So is there going to be another huge stink over whether we will be able to say "Christmas" again this year? I think that, no matter what, I will still be saying "Merry Christmas" every year. There is absolutely nothing offensive about it and the very fact that there was such an uproar about it is proof positive that "political correctness" has gone too far.
I say merry christmas on the phone to customers during the holidays, they appreciate it. I did happy holidays in '03, but it sounded stupid. So I've told my other phone people, its merry christmas every year since. I'm actually considering putting in a christmas card on all the orders I ship out this year starting after thanksgiving. May end up costing me a little bit, but I'm curious to see if there is a payout there for repeat business. EDIT - Change the title of this thread or this forum might rank #5 for christmas in short order
Haha! Think so? If so, I may just run off and create a Christmas-themed MFA site and stick a link in my sig and posts! But yeah, I think holiday cards are a good idea. Since I'm in the south, it's really not as much as an issue here but it does make me sick that it has become an issue. "Happy Holidays" just sounds so lame.
I'm on the "left" and non-religous and there's no offense to it.. i even "celebrate" christmas as any other holiday. Who's making a fuss out of it?
I don't seriously believe that it'll rank #5 or top 10, but this forum tends to rank pretty highly for words that are used in thread titles That's cuz you like gettin' stuff for free. Its pretty typical of the "left"
Seriously? Well, here's the most recent stupidity: "Ho-ho-no! Holiday play axed at school" "Criticized last year by a parent who demanded strict separation of church and state issues, Principal Bernadette Floyd has decided instead to take a more generic approach to holidays, school district spokeswoman Janice Karst says." http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasurecoast/content/local_news/epaper/2006/09/29/m1a_SLXMAS_0929.html You will be hearing more...much more in the weeks to come. Madness.
Hmm. My letter to our local paper, printed in December, 2005. So, I agree with the Principal. It's not about political correctness. It's about honoring the constitution, IMHO. More substantively: Personally, if I were a religious Jew, or Muslim, or you-name-it, I'd be offended that someone would say "Merry Christmas" to me as a matter of presumption, were I calling them as a customer. Let me ask - if you were to call a business, and were greeted with "Happy Ramadan," how would you feel? Would you feel the need to correct, saying, "I'm not muslim?" Not everyone celebrates Christmas. Joy, peace, good will - these are all good things. But wishing them on someone does not also require we make a presumption of their religious sensibilities, does it? Not a big point, really. Like yo-yo, I celebrate the holiday as a time for family to get together and for children to laugh. I remember the 10's of 1000's of years of our species looking forward to the longer days of spring to come. But it is something.
The last company I worked for went politically correct just before I left. No one but me seemed to notice that the invitations to the last Christmas party referred to it as an Adult Holiday Party. Although I am not religious, I find it despicable that companies feel they have to cater to the one or two percent of the employees who pretend to be offended by the word Christmas. To a lot of people, Christmas is no longer much or a religious holiday anyway. It is a time for family and gift-giving. Christmas has always considered to be a good thing by the vast majority of Americans and Europeans.
It the person who is saying it is muslim, who cares? I say merry christmas because I celebrate christmas. I don't get into a canniption fit if someone says happy hannukah to me.
I agree with you - it has largely become a secular thing, and it really isn't that big a deal. But then, I was raised a Christian, and the whole notion is part of my cultural milieu. Most Jews I know, too, couldn't care less. I just find it somewhat presumptive. Ah, the hell with it. Merry Christmas.
I understand - as I said earlier, who truly gives a damn. But would you truly not be just a bit tweaked if you called your company, and they said "Happy Hanukkah" to you during the holiday season, as a matter of course? Actually, there's nothing worse than a 2-week rush of "Merry Christmases" or "Happy Holidays" on strained faces, followed by the hatred made in the name of religions everywhere, the rest of the year. Don't get me wrong - I am no Scrooge, and do love the holiday period for many things (mostly, the party-time joy my little one gets by goofing with his cousins on hyperspeed), but I'm also glad to be done with the commercial end of things, when the season finishes.
Not really. If the company celebrates hannukah and is jewish owned, i'd almost expect it, wouldnt you? But let's face it, most retail businesses do not look forward to the "holiday" season because of hannukah or ramadan or kwanza. They look forward to it because of christmas and people go shopping. So, by not saying or acknowledging the holiday (happy holidays or happy generic winter holiday or whatever), they are, in essence trying to bug off the very people who make the year profitable for them.
Your response, though well thought-out, is essentially flawed. If a "religious Jew, or Muslim, or you-name-it" was thoughtful enough to wish me a "Happy Ramadan" then I would actually be flattered that he thought enough of me to share the tradition of which he is celebrating with me. I react the same way when the Hari Krishna's give me a flower in an airport. I'm not offended that I was *gasp* exposed to their beliefs. The argument is flawed because you are utilizing the Constitution to "rob peter to pay Paul." You are using it to protect one group at the expense of another. Any rational person can see that this recent campaign against Christmas is just another blow to Christian values because most non-Christian and PC-enthusiasts see Christianity as a threat and a badge of oppression by right-wingers. When in fact, the vast majority of Christians just want to peacefully celebrate the holiday that is ingrained in their culture. Of course, there are going to be fringe reactionaries on both sides. But I am confident that any rational person can see that it's nothing more than a senseless attack on traditional American values.
(Paragraph 1) Well, no, not really, because that would be just as presumptive. (Paragraph 2) In fact, as it turns out, most places I have worked for have happened to be owned by Jews, and they still say Merry Christmas as a matter of habit, I suppose. I don't know - most of my closest friends up our way are Jewish, and they just don't seem to give a rat's ass. So, as an atheist, who the hell am I to get huffy.
*shrug* If I walk into Satan's Den of Hell during christmas and buy a pint of blood, a goat and a virgin or something, I'd expect them to say "Happy Satan Day" or whatever to me. Who knows, I may just be buying it for my kid's birthday party? Pretty presumptive of them to assume what I'm gonna do with it right? I just think people who are upset about "merry christmas" are just lookin' for something to be upset about. They are probably upset about something else on the other 364 days of the year. I don't feel the need to hide the holiday I celebrate because of it.
First paragraph, fair enough. I actually feel the same way. In fact, I usually respond in kind - say, sat nam, or namaste, etc. And therein lies the crux of the problem. Associating Christian practice with "traditional American values" has infringed on a whole host of citizenship rights, and the legal history I wrote above bears this out. For instance, if you wish to worship, I'm all for it - hell, I'll even die for your right to do so - but by making religious practice a governmental function, you are now clearly infringing on my right to refrain. In fact, Columnist Reese's viewpoint (my first post, above) is exactly the viewpoint I contest in this regard. Last time I looked, no government official came to your church and told you to stop. When law requires me to practice religion, in utterance, act or attestation, however, I have a problem.
That's just it - no government official is requiring anyone to practice anything religious. A school play can't go on because it has to do with Christmas? That's absurd. Schools have and always been a community resource and should be made available to be utilized for such affairs. Last time I checked no one FORCED anyone to attend a school play. Banners that say "Merry Christmas" in department stores are offensive? Please. How is that requiring you "to practice religion, in utterance, act or attestation"?