Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

[Delirious]

With greeters at wal-mart seemingly being forced to say happy holidays to be "politically correct" The holiday season seems to now no longer to celebrate the birth of the starter/founder of modern day christianity. We want to be tolerable of other religions and accept people for what they believe. Other people's beliefs are now equal to our beliefs, it all seems to be truth and no longer Truth. Do we have a right to judge another person's religion/view? Are we free to do what we ought to do or what we want to do? Is there a complete black and white right and wrong or whatever seems right to you?

This all comes to of course this season like i mentioned above. What do you think this season is to be celebrated for? Why is that? Is Christmas a word that is now politically incorrect? Is it offensive to someone who believes in a non-christian religion?

Tell me.

 

[Solid Fro]

Christmas is a federal holiday. It should remain as such.

 

[Duke]

Personally, I celebrate the Winter Solstice, which is the fundamental reason underlying the Christian Church's choice of 25 December as Christ's birthday. It's much easier to assimilate the pagans if you are only changing their festival days a little.

Am I offended by being wished a Merry Christmas? Not really. That doesn't mean I need to assume that everybody I meet is Christian, though. So it's not really hard to simply say "Happy holidays" and avoid making a very unwarranted (and slightly arrogant) assumption.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a group of Christians wishing each other "Merry Christmas", though. It's just the implicit assumption that everyone else is like them that irritates a lot of people.

 

[Joey D]

Screw that, I just say Happy Christmas, but honestly Christmas is a federal holiday and so it should be said. But Chanuka is important, but it's not a federal holiday, and I don't even think Kwanza is understood by anyone.

I'm agnostic, and I don't care if someone wishes me a Merry Christmas, it doesn't bother me and if bothers anyone else they are just looking for something to complain about.

 

[luftrofl]

There is a problem greater than a conflict of religious beliefs if someone is TRUELY offended by somebody saying "Merry Christmas."

 

[VIPFREAK]

I like Bah Humbug the best anyway...

 

[Jordan]

I would say more if I had time, but I will say this: you will be seeing "Merry Christmas" in GTPlanet's header.

 

[Raghavan]

If someone said "Merry Christmas" to me, i'd say it back, even though I don't believe in Christmas. I personally would say "Happy Holidays", just incase there's some nutcase out there who truly gets offended because I said "Merry Christmas", even though I'm not Christian. If some truly got offended because of that, I'd be suprised, but to stay on the safe side, I just say "Happy Holidays".
My dad actually asked me once why I kept going around saying "Merry Christmas" to everyone, when I'm not Christian. I just told him that most people here are Christian, and they all say "Merry Christmas", so I do too, because when in Rome, act like the Romans...

 

[ledhed]

I guess I'm tooo old to understand why anyone sane would give a **** but who cares ?
Really guys common ? When is too much stupid PC bull**** just TOO ****IN much ?

 

[Delirious]

There's a town nearby where i live (maderia i believe) that is afraid to put up banners saying "Merry Christmas" because the ACLU may crack down on them for discriminating against people's religions.

I mean come on, it's a date set aside to remember the birth of the founder of the christian religion!

 

[Kylehnat]

I don't get the PC crap. Christmas is now a commercial holiday that most of the country celebrates whether they are Christian or not. My family Christmas has no trace of Christianity. To us, Christmas is a time when we all come together to exchange gifts and eat good food. Should we really have to cater to the overly-sensitive portion of the population that is truly offended by "Merry Christmas" because it violates separation of church and state? Should we change all mention of "Martin Luther King Jr. Day" to "race-neutral civil-rights activist day" because it offends Klan members?

 

[Solid Lifters]

How can anyone be offended by a holiday greeting, no matter what it was? If they do, kill them on the spot. The world could do without them.

 

[VIPFREAK]

There's a town nearby where i live (maderia i believe) that is afraid to put up banners saying "Merry Christmas" because the ACLU may crack down on them for discriminating against people's religions.

I mean come on, it's a date set aside to remember the birth of the founder of the christian religion!

Call me selfish but I don't see the religion crap in "Merry Christmas" I just see what the meaning of Christmas is suppose to be. The Polar Express is actually a great example of this. speaking of that movie the animations were unbelieveable.

 

[Raghavan]

I mean come on, it's a date set aside to remember the birth of the founder of the christian religion!

It's also a general time when many other holidays occur too, which are no doubt just as important to them as Christmas is to you.
The religious holidays of my religion (Hindu) is also very important to me, and the same to many others, but going anal on someone because they said "merry Christmas" is just plain insane.

 

['85fierogt]

I like Bah Humbug the best anyway...

I prefer a good Bah Humbug also. 👍

I despise going out anywhere between Thanksgiving and New Years, because all you hear is Christmas music.
I hate Christmas music!!!!

 

[Blake]

I like Bah Humbug the best anyway...

Ditto.

I don’t care if people wish me well on any holiday, even those that I don’t participate in. What would take it over the line is being forced to celebrate someone elses holiday.

I don’t think Christians do that with Christmas, they simply wish people well and invite them to celebrate. What’s wrong with that?

 

[VIPFREAK]

[QUOTE='85fierogt]I prefer a good Bah Humbug also. 👍

I despise going out anywhere between Thanksgiving and New Years, because all you hear is Christmas music.
I hate Christmas music!!!![/QUOTE]

oh yeah... that too.

 

[Grand Prix]

Saying "Happy Holidays" doesn't take that much more effort to say, it's more polite to others of different beliefs, and it is usually said with the same intent as "Merry Christmas." I don't see anything wrong with saying it instead of "Merry Christmas."

I think we should still have the winter holiday, but because so many religions have an important event around that time of year.

 

[Pupik]

It just seems a little forced and generic if I say "Happy Holidays". It looks like a phrase that should be displayed or written, not spoken. Although the word holiday comes from holy day, so it makes sence. It just sounds a little too PC, even coming from me.

I tell people to "enjoy the holidays", implying they should take a week off to reflect about things...like "think twice before before chocking the crap out of the guy that cut in front of you", or "don't forget your credit limit", or "don't be an a-hole to me because you can't stand the fact your family's visiting you for a week".

I don't get offended by "Merry Christmas", even though it's not my tradition. It's not like a Christian placed a curse on you by saying that.

Enjoy the holidays!

 

[Famine]

I say Merry Christmas. I also like to, very deliberately, say "Merry X-mas" because I enjoy being wrongly corrected by the very severe Christian-types.

 

[James2097]

I say Merry Christmas. I also like to, very deliberately, say "Merry X-mas" because I enjoy being wrongly corrected by the very severe Christian-types.

I say "Happy X-Mas and a Merry New Year", just to slightly ignore tradition.
Am I (pretty much) right in saying that the word "merry" is NEVER used in the English language except at christmas time? Talk about a waste of a word!

Merry is almost slang for "drunk" in Australia. I'm merry at least once every couple of weeks.

 

[Famine]

Yes - merry is used like that in the UK too, and not as infrequently as you'd think.

There's also Robin Hood's Merry Men.

 

[VIPFREAK]

...And I'll be going on my Merry way.

 

[Swift]

I would say more if I had time, but I will say this: you will be seeing "Merry Christmas" in GTPlanet's header.

Good stuff! 👍

I look at it this way. Our years are numbered from the approximate date of Christ's birth and we wouldn't even have a "season" if it wasn't for Christmas. Also, I seriously doubt that employees will be returning their "Christmas" bonus or going to work on Christmas(outside of the retail market)

I say Merry Christmas because(and I know what you're going to say) that nobody is worried about offending the Christians. Just every other form of spirituality. So, I don't really care if they get offended.

So I say Merry Christmas and if someone doesn't like it they can say so. But it won't stop me from saying it.

 

[Danoff]

This debate crops up every year. Do we say happy holidays to avoid offending the non-christians or do we say merry christmas. Are public schools allowed to get kids to sing Christmas tunes? Or do they have to be secular. Do we force the town hall to take down the nativity scene? Does the white house have to call it a holiday tree or can it be a christmas tree?

Tough questions, made light by a lot of people, but with real issues behind them that I think we all need to consider.

I'm atheist. I don't celebrete the birth of Jesus because I think that if he did actually exist, he wasn't the son of God. That doesn't stop me from wanting to celebrate the secular Christmas with Santa Clause, presents, and lots and lots of lights. To me, Christmas has nothing to do with Christ. Christmas is the celebration of the holiday (like thanksgiving or halloween) where everyone has decided to take time out and do something goofy like spend time with family. So when someone says "merry christmas" to me, I picture Santa and gifts, not the baby Jesus and the wise men.

But when you say Merry Christmas to someone who is Christian, they often think of the biblical reference... and when you say merry Christmas to Jewish people, they think of that as well.

Christmas is not about God to all of us, and so people should not be offended when others wish them a merry Christmas. Even if Christmas were all about God, they still should not be offended at the thought of being included in someone else's good wishes for their religious holiday. If I were visiting Israel and people wished me a happy hanukkah, I wouldn't be offended. But I would think it was a little silly of people to assume that I was Jewish.

I don't have a problem with saying happy holidays (especially since it is more accurate because usually you're wishing them a happy new year as well). I don't have a problem with saying (or hearing) merry Christmas. But here's where I do have a problem:

Kids should not be singing religious Christmas music in public schools, unless lots of religious music is included. They shouldn't be putting up nativity scenes on school grounds unless other religions are represented. City hall shouldn't have a baby Jesus out front. This is public land, paid for by everyone in the city - including Jewish people. To use their tax dollars to put a display in support of one religion over others on land that they helped pay for is simply wrong.

The white house is a touchier subject. It's someone's home, and it's owned by the public. I think that some personal religious celebration has to be tolerated from the person who is in office - after all, it is his home. But some effort should be made to prevent it from being a public endorsement of Christianity (or any other religion). So it's not out of the question to me, to make it a "holiday tree" at the white house. At the same time, it wouldn't be crazy to me for them to call it a Christmas tree. But people shouldn't get bent out of shape when some future president puts up decorations for a celebration for a different religion. The white house doesn't HAVE to have a Christmas (or holiday) tree.

More than anything, I think that people need to remember that Christmas is much more than a celebration of Jesus's birth, it's about Santa and gift giving and a celebration of family. So folks who aren't Christian should keep that in mind when hearing "Merry Chirstmas". But kids at public schools need to be singing "rudolf the red-nosed reindeer" instead of "away in a manger".

 

[niky]

Correction, kids should not be singing Christmas songs in public schools officially, but if they want to, they shouldn't be banned from doing so.

Who the heck turned Happy Holidays into a Politically Correct thing anyway? PC has always offended me. It's a way of telling other people "you're too thin-skinned, so we're going to change everything so as not to offend you.". I have Muslim friends and Sikh friends, and none of them have complained to me of feeling oppressed by Christmas (would you complain if they gave you two weeks off work?) and I have never felt oppressed by having the end and beginning of Ramadan off from work either.

So, although I'm technically an Agnostic (non-practicing, non-believing Christian), Merry Christmas to you all.

 

[Vonie]

Christmas in America is crazy. You can't escape it, except at synagogue. To me Christmas is is somewhat offensive and annoying. I hate the fact that people just assume that you're christian. "Happy Holidays" is not PC, it's common courtesy.

Well, I would write more but I don't feel like it.

 

[Plague.Ghost]

Here's something:

Christmas (originally the "Mass of Christ") is a holiday, observed in most of the world on December 25, celebrated by Christians to mark the birth of Jesus. Many Christmas traditions originated with pre-Christian observances that were subsumed into Christianity, for example the Winter solstice as well as Yule.

In predominantly Christian countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year, and it is also celebrated as a secular holiday in many countries with small Christian populations like Japan. It is largely characterized by gifts being exchanged within families and being brought by Santa Claus, Father Christmas or by other mythical figures. Local and regional Christmas traditions are still rich and varied, despite the widespread influence of American and British Christmas motifs disseminated by globalisation, popular literature, television, and other media.

The word Christmas is a contraction of Christ's Mass, derived from the Old English Cristes mæsse. It is often abbreviated Xmas, probably because X resembles the Greek letter Χ (chi) which has often historically been used as an abbreviation for Christ (Χριστός in Greek).

And this:

The context in which Christianity, and thus Christmas, was formed was the Roman Empire. The Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, each year beginning on December 17. In a festival called Saturnalia, they glorified past days when the god Saturn ruled. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice which by the Julian calendar fell on December 25. During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. Such traditions resemble those of Christmas and are used to establish a link between the two holidays. These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and the beginning of the religious year. As Isaac Asimov comments in his Guide to the Bible, "[C]onverts could join Christianity without giving up their Saturnalian happiness. It was only necessary for them to joyfully greet the birth of the Son rather than the Sun."

And then. . .

Some scholars maintain that December 25 was only adopted in the 4th century as a Christian holiday after Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity to encourage a common religious festival for both Christians and pagans. Perusal of historical records indicates that the first mention of such a feast in Constantinople was not until 379 CE, under Gregory Nazianzus. In Rome, it can only be confirmed as being mentioned in a document from approximately 350 CE but without any mention of sanction by Emperor Constantine.

And some random geographical things:

Dates for the more secular aspects of the Christmas celebration are similarly varied. In the United Kingdom, the Christmas season traditionally runs for twelve days following Christmas Day. These twelve days of Christmas, a period of feasting and merrymaking, end on Twelfth Night, the Feast of the Epiphany. This period corresponds with the liturgical season of Christmas. Medieval laws in Sweden declared a Christmas peace (julefrid) to be twenty days, during which fines for robbery and manslaughter were doubled. Swedish children still celebrate a party, throwing out the Christmas tree (julgransplundring), on the 20th day of Christmas (January 13, Knut's Day).

And last, but certainly not least:

Because of the focus on celebration, friends, and family, people who are without these or who have recently suffered losses are more likely to suffer from depression during Christmas. This increases the demands for counseling services during the period.

It is widely believed that the number of suicides spikes during the holiday season, although the peak months for suicide are actually May and June. Because of holiday celebrations involving alcohol, drunk driving-related fatalities typically also increase.

Non-Christians in predominantly Christian countries may be left bereft of entertainment around Christmas when stores close and friends depart on vacations.. The stereotype of recreation for non-Christians during Christmas is "movies and Chinese food", as movie theaters remain open to bring in holiday dollars.

In North America the naming of various holiday terms has become controversial. There is use of non-religious names like holiday tree and winter break in place of Christmas tree and Christmas break. Reactions to these attempts to include non-Christians are mixed, with many responding that renaming the events does nothing to hide their meaning and is condescending.

Now everyone has an idea where people are comming from on this.


Personally, I say Merry Christmas to people. Ironically I've never gone to Sunday school or even sat in on a sermon, but I've just heard it phrased that way since I could remember, and so it shall remain that way.

—EDIT—

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas .

Also, I don't see why people complain. If they're putting a tree up, sending and receiving presents, and clebrating Christmas with a Santa Claus, then I don't think they have much right to complain if they're using a "Christian" holiday.

 

[niky]

Happy Hannukah to you, then.

And I will still wish Merry Christmas to my friends and family... and a Good Ramadan to my Muslim friends. (too bad that was months ago). Since I don't know anyone who celebrates the solstice, fie on that celebration.

Christmas in America may be over-the-top, but that's Commercial Christmas (one reason I DON'T celebrate personally), and nothing to do with the celebration itself.

 

[Vonie]

When I say my "holiday greetings" to friends, I customize it to their religion. I say Merry Christmas to my christian friends, and Happy Hanukkah to my jewish friends.

Simple as that. That's as "PC" as it gets.