At the tender age of 16, I was invited by my girlfriend to attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve at the local catholic church.
The most bizarre string of ritualistic craziness I've ever seen.
Didn't get the whole thing then, don't get it now, never will get it.
Bloody statues, parades of people in robes, people speaking ancient languages and swinging incense burners.
I got out of there as fast as I could graciously and never talked to the girl again.
Scared the crap out of me to see people I thought were normal participating.
But . . . but they believe in evolution! That's supposed to make everything all right and appeal to intellectuals like you!
That's a whole other subject, but thanks for bringing it up. This thread is now headed for 1,000 comments.
BTW, people who deny or ignore evolution as creeping pretty close to fact are ideologues with blinders.
Before you all get started, EVOLUTION has NOTHING TO DO with creation, so get over it already.