Kindly comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 25, chapter 96 - Less Wrong

6 Post author: NancyLebovitz 25 July 2013 04:36AM

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Comment author: Kindly 25 July 2013 04:32:53PM 3 points [-]

As far as Christmas and Easter goes, the first of these specifically has a non-religious explanation in HPMoR:

The atmosphere at Hogwarts before Yuletide was usually bright and cheerful. The Great Hall had already been decorated in green and red, after a Slytherin and a Gryffindor whose Yule wedding had become a symbol of friendship transcending Houses and allegiances, a tradition almost as ancient as Hogwarts itself and which had even spread to Muggle countries.

No similar explanation has been given for Easter, but I think it's reasonable to suppose that one exists.

Comment author: Petruchio 25 July 2013 05:21:51PM 0 points [-]

I took that passage to indicate the tradition of green and red colors during Christmastide, not of the origination of any holiday,

Comment author: CellBioGuy 26 July 2013 03:35:12AM 9 points [-]

Christmas and Easter both borrow heavily from pre-Christian European traditions. Presumably those threads are carried over even more strongly than in muggle Europe.

Comment author: Petruchio 26 July 2013 05:28:35PM 2 points [-]

That does sounds like a solid theory as to why Wizards celebrate those holidays. I'll update my beliefs with this new evidence.