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| Which one do you prefer |
| Merry Christmas/Happy Christmas |
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63% |
[ 24 ] |
| Season's Greetings |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Happy Holidays |
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23% |
[ 9 ] |
| Bah, Humbug! |
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7% |
[ 3 ] |
| None of the above |
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5% |
[ 2 ] |
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| Total Votes : 38 |
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duke of new york
Joined: 23 Jan 2011
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 Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 1:34 am Post subject: |
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| Died By Bear wrote: |
Quick question: Have you (OP) or anyone else actually ever encountered anyone at all that was 'offended' by the term 'Merry Christmas'? Ever? Because if anyone ever said anything like that to my face about how I greet during the holiday season, I would just tell them to shove off.
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I've never encountered anyone who was offended by the words "Merry Christmas," but I have encountered a lot of Christians who are offended by the words "Happy Holidays." It seems that atheists, Jews, and all the many other people who celebrate December holidays other than Christmas don't mind sharing that month with other groups and their holidays, but many Christians get pissed off at the mere mention of a phrase that acknowledges there are other holidays in December besides Christmas.
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Why would you or anyone for that matter care what other people think? Is this another example of the 'pussification' of our society? We care too much what other people think. Don't worry about what anyone thinks. Do what you want to do. If you're worried about offending people all the time, how can you live your life with any amount of self respect?  |
Since when is caring about what other people think being a "*beep*?" As it has already been established, saying "Happy Holidays" is not about not offending people, it's about acknowledging people with different beliefs than you. Does not being so self-absorbed that you refuse to recognize other people's beliefs make you a *beep*?
I don't think there's anything wrong with saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." It just depends on who you're saying it to. If I'm talking to someone who celebrates Christmas, Christian or otherwise, I'll say "Merry Christmas." If I'm talking to someone who celebrates Hanukkah, I'll say "Happy Hannukah." If I was in some unusual situation where I have to say something like that to a group of people with different beliefs, I'd probably say "Happy Holidays." Not because I was afraid the other two would offend someone, just because I would want to be nice and not imply that one person's holiday is more important than the other's. I don't think I've ever been in a situation where that was necessary. It's something that is more appropriate for something like TV commercials that are seen by millions of people of different backgrounds.
It's not that big of a deal. People have different beliefs, and respecting the minority beliefs by including them in your holiday greetings is nothing to get upset about. The United States is not a Christian country any more than it is a white men country: sure, it is ruled by them, but the central idea behind this country is that everyone is treated as an equal, whether you are in the majority or minority.
The whole "war on Christmas" thing was just invented by the religious right as another way to fire up Christians. The Republican party is very good at exploiting Christians for money and votes.
Certain types of Christians (not all of them) need to grow up and stop thinking that every person who believes something different from them is attacking their religion. |
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duke of new york
Joined: 23 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 1:58 am Post subject: |
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| I have a feeling this thread is going to be shut down for inciting religious debate. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 3:24 am Post subject: |
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Nope, never offended about what other people say. It's been 20 years since I cracked a bible or stepped into a church.
But I do believe that Christmas is a christian holiday, and they should be allowed to express themselves in the way they wish.
imo, non-christians should also say whatever they wish during their holiday, or any holiday for that matter. For me, the solution is simple: everyone says what makes them feel the most comfortable.
Thanks for your input though Dukey. |
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duke of new york
Joined: 23 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 3:41 am Post subject: |
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| Died By Bear wrote: |
Nope, never offended about what other people say. It's been 20 years since I cracked a bible or stepped into a church.
But I do believe that Christmas is a christian holiday, and they should be allowed to express themselves in the way they wish.
imo, non-christians should also say whatever they wish during their holiday, or any holiday for that matter. For me, the solution is simple: everyone says what makes them feel the most comfortable.
Thanks for your input though Dukey. |
No problem with that. But if what makes someone comfortable is intentionally saying "Merry Christmas" to someone who they know does not celebrate Christmas, just to assert the superiority of their religious holiday, I reserve the right to call that person an ass. I don't think anyone here would do that, but many people would. |
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bekinseki
Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Well, I celebrated Christmas by going with my Jewish friend to an Iranian restaurant. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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| bekinseki wrote: |
| Well, I celebrated Christmas by going with my Jewish friend to an Iranian restaurant. |
Best post ever. That's awesome! |
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Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 1:50 am Post subject: |
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Duke of New York,
Good Post!
Thanks! |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 6:19 am Post subject: |
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| Died By Bear wrote: |
Quick question: Have you (OP) or anyone else actually ever encountered anyone at all that was 'offended' by the term 'Merry Christmas'? Ever? Because if anyone ever said anything like that to my face about how I greet during the holiday season, I would just tell them to shove off.
Why would you or anyone for that matter care what other people think? Is this another example of the 'pussification' of our society? We care too much what other people think. Don't worry about what anyone thinks. Do what you want to do. If you're worried about offending people all the time, how can you live your life with any amount of self respect? |
Sadly...yes. It happened at my work a couple of times and one time led to an official complaint. Some federal departments have also decided not to decorate certain offices for Christmas....its gettting nuts back here and multi-culturalism reaches an interesting boiling point!
I agree with what you said Die by Bear: live YOUR life but I do not think not caring about what other people think or if they will be offended is exactly a good idea and in fact has led to a lot of problems linked with super-individualism here.
This was our 3rd full Christmas in Canada and the PC police has done its job, its Happy Holidays here except when we are with our families.
All that being said: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (the first of two new year celebrations for us lol ) |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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I didn't know this whole argument was even started by the Christians. I thought it was just out of the blue in the last few years, people trying to get something official passed that says No one may say 'merry Xmas' - know what I mean love?
And who the hell goes around (not me!) saying 'merry Christmas' at work anyway? Why would you do that if you know there are atheists, and a diverse environment; and especially where you could lose your job for getting into a spat about an expression.
For crying out loud, say nothing at work! That's basic common sense.
Is all this about the workplace? Is that how it all started?
I was thinking more along the lines of this: christian A is shopping at the mall. Christian B walks by him and says "Merry Christmas Homie!"
A returns the Christmas salute, but then someone hears him. A dirty ____ someone is looking at them funny. An argument ensues, A and B end up complaining about it on the internet, the rest is history. Goes viral, next thing you know Matt Lauer is talking about it on Good Morning America. |
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bekinseki
Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Died By Bear wrote: |
Quick question: Have you (OP) or anyone else actually ever encountered anyone at all that was 'offended' by the term 'Merry Christmas'? Ever? Because if anyone ever said anything like that to my face about how I greet during the holiday season, I would just tell them to shove off.
Why would you or anyone for that matter care what other people think? Is this another example of the 'pussification' of our society? We care too much what other people think. Don't worry about what anyone thinks. Do what you want to do. If you're worried about offending people all the time, how can you live your life with any amount of self respect? |
Sadly...yes. It happened at my work a couple of times and one time led to an official complaint. Some federal departments have also decided not to decorate certain offices for Christmas....its gettting nuts back here and multi-culturalism reaches an interesting boiling point!
I agree with what you said Die by Bear: live YOUR life but I do not think not caring about what other people think or if they will be offended is exactly a good idea and in fact has led to a lot of problems linked with super-individualism here.
This was our 3rd full Christmas in Canada and the PC police has done its job, its Happy Holidays here except when we are with our families.
All that being said: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (the first of two new year celebrations for us lol ) |
Would you approve of government offices being decorated in celebration of Ramadan, or would you call it a waste of tax dollars?
People can believe what they want, but the government must be secular. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 6:29 am Post subject: |
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| bekinseki wrote: |
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Died By Bear wrote: |
Quick question: Have you (OP) or anyone else actually ever encountered anyone at all that was 'offended' by the term 'Merry Christmas'? Ever? Because if anyone ever said anything like that to my face about how I greet during the holiday season, I would just tell them to shove off.
Why would you or anyone for that matter care what other people think? Is this another example of the 'pussification' of our society? We care too much what other people think. Don't worry about what anyone thinks. Do what you want to do. If you're worried about offending people all the time, how can you live your life with any amount of self respect? |
Sadly...yes. It happened at my work a couple of times and one time led to an official complaint. Some federal departments have also decided not to decorate certain offices for Christmas....its gettting nuts back here and multi-culturalism reaches an interesting boiling point!
I agree with what you said Die by Bear: live YOUR life but I do not think not caring about what other people think or if they will be offended is exactly a good idea and in fact has led to a lot of problems linked with super-individualism here.
This was our 3rd full Christmas in Canada and the PC police has done its job, its Happy Holidays here except when we are with our families.
All that being said: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (the first of two new year celebrations for us lol ) |
Would you approve of government offices being decorated in celebration of Ramadan, or would you call it a waste of tax dollars?
People can believe what they want, but the government must be secular. |
I did not say I disagreed with the policy of not decorating. I said this Happy holidays thing sure is PC and sure is an interesting case of multi-culturalism as it reaches a certain boiling point here in Canada. Something is shifting in the foundation of Canadian society and its creating quite a bit of tension and sometimes backlash.
As for the government being secular, that is really hit and miss! Some departments are far more lax when it comes to religious symbols or what they allow as far as leeway. In fact, a department down the street from ours had a muslim prayer room organized in the building. I personally do not care nor am I bothered by this, but it sure did sent some shockwaves throughout the area. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 6:40 am Post subject: |
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| bekinseki wrote: |
Would you approve of government offices being decorated in celebration of Ramadan, or would you call it a waste of tax dollars?
People can believe what they want, but the government must be secular. |
I agree with this on the whole, but I've seen it go too far. My first year on my uni campus in 2004, there was a really beautiful display of "Christmas lights" left up through the end of January, if not later, due to it being in an extremely cold climate and the lights looking pretty in the snow. After that, the campus atheist group managed to get the lights toned down to only a few decorated trees on the basis of their being religiously based and the school being a public institution. I'm sorry, but I fail to see what lights on trees has to do with religion, semantics aside. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:22 am Post subject: |
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| Can't we have the lights, decorations, and joy without getting Christ and religion involved? |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Died By Bear wrote: |
| Can't we have the lights, decorations, and joy without getting Christ and religion involved? |
I sure think we can! |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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I think Christmas is largely a secular holiday, the "true" focus celebrated by a minority.
A secular one celebrated by everyone that features gifts, Santa, general charity, good food, good drink, bad relatives, sports on the TV, and obnoxious light displays.
I think the "true" Christmas is the Christ-centered one. There are two traditions at work.
I wish people would stop arguing over it. |
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