I remember how, back in the olden golden days of FR on the old Balkans threads, Orthodox Freepers wished Catholic and Protestant Freepers a merry Christmas on December 25, then the Catholics and Protestants wished their Orthodox brethren a happy Christmas on January 7.
I also remember how, back in the 1990s in former Yugoslavia, even during the conflicts there, normal Croats and Serbs reminisced about the good old days when Serbs would visit their Croat friends to join in their celebration of Christmas on December 25, and Croats would visit their Serb friends to celebrate Orthodox Christmas on January 7. Both seemed to genuinely regret the loss of those happy times when, as they said, they got to have “two Christmases”.
I don’t recall anyone on FR trying to push the Orthodox into switching to December 25 — although Catholics and Protestants sometimes half-jokingly said they were a bit jealous of the Orthodox because they got to shop the after-Christmas sales before their Christmas. It was all very friendly and fun. I miss those days.
My first introduction to the incomprehensible Balkans came from reading Srđa Trifković in Chronicles magazine (I’ve never figured out how his name is pronounced). This was probably 1991, before they started slaughtering each other as I recall.
He said politics there is so complex and tribal that even the locals have trouble deciphering it.
Read posts 20 and 33.
FR Christians would be or were fine with the many Orthodox who celebrate Christmas on December 25, and would have supported any who cared to join the majority of Christianity in that Christmas.
I don’t recall FR Christians being negative and against the Orthodox who celebrated our Christmas day.