After reading Eric Bjornstad’s somewhat perplexing letter (“Christ deserves day off like MLK,” SN 1/22) concerning the presence of a university holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr., but the lack of a holiday celebrating the “original civil rights” leader Jesus Christ, I could only think of this to say: Dude, what are you thinking?

Call me daft, but I do not understand the rationale that Dec. 25, a universal holiday, is not celebratory of Christ and the belief structure that grew out of his existence. The holiday may not be strictly to celebrate and remember his struggles and successes as a “civil rights leader,” but it does have the advantage of being recognized on every continent. If the Easter holiday were not on a weekend, it would be a similar case. I hardly think King would believe his holiday is upstaging Christ.

Central to this argument is the contention that winter break has absolutely nothing to do with the Christmas holiday, but rather that it’s a combination of cold weather and it “nicely falls between semesters.” What the author does not seem to consider is that winter break occurs where it is due to the large concentrations of important holidays stretching across a number of religions and cultures, including Christmas. Additionally, I’m told that cold weather isn’t much of a problem at Arizona State University or the University of Miami, despite their observance of a similar winter break.

This letter contains a number of other strange claims from a person who calls himself “educated.” The author wishes to designate all people of color as blacks, including people of Arabic and Jewish descent. Additionally, the Julian calendar, as we use today, had little to do with the life of Jesus Christ, but rather the Earth’s travel around the sun. Without getting too verbose and argumentative, I would say to the author that MLK day is less about one man and more about the accomplishments of a group of like-minded people for freedom and equality.

The author has the right to choose not to celebrate this as easily as I choose not to celebrate Christian holidays. I would implore the author to more deeply check his facts, consider a diversity of beliefs, and think about it before writing a letter to the newspaper. They just might print it.

Brian Findlay
psychology and
criminal justice senior