Unfiltered Christian Podcast
Welcome to "Unfiltered Christian," a podcast where faith meets authenticity. Join me as we share the raw and real experiences of our Christian journey, navigating the highs and lows of life. Through heartfelt testimonials and candid conversations, we'll explore the challenges and triumphs of living a life of faith. Whether you're struggling or soaring, this podcast aims to uplift, encourage, and remind you that you're never alone in your walk with Christ. Tune in for genuine insights, relatable stories, and a community of believers striving to grow together.
Unfiltered Christian Podcast
Ep3 - Are Birthdays Pagan?
Could celebrating birthdays be considered a pagan practice? Join us on Unfiltered Christian with Cece and Shea as we tackle the controversial question of whether personal celebrations like birthdays align with biblical principles or veer toward idol worship. We'll explore the historical roots of birthday traditions, tracing their origins back to divine worship in ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures, and ponder whether these customs fit into or clash with our faith. Through our conversation, we reflect on our own practices and consider how to balance cultural traditions with religious beliefs.
We also take a broader look at how different religions approach celebrations, contrasting Christian practices with Islamic traditions that emphasize charity and community. By examining the early Christian church, which focused on the gospel and Jesus Christ without the modern customs we see today, we delve into the emotional and spiritual struggles of choosing religious convictions over widely accepted celebrations. From the symbolic meanings of Christmas trees to the simplicity of early worship, we discuss how personal beliefs can sometimes conflict with deeply ingrained family traditions.
Finally, we delve into the financial and emotional toll of gift-giving, particularly during the Christmas season. Reflecting on personal anecdotes like working at Debenhams while balancing university, we discuss the stress and financial burden that often accompanies holiday shopping. The disappointment of seeing expensive gifts disregarded or quickly broken, and the frustration of post-holiday sales, leads us to question the materialistic nature of these celebrations. Through it all, we consider the possibility of redirecting our focus towards praise and worship, seeking divine guidance in navigating these cultural and religious practices.
Thank you for Listening
To ask us a question email us @ unfilteredchristian1@gmail.com
Welcome to Unfiltered Christian with Cece and Shea.
Speaker 2:Come and join us on an authentic journey through the highs and lows of our Christian faith.
Speaker 1:Where we'll be holding nothing back. This is episode four. Welcome back. Thank you for tuning in. I'm Cece and I'm Shea. You for tuning in I'm cc and I'm shane. So it's my question. So my question to you I thought about it this week, random. Do you feel birthdays are pagan?
Speaker 2:oh wow, how did you go there? My gosh guys, I'm already scratching my head already. What? Okay, the answer to this is probably yes. No to you, to me, yeah. See, this is my struggle, because it's like it's what I think the right answer, and I could be wrong, and then I'm doing something wrong.
Speaker 2:We're all learning, so we're all learning boy for me, no, I feel like I don't know. Like I said, I'm still struggling with this. I feel like I would have said the answer is yes, based on biblical, the biblical way of it. Um, and I could be wrong by saying no if I'm going to be honest. Um, I feel like I'm stuck in the middle of this. So the reason why I would say no for me is because I think I love my birthday. I love celebrating my birthday.
Speaker 2:Um, I love celebrating that day of life, but my mind cannot think about that right now. It just keeps going back to what god says and I feel like I'm wrong. Um, and I feel like it is pagan, because dates was not created by god. We created dates and months and stuff like that, or did they do months in the bible, did they?
Speaker 2:yeah they did do months, didn't they okay. So I feel like that's why I'm confusing myself. I think that obviously, the the calendar we follow is not correct, so maybe that's the only thing I celebrate my birthday on the wrong date. Maybe that's it. But gosh, I don't think I've answered the question, because I'm just confused. I'm going back and forth because I'm thinking about it how it came.
Speaker 1:How this question came about for me, yeah, was I was looking at the 10 commandments, right and which we spoke about, and I was thinking about idol, that idol worship. And that's how it came about, because on that day you're honoring yourself like it's about me. It ain't nothing to do about Yahweh, everything is about me. That. How much of that day did we give to the Lord?
Speaker 1:And I thought, about it and I was thinking like and then growing up, there's two other religions that I know that don't celebrate birthdays, and that's Jehovah Witness and Muslims. And I remember having a talk with my uncle when I was 23 about why Muslims don't celebrate birthdays, because it's just the day that you were born on, that's it. You give all the praises to Allah. And then I was thinking to myself at the time I didn't really care. I was just like, okay, yeah, I'm not Muslim, but now that I'm older I literally think about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it's a nice day because you know everybody's telling you how much they love you and appreciate you and all of the above. But I thought, hmm, I do worship, yeah, and then you know me when I start thinking about things. I started to go into it and I was thinking, oh, where did birthdays even come from? Oh my what is that? And then it's you went into research mode.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah you went into research mode. Oh, my god from the ancient greeks, birthdays for them is when they became a god. So when, when you? When there was a new arrow, that was the day that they were birthed a god and that was their birthday celebration.
Speaker 2:Let me process this when there was a new pharaoh, that was the day they birthed a god. So the god is pharaoh. Yeah, the new pharaoh is god.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah the new pharaoh is good yeah, so when the Egyptian, so Egyptian. When there was an Egyptian pharaoh, when he was crowned, he was the god, and so he was now birthed. So he's not. It's like you becoming a pharaoh. You're not Shay, no more. You are the pharaoh, you are the god, and that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Wow, and I was thinking to myself cheers, oh wow.
Speaker 1:And then the candles. Now, well, that one, the candles, that one, the candles, that one, ooh yeah, that we put on the cake is a Greek offering to pay tribute to the god Of, like the lunar god and the Artemis god. So it was a tribute up to her, and then, like the Greeks, would offer a moon cake, a moon shaped cakes, and blow out the candle as a sacrifice to the lunar goddess. And that was, and it was for her beauty, her beauty, you know.
Speaker 1:And when you think about it when you think about your birthday you think, yeah, I'm nice, look at me, wow. So like blowing out the candle was a wish to send to those gods. So that's why it makes sense when people say make a wish.
Speaker 2:Yeah, who are you making?
Speaker 1:a wish to that I've been struggling with.
Speaker 2:I've been making a struggling with that. I don't. That's why, why I don't. That's why I don't say that to anybody yeah, I don't say that I did.
Speaker 2:I always felt I always found that idol as well, um, but that's the aspect of birthdays that I've been struggling of how to process, removing that. Watching a video yesterday, um, of someone celebrating their birthday on youtube and it was like I watched quite a few of them and every time it was his birthday it was like, oh, make a wish. And like the way he was, like standing over the candle and like had his hands put together, and then his wife is telling him don't tell anyone your wish, you're not allowed to do that, and it's just like this whole idol thing and I was like I felt very uncomfortable with it.
Speaker 2:And I feel like this is what happens to me on my journey. When I see Elohim is working in me, Like stuff starts to feel very uncomfortable. Yeah, what starts to happen is that I'm struggling because it's all I've known. And then he's like well, this is the new you, now, you no longer can do this anymore. And I literally feel like I don't know if it sounds silly, but I feel like stuck in the middle because I don't'm, so I'm not sure you know but yeah, it's a lot to carry because I'm just like, for 30 something odd years this is all I've known.
Speaker 2:And then boom, you get this feeling that's so strong, that's bigger than you, right, and I will say that's how you feel, elohim speaking to you because it will feel so strong. And the one thing someone said yesterday that I loved when I was on the Zoom meeting, it was like it will be something when Elohim is speaking to you, how you know it's him. It will be something that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:There's out, your comfort zone. So it's like this is where this has come up for me, um, in regards to this. So when I saw that, I was like, how do I handle this now for myself? I feel like I can, but in regards to children, if it's something you've always done with them, oh, the processing of it, um, there's a lot of the transitioning, should I say yeah I think that's where you have to pray for that transitioning I.
Speaker 2:I get the actual birthday aspect. I feel like definitely conviction has to work on me for that one. But when it comes to the, I love the cake side of it as well, because I've always been big deal about cakes. Like I feel like you should have a cake for your birthday. Like I feel like it's a nice thing to have something to eat and whatever, whatever whatever, um, but the candle side of it has definitely been a conviction for me recently.
Speaker 2:But it's all the same, right, I'm breaking it all down yeah, um might as well say it is all in one and it's so funny because the early, the early christians, because it was like that.
Speaker 1:It was the pagans that did it. Um, and the early christians saw it as evil, like they did not want to celebrate it. But again, what happens? You feel like, oh, but it's not bad. And then you, you join it and it's what we've been doing for generations, for generation, isn't it? It's like it's all you know.
Speaker 1:And then I started going on to the witchcraft side and I was looking to myself, like, okay, this is like the Egyptian side, but right now we're in the era of which, well, witchcraft has always been there witchcraft, juju, black magic, whatever you want to call it, or what's. What's this? New one now? Um, new world, something that they call it new age, new age, something that they call it out there now. And, um, like there was a witch that was that was talking about it, why we turn off the light.
Speaker 1:And I was thinking, you know I haven't turned off the light in a long time to do birthdays, but that was a big thing back in the day. Like you, turn off the light means the cake's coming. You know, the candles are lit. And she was explaining that we are chanting. Like, happy birthday is a chant, that's why we repeat it three times and then we sign it off. Candles are lit and she was explaining that we are chanting like happy birthday is a chant. That's why we repeat it three times and then we sign it off with their name.
Speaker 1:So we're making a chant to whatever God that is that this birthday thing was made for, because it was translated into English. So I'm not sure where it came from, or if it was a pagan language, and then it got changed into English to I'm not sure where, where it came from, or if it was a pagan language, and then it got changed into English to happy birthday. That's why you chant it happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear whatever. Happy birthday to you. So it's a chant.
Speaker 1:I've never noticed that until now yeah, but you do sing it three times, lord, my head is spinning and I was like wow, do you know how easy you know when the bible says like many will be called but few will be chosen? It's like we're meant to be sheep for his flock, but we can't blame our parents because they're just doing whatever they knew. We are doing what we were taught and then that's how it's so easy with anything, how you're misled. Do you know what I mean? Without knowing the facts? Because we just majority of us do things because we're taught the same way what we were talking about in our first episode, like why you're a christian and it was all I know, and it's kind of like none of us research where these things come from.
Speaker 1:We just do it yeah but it's funny how it opened a box for me and I'm not and this is not to condemn anyone I was just thinking to myself, like Ronald, this is interesting because it's like I saw it from a idol worship type of thing. Like you're, you're worshipping yourself, you know no, not having no other gods before me, but like, even though you get up in the morning. I think it was when my uncle was saying that in Islam, like you would go to the mosque and you would pray, and on your birthday or you would do charity work or you would you'll give back it's not it's not meant, it's not meant to be about you per se.
Speaker 1:And I was thinking to myself I always remember that conversation. But again I was thinking to myself, I always remember that conversation, but again I was like 20 or whatever. I was thinking I'm going to celebrate me, mate, I'm going to celebrate me. But when I was hearing about the chanting side and where the cake came from and blowing out of the candles and like the whole idol worship is mad wow, you wouldn't think it'd be that deep you really wouldn't the fourth century, which I don't the fourth century after christ, I think that's when christians abandon that, that it's pagan or like.
Speaker 1:It's bad and I like any. I don't know if there's any listeners, but I love Vikings. It was one of my shows that I loved watching. In that show it showed a lot of when England was trying to conquer certain certain countries let's use Europe where the Vikings were. They would meet them halfway so they would say like um, I'm trying to think of one that they actually did do, like Christmas, for example, they might have a way of worshiping satan. And then the christians of that time was like do you know what? We want to meet you halfway so we would half celebrate what we will call it. We will say that we're worshiping jesus. Do you know what?
Speaker 1:I mean yeah, yeah, it's kind of like they yeah, they compromised yeah and so before the fourth generation christians was just like no, we're not. We're not doing that, that's pagan, that we saw pharaohs and I'm not doing those things. And our ancestors and our ancestors before them, we only worship one god and then it's a thing like where you see other christians doing it. Then it's just like oh, actually it's.
Speaker 2:You know, it's not bad yeah it got normalized yeah yeah, like what happens now, when everything else gets normalized, powerful that you say that actually because I've been reading acts, um, about the early church.
Speaker 2:You know, literally, literally, just after Jesus died and rose again, and it has been hitting me in such a powerful way, of the early Christian church. But you read, and there was none of this and I don't think, I think I guess I've come across parts of Acts, but when I read it in the version that I do read in, even though it wasn't in that King James Version, but it still hit me so hard, the beauty of that early church, the unity, the humility. It's been so beautiful to read. But you read that and you don't hear about those things. You know their main thing was about speaking of the gospel, speaking of the word, speaking about like jesus and what he did and what he symbolized, and about god and like that's what they were all about.
Speaker 2:Um, there wasn't all these added things, like you said, and I feel like this is definitely a tough one for me. It's definitely a tough one for me. I gave up celebrating Christmas and I've been okay with that, but now the birthday thing, wow, that's a tough one for me. Like, I have knowledge and I know that, like you know, I'm paraphrasing here. I know that God does speak of you know. Once you have knowledge, you know like we shouldn't be blinded to that and we should follow it. This is going to take some hard prayer and fasting right here In regards to this for me.
Speaker 1:For everybody.
Speaker 2:Because I've already battled this with my family with Christmas for over five years now. Um, that was a tough one, but with that I had the same feeling that I feel about the candles of the birthday side of it, if that makes sense. I had the same conviction where it. It was so loud that I couldn't ignore it anymore. And it's been uncomfortable because for the majority of my life I've always celebrated Christmas and then suddenly I've removed it. And even for me it's been strange, even though I know I shouldn't be celebrating it. It's been strange, it's been hard. I feel like I've lost. I still feel like I've lost my family for that day, if that makes sense because I now have to separate myself.
Speaker 2:So this is a battle.
Speaker 2:You know it's definitely a tough one, but yeah, like it's the same thing, like you said, with christmas.
Speaker 2:You know they mixed it, you know it was a pagan thing, and then the romans came in and was like, oh, yeah, you know we can kind of roll with it or whatever if I've gone too ahead of myself, but I know the rom, the romans coming at some point when it comes to christmas and they just thought, oh cool, like we can do this and just say it was christ's birthday. Um, yeah, and I just find it. When I look at it now, I find it confusing, because then you have this christmas tree that you're idolizing, that has to be in the center of the house, and have this, um, this idolized worship towards it, so to speak, with all the presents being underneath the tree and stuff, and then you still have the thing where everyone goes to mass, slash, church slash, whatever service they go to every Christmas morning to worship God, and then you come home and then you're worshipping the tree and it's just like gosh wow and then you're worshipping the tree.
Speaker 2:You are, though, because you come home and you worship gods, and in tutus. You come and worship the tree because you have to sit around it and take your presence out, and you know this tree is towering over you and it's your god. Quote unquote your god, so to speak even like the tassels and stuff.
Speaker 1:They mean something, um, I don't know what that means, but yeah I researched it time ago. But guys do your research, it all means something.
Speaker 2:It all means something. Yeah, definitely do your research, because I didn't even read that much, but I read enough where I was like okay, uh, you know I'm not doing this.
Speaker 2:I don't want to bring this into my family and I was like no, but at this point, the birthday part, and I made that very clear. Yeah, I'm going to have to say this now because I'm using references here and it's becoming confusing. I have a child and so I stopped celebrating Christmas because of that reason. I didn't want to raise my child with that confusion. But now this birthday thing is going to hit me hard because it's like I've always celebrated his birthday, because I felt like, with us not celebrating Christmas, that he can have something for him. Gosh about to say idol worship. Wow, he can have something for himself, um, to celebrate. But what I wanted to add to that is that back home in guyana um, that's where I'm originally from when it comes to your birthday, people actually do give. That's what I grew up with. Um, people didn't necessarily do the um, the meeting, so they did in a way like you'd have a cake, right. Because when I grew up, I had a cake and stuff like that. Like I have pictures of me with a cake. There was no candle in it, it was just a cake with my name in it and stuff or whatever saying happy birthday. But when it comes to giving, because even my grandma to this day she cooks for the homeless. That's her main goal on her birthday. She has to go and give back to the homeless, so she will cook or ask other people to help her cook and she'll go down to town and share out food. So that's one thing I grew up with.
Speaker 2:That was a big deal, and I've been hearing that a lot recently, because I listened to a podcast recently and this girl said that she didn't want to do nothing for her birthday. What she did want to do is give back. So she didn't ask for any presents. She told everyone to give her a donation towards her donating to a charity. Okay, so she had a charity she wanted to donate to. So she said I don't need anything, I'm good, I'm blessed. She said elohim has blessed her in so many ways. What do I actually need? So she said for her birthday she asked all of her friends to donate to this charity. That she wouldn't. That she had a passion for and I'm not gonna lie guys, I struggled with the process of that. I was like oh, maybe.
Speaker 2:I can do that for the first half of the day, but you know the second half, you know I need to have a little time for me. That's gonna be a tough one. Definitely. We have to pray about that one. That's a hard one to process wow, I think it is.
Speaker 1:I think it is crazy and I've been watching um a lot of cultural videos on youtube about different people's cultures and right now they're in asia. Like um, I've watched one in the philippines and one in japan and the older generation, who's like it's not even that old, to be honest, um, but like coming up to like early 60s up. They don't know the actual date they were born, they just know the month. Wow, yeah, and I I was thinking that's, that's strange that is strange.
Speaker 2:You said early 60s, as in what year age?
Speaker 1:no, like age. So people that are like 60s, like in their 60s, go up. Majority of them don't know yeah that's interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's not my grandboy. She's in her 70s. She definitely knows her birthday.
Speaker 1:So I mean again, I guess it is a man thing, isn't it? Because now you have a birth certificate, so to say that this is proof of your birth.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Now you're like a slave yeah, it's, it's like you can't go nowhere or do nothing yeah, yeah, it's been forced on us in a way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember that discussion came out about birth certificates. I think there was a video that came out about it. You know they were speaking about the fact that you know when you've. You know they were speaking about the fact that you know when you've they make it law. You have to have a birth certificate. You can't not have one. You can't not register your child's birth. You're going to jail?
Speaker 1:I think you can. There's um, because it's not the mormons. There's um, there's a type of christian I forgot what they're called but they, they are off the grid Christians. Wow, what are they called? It's not Mormons, but they live like they have horses and you know they are very the Amish yes, okay, the Amish, yeah, they don't have birth certificates.
Speaker 2:Wow, I didn't know you can have that option, because when I was reading it it was like you know, you have to Like. It's by law.
Speaker 1:You know you have to do it, but they have to respect your religion. I think there's, you know how there's loopholes in everything. The same way, like and guys, let me, let me give you this pointer. Like the same way, how, by by law, you know, when you go to court, you're not allowed to swear on the bible. Yeah, christians shouldn't be doing that, because we're not allowed to make an oath. I have to find it somewhere in the Bible.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:There's another word that you can say without saying I swear.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Yeah, to help me God.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So there's when you know your rights of certain things, you can get away with a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've always found that uncomfortable as well, so it's good to know I wouldn't want to be swearing on the bible, because the Muslims don't either. They've got their own way of saying it okay they don't put their hand over the Quran what would be cool that to have to do that you just say that what would we call that?
Speaker 1:To have to?
Speaker 2:do that. You just say that my religion don't agree with that. No, but would that be seen as like idol or a sin, or to actually put your hands over the Bible and swear over it?
Speaker 1:I think it's blasphemous, isn't it? Because, depending on if you're going to tell the truth or not, yeah, that's what I feel like.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to find a word for what that is that we're doing. Yeah, it's blasphemous. Wow, that's deep. My mind is blown, guys. I'm just like, speechless, processing. I'm sure you guys are too. My head's just like, yeah, trying to take this all in.
Speaker 1:I think it's also. I don't have children, so I feel like it's different when you have a child, isn't it like when you're by yourself, it's easy? Yeah, when you have a child it's kind of like that. I know, for example, um my husband. He celebrates Christmas, so I know that's going to be hard for him when we have a child, because I don't, yeah, yeah and he likes the tree and the decorations and, yeah, all of that.
Speaker 1:And I'm just for me, I like the family part. And again going back to Christmas, I spent the majority of my Christmases up until the age of 12 back home. So, or 13. 13, I think you told me. I don't think it was never a.
Speaker 2:What's back home for someone that's listening for the first time.
Speaker 1:In the Caribbean, yeah, and then Caribbean we. So we went to church, yes, However, Christmas Day we fed the poor, so we cooked twice, so the first lot of food we used to go around give to the poor, and then my depending whoever has the biggest backyard. We just used to have family time. So it wasn't really about presents or about the tree. All we did was which most caribbean people do is clean up the house. Everywhere's red, you know you clean the window clean, this clean, that put up your red curtain, your red spread Our version of clean cleaning.
Speaker 1:And then, yeah, so the house was clean, but it was about family.
Speaker 2:And that's what I love.
Speaker 1:So when my mum couldn't afford to take me back and I started having Christmases here, I didn't like it, I hated it. I hated Christmas because for me it wasn't about family, it was about the presents and everybody just, and they were ungrateful. Let me tell you something I was a child that was an adult in a mini, in a child's body, because over here, like kids, was getting upset that they're getting clothes like are you?
Speaker 1:alright, do you know what I mean? I was looking at the shirt like, oh, that's nice. You know, they didn't care yeah and I was thinking to myself wow, and I didn't like it, because back home, no matter what you got, I remember my last present back home, my last christmas back home. I got a furby and furbies were big back then.
Speaker 2:But oh gosh those things.
Speaker 1:And you got one present. Yeah, you did, obviously when, like your mum would buy you more, but at my cousin's house you had to take one present and that was it.
Speaker 1:So, whatever box you took, that's what you took, and then you celebrated. We had fun. You played music. You know, know, I mean you. You limed with, and liming means like, enjoyment with, with the homeless, like, and they used to even clean up the homeless. The homeless people used to have on good, good clothes and they used to be like partying with us in the yard. Wow, so powerful yeah um, so it was different. And then now it's like, hmm, you watch the children rip off the tape, play with the toys yeah and so many people go into debt because of it as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah yeah. You don't have money and you know people are fighting to put have their heating and gas on much less.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1:And then all of the food. Oh yeah, that too, and I think that's why it was different, because back home everybody bought a dish, it wasn't just on one person. So not one person is just feeling that whole burden.
Speaker 2:What you call a potluck. I think that's the aspect of it I didn't want to raise my child with at all. I didn't want dislike. I feel like for me where birthdays were still a thing to me, because I felt like your birthday is your birthday, that's the day you were born. We can celebrate that. But I didn't want him idolising Christmas where you didn't do nothing and you get a whole bunch of presents.
Speaker 2:Like your birthday is your birthday, Like that's the day you were born. We can celebrate that. But I didn't want him idolizing Christmas, where you didn't do nothing and you get a whole bunch of presents.
Speaker 2:It's a whole thing where, like you know, when your hair parents say if you don't behave, you're not going to get that for Christmas and it's like for what, though? Like what? And I didn't want to, even though I was dead. Now, guys, it wasn't easy for me. I was dead in the middle of physically, I was still doing the whole shebang with my family and then, book, I'm having a baby and by the next year, I was like, yep, not doing it anymore.
Speaker 2:I had to process that for myself. Yeah, um, I had to process that for myself in my own head, like whoa, um, but then I just felt like it was a sacrifice I was making for my child. I didn't want to expose him to that and I always said when he's older, I will do what you're talking about with the homeless. Like, I want to have that with him, to give him back, to let him see that this is not just that time, see that this is a not just that time, but for us to have that time together to be like you know, let's make time to give back and care for others who are more in need than we are. Um, and that's a own family tradition I'd like to build.
Speaker 2:But I agree with you, I love the family side of it. I feel like, um, even though we did the presents and stuff, for me it was more about the family. Even though we did do that in exchange of presents, it was more the family side of it, the laughter, the fun of it, uh, the food and like cooking and all that stuff. Like that's what I really loved. But the one thing I did hear people speaking of last year who did celebrate, who do, who do celebrate Christmas a lot of people spoke about that aspect of it.
Speaker 2:Now I feel like it is starting to kick in where people have had enough too expensive the economy had to be hard for people to to, you know, to humble themselves a little bit. And I feel like now people are finally humbling themselves. They're like, oh my gosh, like you know, we just want to have the family side. Oh my gosh, thank god we can afford food, you know that's. I think that's the main thing, like everyone's just now starting to have that humility where they're just, they're just happy they can afford food to make sure they all have that time together to eat.
Speaker 2:And it's the only day of the year in the whole world where the world shuts down. Um, I think that's the part of it that I love. Like that, that calmness, like nothing's going on, it's just peaceful, it's chilled and you're at home and you don't have to get up and run around and go to work and do this and do that. I think that's the side of it I still love. I still love the spring cleaning side of it. I still love like that you, you can have that time off to kind of just. You know, for those who don't have a 365 job you know we're not constantly working throughout the year you have that time to be at home and really dedicate your time to sorting out your house and cleaning up and having that time with your family and you know you really have that that day and I think that's what I still love about it everything else should be about.
Speaker 1:To be honest should be about family because you don't get to see your family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it should be a year where you're trying to be the ones that you don't see as well yeah, I like when people house hop, they just go to different houses just to see everybody, um, it's really nice. But, um, this birthday side of thing, I don't have an answer for that right now. I definitely, like I said, it's just prayer and fasting. I definitely don't have a. I can more speak on the Christmas thing, but the birthday thing I don't, I don't, you know, I don't know, honey, I just don't know.
Speaker 2:But all I will say is let Elohim move in me, let him move, let him, let him do what he needs to do in me and guide this process and, um, guide, guide us through these battles. Because I just feel like, even for me, the battle is like, once again, it's my family and trying to process that with my child. So, yeah, boy, I think that's my little two pence. Well, yeah, so do you think it's a thing where, now that you have this information because you said you have looked at this this week, so processing, if you've had time to process it do you think it's something that, from this point forth, you won't celebrate?
Speaker 1:um, I think so you know wow I think, I think the bits, the bits that are Hayden, can be removed but that's everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's it. You're not celebrating, that's everything. Yeah, because the cake, the birthday, the cake, the aspect of, like you know, celebrating, so that means you wouldn't celebrate, so that means you wouldn't really have a meal or go out or do anything or whatever because, it's about you in terms of like the right now.
Speaker 1:This is how my head sees it. I removed the cake, I removed the candles, I removed the chance because them things that I was looking at was deep yeah, the happy birthday of itself I think what I'll do for my birthday next year is definitely give more praise and worship to him. Um, because I don't um. I people that know me knows that every year I do an activity, and when I don't do an activity for my birthday, honey, there's something wrong. People think that I'm not well exactly that nearly happened this year.
Speaker 2:We were like what, what's going on, what's happening, what are you doing?
Speaker 1:and you know what maybe maybe the lord was working in me from this year because I did.
Speaker 2:I celebrate my birthday this year you did, but you actually wasn't as connected with it. You did keep saying like is it my birthday? Like your mind?
Speaker 1:wasn't connected, did I do?
Speaker 2:something. Yeah, you did. What did I do? We went, we went to, we went, we did something. Hang on my brain's trying to process. I'm still processing the games thing. Last year, the dessert place okay, we went out to yeah, okay yeah, I was like wait, what do we do?
Speaker 1:but yeah but I think again, it wasn't a fuss. I didn't have decay, I didn't have I just spent time with my my near and dearest that's true. Yeah, I get that so I think, yeah, you know the thing, the thing that the thing that I'll find the hardest is not accepting presents. I don't care about the rest of the stuff, you know, it's just like.
Speaker 2:Do you know how? The opposite. With that, I think I can give up. If somebody buys me a gift, yeah, it's for you.
Speaker 1:Because back home it's like if you reject a gift. That's an insult. So if someone's like I bought you a present for your birthday, I can't be like I don't celebrate it anymore. It's thank you.
Speaker 2:So what if you asked for it on wrap? So no, like birthday wrapping, no birthday bag or whatever.
Speaker 1:Maybe I need to research about gifts. How did gifts come about?
Speaker 2:How did gifts come about? How did gifts come about? I've processed enough. I've processed enough, but hold on.
Speaker 1:When you think about it, jesus got gifts. So when he was born? Oh yeah, the Frankenstein, the three wise men.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the Frankenstein, but it wasn't wrapped, like I said.
Speaker 1:Oh, we don't know how it was presented.
Speaker 2:Well, that's true, we don't, we don't really know, but it didn't have wrapping paper.
Speaker 1:No, but it could have come in a box or something you don't know. You don't know what the mer came back, or the frankincense I don't know, maybe one of them sack bags or something maybe the gifts is, maybe I'm saved because Jesus got gifts when he was born. But I'm not trying to say I'm like Jesus. Let me just. Let me just put that out there. Yeah, let me just put that out there.
Speaker 2:Mercy hey, no, no, no, she's just trying to compare. Compare what happened biblically to what what could be done now. Obviously you know.
Speaker 1:I just got that flashback because I basically sent Shay a picture of somebody and it was. They took the picture around Easter and they said Jesus died, so her cost has gone up that thing.
Speaker 2:I was thinking what are you talking about?
Speaker 1:so like basically, men have to up their standards to get with her because Jesus died. I was just like mercy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she said yeah, no, that was too much. Let me see if I can remember exactly what she said. Yeah, she did say that. No, she said Jesus rose from the dead and so did my price. Yeah, something like that. Something like that. She said Jesus rose from the dead and so did my price. So did my price. Yeah, something like that. Something like that. She said jesus, so did my price like honey. But I heard that completely different. It sounded worse to me when I read that one liner with the way she said that um, because I'm like are you selling yourself like you know what does that mean? Anywho, I yeah, but yeah.
Speaker 1:I can't compare myself to Jesus, but nah, he's just got this. Um, so for me, I don't, I don't. Yeah, I'll think about it when February comes right exactly yeah, your birthday is around the corner, honey thank you very much.
Speaker 2:Thank you for dropping the bombshell where my birthday is like a few months away, bread in mind, I wasn't fussing. I wasn't gonna fuss this year anyways, because it's not really a big number. So I'm just like, oh phew, because I feel like I've been falling out of it as well. It's been feeling too much of a pressure to want to do something and I feel like, do you know what? I think the, I think the, what do you call it?
Speaker 2:Again, because I feel like when you become an adult as well, people don't really care. They're not as fast, unless you're really into it, if that makes sense. But I feel like I wasn't like because for my mom, for example, she doesn't really celebrate her birthday because I was born two days after her birthday. So she's just like I don't have time, I just had a child, so she made it all about me, um, so she's not fussed whether she gets anything or not, and also she doesn't like a fuss, whereas with me I do like I've always liked celebrating my birthday, um, and it all feels weird when I don't um, but I feel like for me I can remove the present aspect of it. It's the cake side. I feel like that's one of my favorite sides.
Speaker 1:Now I can even remove the candle of it. We're on two opposite sides.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're on two opposite sides. I can even remove the candle of it. I'm not even playing. I can even remove the happy birthday from it. If that's where we're going, I can remove that too. I could remove the candle, it can be plain.
Speaker 1:Or like my new thing has been making cupcakes. That's been my new favourite thing, making cupcakes. I think the reason why the cake stands out to me is because of they made the moon cakes for the pharaohs. I think like because the cake is so attached to that to the painting.
Speaker 2:it's just like hmm, it is. Yeah, I wish it wasn't. I really do wish it wasn't.
Speaker 1:Or I'll just drag you guys to feed the homeless. How about that?
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I wouldn't mind doing that at all. Yeah, I think, definitely the one thing I would say I need to pray away it's the selfishness, because, like I never saw it as being selfish because I just thought all the other times of the year I don't do anything for myself, yeah, um, that's a struggle, because it's just like it starts to make me feel like okay, so if being a Christian or a child of God means you can't care for yourself, no, I don't think you should.
Speaker 1:I think it doesn't mean that, but I think I don't know like some people take birthdays to the next level, like they get offended if you didn't wish them a birthday. It's like what is all of that? Where is all of that coming from? And that's why I looked at the whole like idolatry thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because it's like you're seeing yourself as hello respect me, like the whole Pharaoh thing.
Speaker 2:Now, what I'm thinking about is like choose, yeah, yeah, yeah, the whole Pharaoh thing. Now I'm thinking about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the whole Pharaoh idea, like I'm a god. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Wow, I've been birthed Praise me. Yeah.
Speaker 1:You birthed something. Happy birthday. Where's my appreciation at you? Had one minute remaining. You're lucky you got there in time, or?
Speaker 2:the opposite. You know, when people try to be the first person, like, oh, I was first, I said it first. Um, I think the happy birthday side of it I, I don't know. I feel like my mind is I probably will get there at one point, but I think my mind is definitely working on removing the happy birthday and that's why a lot of people don't say happy birthday, because I feel like there's quite a few people I know they might not necessarily be, quote unquote, religious, I'm just throwing that out there but they don't actually like that term.
Speaker 2:I do have one or two people that don't use that term. You know, like you've got the jamaicans happy earth strong, yeah, yeah, yeah, happy earth strong, and whatever, and I have quite a few people that says that to me. They don't actually say happy birthday, so I get it. I feel like I feel like most people be receptive towards that. I feel like the world we're in now, a lot of people like why, well, okay, well, you know, if that's what you want to do, and then you've got other people that'll be in the opposite side of like, what's wrong with you? Like, why are you so extra? Why are you?
Speaker 1:what's wrong with?
Speaker 2:her yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly what's wrong with? Him, but it's family, though it's definitely going to be family. That's the number one I will say. They're going to be like all this time you've been doing it all your life and then yeah, yeah, definitely gosh. Yeah, that's what I heard about when I stopped celebrating christmas that church and I was like wait when?
Speaker 1:I started, my mom said because I started working. And she said the reason I stopped celebrating christmas is because I didn't want to spend money. Now that I have it, I'm thinking what she went around telling everybody that you know. I'm never sending the message because I'm trying to think how old I was. I think I was like 20. I started working before I was 20, but this was like my first proper job, job like where I was working more than just a weekend yeah, and.
Speaker 1:I was working in Debenhams, which is like a department store well, anybody else and um used to be, and uh yeah, I remember I was working like three to four days a week and doing uni and I remember sending out the message like the first of December, like, hi guys, just to let you know I don't celebrate Christmas anymore, so you don't have to buy me anything, don't feel pressured to to do so, I won't be offended. Do you know what I mean? And and yeah, my mum was just like I don't know why she's messaging people that.
Speaker 1:She was my mum was livid. Livid, just her birthday's on Boxing Day. She was trying to tell me that I had to buy her two gifts. I said but I don't celebrate Christmas no more. And you know how much money I did save Mercy Yo Christmas number, and you know how much money I did save, mercy yo, I would definitely start having that because I really had nieces and nephews at that time, and then my siblings and then my mom, then my mom's birthday and boxing day. It was a lot of money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's true, it is true, I agree, I agree, I saved so much money the joke about it, like you'll be there busting thinking, shall I buy this person this?
Speaker 1:and then you buy them. And then they come give you some lame gift, like do you know how much I spent on you?
Speaker 2:it was. It was definitely definitely like a whole uh tit for tat thing, like, oh, you gave me this, I'll give you that, oh, whatever it is like. It was literally like you had to buy stuff, um to the value of the other person, um, and I think I went through that a lot with my family, with one family member specific, but I went through that a lot of my family and it was like very, very materialistic and it's like if you, I felt like if I didn't spend over 100 pound for that person per gift, that I was failing. That's a whole heap of money in there. Yeah, and your husband, it's all your child, exactly that, my gosh, and it's like it was. I was stressed and I remember me and my other best friend other than Cece. I have two guys and we were literally going up and down in central in central London and down, like going from this store, like so we've got like a another department. Would you call it a department store?
Speaker 1:august not really not really.
Speaker 2:But no, it's not a department store, but it's like a catalog store or whatever it used to be a catalog store might as well call it that right and you'd literally go from I don't know.
Speaker 2:We'd go from I don't know the one in piccadilly to all the way to the one. Not, there's not one in piccadilly, but I'm just giving a random example like go from one area to the other looking for one specific item because it's a christmas present and we're exhausted. I'm talking we've got like five, six bags and you're up and down and we've done how many hours shift at work and we're literally there on late night shopping until 10 pm yes literally, like you know, late night shopping, 10 pm, running around trying to find all these presents are we exhausted, foot's burning?
Speaker 2:jumped on this bus, this, this underground, this train, just looking for one item because this one doesn't have it in stock and they told you have to go here. I like that. That started to exhaust me, but I think that's the aspect of birthdays that's starting to exhaust me too. Like you know what was annoying.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like after you buy this expensive, expensive, then after box boxing day it's on sale gosh yes, that, or the person has flinged it to the side.
Speaker 2:They flinged it to the side and you're thinking hold up one second. I just want that for you. Do you see, in some corner and that's the one thing I think I feel I see that more with the kids, do you know? I mean, like you see the kids, like they got the, the toy or whatever it is, by next day it's it's broken or it's flung to the side or whatever it is. And now when you go to the supermarket or wherever it is, by next day it's it's broken or it's flung to the side or whatever it is. And now when you go to the supermarket or wherever it is, they don't even know what presents to put out for people to buy anymore, because it's worn out. No one knows what to get anybody. They've got everything. Yeah, how many pairs of socks can you give, seriously? How many pairs of socks can you give? Like, come on, I never I I heard a joke of someone talking about how they love receiving socks, like they don't buy his socks any other time of the year because they know they're gonna get for christmas that's it I'm sorry for the men you know just
Speaker 1:that was a man that said that, by the way yeah, I know, okay, I feel like that's, that's men's number one gift. Like socks, socks if Socks. If it's not socks, it's like perfume, or I should say aftershave.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Aftershave yeah, Socks aftershave. Yeah.
Speaker 1:A mug or something.
Speaker 2:Exactly that.
Speaker 1:We need to do better. We need to do better for the bad, then we do.
Speaker 2:Oh boy, we need, we need to do better for the bad. Then we do. Oh boy, well, if we're hitting that, then we might as well just stop celebrating.
Speaker 1:Everything else throw away mother's day throw away, father's day throw away.
Speaker 2:Oh, do you know like that's all, like gods as well I know I heard about that one, for I heard of, I read something about father's day. I was like mercy, here we go, mercy, here we go. I was like here we go. Yeah, something did come up for Father's Day but I didn't understand it. You know, like where other other stuff kind of made sense, like the Christmas one made sense, the birthday one made sense, this one it didn't make sense because it was like it didn't make any sense what it derives from, like I, what that doesn't I haven't researched into it properly but, um, I sent you the article that someone sent to me, but it's still not making sense.
Speaker 2:And then in the end, the end of the article was like well, whatever you do for father's day, enjoy. And I'm like, but didn't you just say because it's up to the person, isn't it?
Speaker 1:because you might just read it, but you don't don't necessarily have to believe, so they're just being respectful.
Speaker 2:I didn't get it though it was valentine's day oh well and even easter as well, I can give that, oh, easter because that's like the whole fertility with the bunnies and oh, is that where the bunny side comes from? But then, is it isn't so easter anything to do with jesus at all?
Speaker 1:no, again again the Roman Catholics.
Speaker 2:So they mixed it again, the whole mix in the okay, well, I guess I can let that one go too. So, hey, well, the eggs don't bother me, I don't. Well, I'm gonna. I was gonna say I don't really buy eggs, but I did. I have been buying eggs for my nephew, but I wasn't really doing it before. Gonna, I was gonna say I don't really buy eggs, but I did. I have been buying eggs for my nephew, but I wasn't really doing it before. So I was like if, if my child receives one, then it is what it is. But I wasn't really buying until last year.
Speaker 2:Um, but I think it's that whole thing like you're talking about. As a Christian, you confirm to something, but I didn't do research, so I I my mindset didn't have a whole thing of idol worship. It was just a thing of where I just think it's rubbish and I don't see why I should bother. That's what my mind was saying about it. I was literally I was like this is nonsense, why am I spending money on like it's silly, right? Um?
Speaker 2:And to be honest, I wasn't fussed of it and I never thought I'd really get into it. So I need to snap myself out of it because with my child, I wasn't fussed with it. When people come with it giving him that, I said no, he don't need it, it's fine, let it go. Like I don't want him having all of that chocolate and stuff like that, I didn't really care for it. Um, but now realizing it is idle, then I need to let it go too. That I can let go of. It's not really a big deal to me. I feel like back home we had our own traditions.
Speaker 1:That's like nothing to do with it you know exactly you go fly a kite.
Speaker 2:It was nothing to do with it, it was just it was family day orientated again thank you, it was family day picnic, that's what it was. You go to the park or the beach you go to the park right and everybody cooks a dish and you come and sit down. So it was. And the reason why it came up at that time well, I don't know why, where it came from, it was derived from for us back home, but for me it was that timeframe where everybody's off school, so you go do something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's the Western world that's creeping into the third world Because, even like back home, they don't celebrate Halloween. It's when people that live over western world that come there, then they'll be like, oh, you know the 31st, like what was that halloween?
Speaker 2:I don't sound good me. You know what's that the devil thing? You know that's what people like would see, as I feel like to be fair. There's some people from back home that will be like, uh-uh me getting myself into the, you know, and.
Speaker 1:I think that's when they ask questions Because they'll be like why are you giving me an egg? What does this mean? Yes, yes yes. Why is everybody giving?
Speaker 2:chocolate egg. It's just like everything is Western world. We don't question we don't question anything in the Western world. We just do, we just roll with it. Oh, they're doing it, I'll do it. Oh, why not?
Speaker 1:Let's do it, and I feel like, and I think that one is more scared about like witchcraft, idolatry, things like that, so they fear God more. That's why they're like mm-mm. I'm not doing this, but we're saying that.
Speaker 2:I agree with that. What you're saying Maybe that's back home for you, but back home for me we're saying that there's still a lot of idle, idle things that I noticed back home in regards to, like, superstition. So there's a lot of superstition. I don't know if you had that back home with you Maybe you didn't but superstition back home for me is that there's a big thing there. I had to get myself out of that.
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, I feel like every country has superstitions, but I mean in a sense of um, I can't say in, in Sankis it's idol worship, though I think the superstitions was more like you know, you had a tape measure on your door to keep the spirits out or whatever rather than idol worship. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2:yeah, but then isn't that idol? Because you're using something else in place of God to protect you but I mean, in a sense of like, actually worshipping a God yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess they see as I'm doing this.
Speaker 1:It's like, for example, um, even like, let's use the tape measure. For example, like they will put a tape measure on the door and then pray, so it's kind of like mixed in between okay that's powerful. Okay, they would pray, okay, okay, interesting. But there's a lot of things like I think maybe this needs, this needs to be a whole, a whole nother different.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is another episode.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you should talk about superstitions because yeah, yeah, superstitions a whole lot, and so does africans. So yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, definitely, yeah there is a lot of things. Maybe that will be our next episode, yeah.
Speaker 2:Maybe, so Right, I think we should wrap up. Yeah, we should.
Speaker 1:We should wrap it up, Guys. Thank you for listening. I don't know what's that takeaway from this one, but yeah, whether birthdays are pagan or not, I know on Spotify. I'm going to put a question there that you can answer. What do you think? Is it pagan, is it not? Is it something that you're not ready to break away from because it's culture?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but do your research, guys, really try, try and like all the things we've spoken about. Look at it for yourself. I think it's very important to look at things for yourself and let elohim work through you.
Speaker 1:You know, and he will work myself whilst you're doing it too.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's, that's. That's a powerful one too as you're seeking yes as you're seeking deny self yeah yeah, thank you guys for listening thank you for listening every fortnight there'll be I was about to say a password every there'll be an episode.
Speaker 1:Every fortnight there'll be an episode. But thank you for supporting and listening. May yahweh bless you whatever day you listen to this. And yeah, god bless everybody amen, see you guys.