Finally: A holiday Best Buy can endorse

I don't consider myself 'christian' but this stuff pixxes me off. It seems like box stores are scared to mention certain FEDERAL HOLIDAYS. If they want to mention muslim religious days fine...but why not mention the judeo-christian ones that people spend money for?? The majority of Americans celebrate THANKSGIVING and CHRISTMAS regardless of religion (or lack thereof).

The Muslim festival commemorates a story that should be very familiar to Christians and Jews as well. The patriarch Abraham was married to a barren woman, Sarah. So that Abraham might not die without an heir, Sarah sent a servant woman, Hagar, to sleep with her 86-year-old husband. A son, Ismael, was born as a result. About 13 years later, God performed a miracle and Sarah was also with child; a boy named Isaac. Hagar persuaded Abraham to banish Hagar and Ismael in order to protect her son's inheritance from any claim by his older brother. Abraham sent his oldest son and his mother away. Muslim arabs claim to be the spiritual descendents of Ismael, while Jews and (by extension) Christians claim to be the spiritual descents of Isaac. Of course, Abraham is spiritual grandfather to all three faiths.

God ordered Abraham to take his "only son, whom you love" out into the wilderness, build an altar, bind the boy's hands and feet, and kill him as a sacrifice. Abraham was reluctant, but ultimately agreed to follow God's command. He built the altar, bound the boy, and just as he was about to plunge the blade into the young man's heart God stayed his hand and commanded him to substitute a ram instead. (A ram was found nearby, with its horns entangled in some bushes).

This is an immensely important story, it marks the official end of human sacrifice in Judaism and introduces the concept of a "substitute" sacrifice being acceptable to God. The latter concept became one of the founding tenants of Christianity.

The story is part of the holy writ for all three Abrahamaic faiths. The Jews and the Muslims disagree over whether the sacrifice took place before Ismael was banished and before the birth of Isaac; and in that case Abraham's "only son" would have been Ismael on the altar, not Isaac. Doesn't really matter; the moral lessons of the story remain the same. Because Abraham was obedient to God, a substitute sacrifice was acceptable.

Eid al-Adha commemorates this biblical event. However, just as the commercial festival XMAS and its associated unrestrained consumption has little or nothing to do with the biblical story of a baby born in the humblest of circumstances or the Christian solstice celebration that commemorates that event, it's tough to see how splurging on major electronic items has much to do with a festival dedicated to obedience and sacrifice.

Odds are, there's a big sheet of paper hanging there. My psychic powers encourage me to believe that the sheet of paper is lined in order to create 35 boxes; five rows of seven.

Just now coming into focus in my crystal ball is a heading on that paper. Yes, I can see it! It says "November", a name commemorating the "ninth month" of the old Roman year.

Eid al-Adha is in November. XMAS, or Christmas for the religiously inclined, is in December. My psychic powers are nowin overdrive- I predict that under the sheet of paper marked for the ninth month of the old Roman year you will find another marked for the tenth month or "December".

This is the first year that Best Buy has advertised this message. My psychic powers, (and they're not always batting 1000), predict that at the appropriate times, in December, the firm will mention the Jewish, the Christian, and the Commercial holidays as well. It's probably because the firm took so much heat from the "War on Christmas" (really a war on XMAS) crowd in the past that this year it is going to honor all of the religious holidays in turn.

(hanksgiving is not a holiday associated with any one religion, and more importantly-from a commercial standpoint-most people don't splurge on expensive gifts to exchange on Thanksgiving Day)

At least according to Dori's first link in this rant. Click on the underlined word "controversy" to view a web site Dori cites as a resource. That site, apparently endorsed by Dori, tracks the use of the word "Christmas" by several major retailers and notes that Best Buy changed its policy in 2007 to more often substitute the word "Christmas" for the word "Holiday" when promoting its XMAS sales.

...not even entertaining anymore.

store that I will no longer shop! This PC crap has to stop!

No need to Google this one. Dori's own link confirms that Best Buy returned to using references to Christmas in 2007. You know, the link that supposedly helps establish that Best Buy shuns Christmas, or XMAS, and honors Islamic holidays instead.

P. Poor basis for an Islamaphobic rant.

Christians will buy stuff around Christimas time. Period.

What's wrong with Best Buy trying to expand the base of people that will be shopping? If you get Christmas shoppers plus more.... that's just good business.

That said, I don't think this -or similar ads- will either bring or or chase away enough people to make a difference. It might hurt a mom-and-pop store more, but the huge conglomerate chains, they can laugh off the meager rallies against them by fringe groups.

that keeps me on the anti religion wagon. It is hard to imagine something that generates more hate than religion. Rather ironic since they all proport to embrace love and peace

There has never been authorized human sacrifice in the jewish faith or mentioned anywhere in the Bible...That story was talking about how Jesus was to be our substitute...