Perhaps his parents didn't celebrate his birthday, if you're correct, but the modern Christian world does, and, as I said below, this shirt is meant for today's way of commemorating the anniversary of a birth. Obviously, it doesn't follow the mores of the Jewish community of his time...
I don't think the creator of this shirt was engaged in ridicule, but was simply attempting a light-hearted depiction of the yearly celebration of the birth of Christ. Of course Christ didn't wear a cross, but he didn't wear a party hat or carry a balloon, either, so my point was that this was Christ before his death. The anachronisms are just that--a design made in the 21st century, speaking to cultural references that we in this century are familiar with.
Before you make assumptions about the Jewish people in Christ's day, please know this... The Mishnah (Avodah Zarah 3: I), too, refers only to the birthday celebrations of pagan rulers but is silent on birthday celebrations among Jews. It has even been suggested that, in ancient times, Jews saw a birthday as a gloomy reminder that life is drawing closer to its end; a day for solemn reflection and repentance rather than festivity. No crown of thorns? Why would I see this comedic character as the "crucified" Christ? Perhaps because it depicts him with a crucifix. Jesus did not wear a cross...He hung on it. I've never objected to the phrase "Happy Birthday Jesus" when I see it on pins at Christmas. But I do picture my savior in a crown, not a party hat. There's a huge difference between reverence and ridicule. I would simply ask that you understand this.
Christ was said to have lived to be 33, not just 2 or 3, so he had many adult birthdays. So why did you feel that this must be the already crucified Christ, and not him at 30, say? (The drawing shows no marks from a crown of thorns, so surely this represents him before he was crucified.) Were the gifts of the Wise Men the only ones he was every allowed to receive, and was his birthday never to have been celebrated during his life--is it somehow sacrilegious to think that Mary and Joseph might have marked each year with happiness, and maybe even a special meal?
When the wise men presented their gifts to the Christ child at age two or three, I may have been okay with this. But depicting the CRUCIFIED Christ in a party hat made me cringe. I am not a stoic sort of Christian, nor judgmental but this is simply offensive. Please remove it.
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