assume you mean Christmas and you’re saying it in an old-fashioned way! Think of all the Christmas carols that use the word “yule-tide” to refer to the time of year, not necessarily to the Pagan holiday. I think within the Pagan community we can equally hear “Good Yule” and “Happy Solstice” – at least in my experience. What about everyone else?

By: Morrigan

Morrigan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:34:37 +0000

The word Solstice is not a pagan term at all being that many cultures through out the world celebrate the return of the light. Yule is a pagan term and not one used in the ad. Even if it were the simple fact is that paganism has hit the mainstream quite some time ago. One only needs to go to Barnes and Noble to check out their “spiritual” section…they have branded tarot decks and spell books.

Mainstream serves a purpose that I think is being missed in this discussion…normalcy. Being a lesbian I know this phenomena first hand. Thanks to Ellen and the like we are seeing more and more fight for equal rights and I can assure you it is due to the media talking about celebs coming out that paved the way for this to happen.

My spirituality is sacred to me because I say it is and no ad on television can change that. If media exposure creates tolerance, than why would we complain?

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:24:07 +0000

My ears perked up when I heard “Go Solstice!” on the commercial. I’m a little sad that they left it off the site, but a cheering thought is that more people will see the commercial than will likely visit the website, though.

All in all, I think it’s a positive step in the right direction! I’m happy to share this holiday with all religions and all ways of life and it’s nice that some are beginning to accept mine as well.

By: Elysia

Elysia — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:12:44 +0000

Ah, Brandi, you see, this is all part of the “Christmas wars” that bubble up this time of year. On the one side, you have companies who are religion-neutral in their decorations and advertising, who instruct their employees to say “Happy Holidays!” rather than “Merry Christmas!” On the other side, you have the conservative Christians who complain that we’re trying to “cover up” or entirely eradicate Christmas from the public sphere, and naturally they see no connection whatsover between their practices and those of “other” people. Instead of welcoming the inclusion of other religions as a sign of freedom of religion, they see it as an intrustion on *their* freedom of religion.

So naturally, when conservatives/fundamentalists see ads like this, they go berserk. Unfortunately, inclusion of all is very threatening for some.