I have to say I am with Matt on this whole ‘death of Christmas’ nonsense. Why all these ‘free market’ conservatives can not understand that a department store may have employees say “Happy Holidays” instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ is beyond me. They do so to be inclusive of all religions, thereby not offfending anyone, and thus maximizing the bottom line.
You see, it is not that they hate the baby jesus, you poor oppressed Christians. They just love the bottom line more.
And if the meaning of Christmas is cheapened for you because everyone you greet during a select 6 week period does not return a heart ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS,’ I might sugest you are missing the point of the holy day.
BTW- If this sort of thing does offend your delicate Christian sensibilities, let me issue a firm warning. Do not look into the pagan rituals you are eagerly engaging in, like cutting down a tree and decorating it, hanging a shrub in your hallway to kiss underneath, hanging other shrubs over your fireplace and above doors, placing wreaths on your door, the star worship, etc. And for the love of everything holy, you better not google Saturnis.
In short, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa and the others are all about faith- yours, and I, for one, was unaware that you needed unanimous consensus in order to have faith. Now stfu and have a Happy Holidays.
Jimmie
And yet by saying “Happy Holidays” in a specific attempt not to say “Merry Christmas” they offend people anyhow and harm their own bottom line.
That doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? I mean, it’s okay quite okay for Christians who do mind that a holiday they hold dear is being excised from the public discourse to STFU, but God Forbid that anyone else offended by a casual “Merry Christmas” have to do the same, right?
That’s just inconsistent.
van
Maybe you have a point, but would we have a holiday for Kwanza or Hanukah? No. Kwanza is a pseudoholiday, sorry. Hanukah is a minor Jewish holiday. Christmas, on the other hand, is the most important day for Christians. Yes, there is some paganisms involved. But a tree, wreaths, etc. are mere symbols not the focus of the celebration. That, I think, is the main point some Christians are trying to make.
As for me, I just say Merry Christmas right back. If someone doesn’t like it, oh well. Personally, I wish we would not even talk of Christmas until December 10.
Terry
I’m not at all religious, but I find myself in complete agreement with the comments of Jimmie and Van. The increasing efforts in recent years to downplay and/or eliminate the “symbols” of what I recall as a very happy time of the year when I was young is sad. I’m rather shocked that John, who normally takes a dim view of the PC police in this country, holds such Scrooge-like [and profane] views!!
S.W. Anderson
Well said, John. Anyone who gets their Christmas cheer from what a store employee says is in pretty sad shape.
And anyone who really believe their faith is advanced by putting a statue bearing the Ten Commandments in the lobby of a public building or is somehow weakened or diminished by not being able to have that statue there confuses hype for what’s supposed to be heartfelt.
Happy holidays to those of various faiths. A heartfelt merry Christmas to Christians. Peace and good will to all.
Thomas J. Jackson
And a Merry Humbug to you too!
cj
Well, I dunno, I say “happy holidays” to people I don’t know. To me it seems inclusive, and an acknowledgement that not everyone celebrates Christmas at this time of year (which is true, you know).
I am about as un-PC as you can be. But I just don’t see how it is harmful to voice a generic greeting to strangers. That is what we’re talking about here, right?
“Goodwill to all” sums it up for me.
bg
this is just to point out that christmas isn’t even the most important holiday for christians. That honor is reserved for easter.
Josh
Well I don’t blame stores for avoiding the word Christmas (sales trumps spirit), but lets face it WE INVENTED THIS HOLIDAY. No one gives me anything for kwanza. Not that I care if anyone wishes a merry specific holiday, I just want to point out that Christmas totally kicks all the other holidays asses.
JKC
Minor quibble with van’s comment up above: Christmas is not the most important holy day for Christians: Easter is. For Christians, the point of Jesus’s life was to die for humanity’s sins. His resurrection represents His triumph over sin and death.
As for John’s post: I miss hearing “Merry Christmas” in the public square. But I place more blame on those who’ve transformed the holiday into an orgy of consumerism from a celebration of the birth of the savior.
TM Lutas
Christmas is not the most important day for christians. It’s the most important day for some christians. There’s a long disagreement dating back before the Great Schism on whether Easter or Christmas is #1.
The problem isn’t that you say happy holidays or happy agnostica or whatever. The problem is that you (store clerk) look at me funny when *I* say merry Christmas. I walk in a store I expect pleasantness to the limit of general decency. A snarl and a “fuck you” whether literal or metaphoric is going to tick me off no matter what the circumstance. When it comes attached with an attempted bit of political correctness conditioning, it’s especially off putting.
Love my holiday money, love my holiday, at least to the point of stocking some actual Christmas cards and not looking at me like I’m some mutant for saying Merry Christmas. Hold your own opinions, by all means. If you expect, as a retailer, to rain on my bright mood and escape retribution though, you’ve got another think coming. If it didn’t have anything to do with christianity, who among you would be on the retailer’s side?
In a world where every little micro-niche is being catered to, I don’t think it’s so much to expect that the majority faith gets at least equal holiday specificity to Kwanzaa, Chanukah and Eid in advertising USPS holiday stamps. “Holiday traditional” is a euphemism, not a celebration of an actual living holiday.
bg
Lemme just say this as well – you guys saying that people sneer or snarl or snicker at you when you wish them a merry Christmas – I don’t believe you.
Bloggerhead
I’m not sure I believe them either. Over the past few days, I’ve braved malls in three cities. I have heard more, “Happy Holidays,” this year (or have I just noticed them more?), but I always answer with “Merry Christmas,” and have invariably gotten nice smiles, some wry, which is all the better.
I’m proud to celebrate Christmas, but I can’t begrudge someone serving the public being tactful. As John puts it well, this season is the convergence of so many religious observances that it’s pointless to stake claims. (Music)Let us celebrate our faiths in this season, not defend them.(Scratch) Plus, God made bowlgames for our aggression.
So, to John, and everyone, allow me to open the fuck up and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
IB Bill
Pagan rituals? Here we go again …
Just because someone is baptized Christian doesn’t mean they have to abandon ALL the fun stuff they did before becoming Christian … just the sins. Christianity is not a totalizing culture-destroying construct (like Islam) but instead is more like yeast working within a loaf of bread causing it to rise. That’s why you see the variety of Christian worship, but the same fundamental principles in them, throughout the world.
Hanging a tree in your home isn’t sinful. So why does it have to go just because our culture came to believe that God didn’t leave us abandoned on a distant planet but came and walked among us.
Star worship would be sinful, but there’s no star worship in Christmas.
Nice try, though :)
Merry Christmas, John.
jeff
I’m sick of both sides in this debate.
I’m sick of the “there’s a war on Christmas” crowd and I’m sick of the people who seem to, at this time of year, go driving around looking for stuff that offends them.
Declan
Rather than take a giant shit on a wonderful holiday, maybe John should stick with blogging about his beloved Steelers.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Pernell
The reason this is an issue is because you have a country full of fake “christians.” I find it hilarious every time the “christians” start yapping about anything that has to do with Christ. Jesus Christ never did anything to deserve what the so called “religious” right does in His name. The religious right is made of frauds and fascists like the leadership of the republican party.
From I want my faith back
Getting personal about the political hijacking of religion.
Pernell
Speaking of hypocrites, frauds and fascists..
What do you think of THIS?
Though quite long, I suggest you read every word if you want to know who the “True” savior of the religious right and the Republican party is.
Hypocrites, frauds and fascists.
Also, what you think of THIS?
Flagwaver
And I’m bugged by “Christians” who don’t bother to educate themselves about their religion.
1. I don’t know of ANY Christian denomination that elevates Christmas over Easter. Christmas is joyful – a spirit of optimism and possibilities; where Easter is MEANINGFUL and spiritual – the fulfillment of 3,000 years of prophecy, and the Paschal sacrifice that gives us salvation. No comparison.
2. Because I celebrate Christmas neither requires anyone else to, nor requires them to “honor” my holiday. Nor does anyone else’s keeping or ignoring of Christmas impact or alter my faith in the slightest – and if it did, I’d be a pretty piss-poor Christian, now wouldn’t I?
3. Read your Bible. Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 5 and 6: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
So, if I run around giving everyone a hearty “Merry Christmas,” am I following my Lord’s will, or am I bragging about my faith in contravention of His word? Depends on how I mean it, doesn’t it? If I’m truly wishing another happiness on this Holy day, it shouldn’t matter to me WHAT they say back to me, and if I’m publicly proclaiming my faith, and wearing it like a badge of honor, I need to go back home and read Matthew again, don’t I?
Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate Christmas. (Belated) Happy Channukah to you who are Jewish. Happy Eid to you Muslims. Happy Kwanzaa to you . . . whatever you are.
Happy Holidays. I agree with John.
van
My comment about the importance of Christmas should be left to another day. I was trying to make the point that the Savior of the world was born and, therefore, pretty important. I concede that Easter is the most important holiday for Christians. My comment was in haste.
As to the subject at hand, to be trite Jesus is the reason for the season. There are many things about Christmas that are pagan. Heck, the date is pagan.
Anyway, last night at the mall the cashier at Limited Too said, “Merry Christmas.” Also, the cashier at Kroger did too.
bg
Sorry to do this van, but I’ve got to disagree with you yet again.
Jesus is not the reason for the season. Saturnalia is. There is nothing in the Bible that mentions the time of year of Jesus’s birth.
The early church did a fantastic job of grafting all of their holidays onto pagan ones.
That Dec. 25 was chosen and that Christians celebrate Christmas is arbitrary. That Christmas has gained meaning, significance and popularity over time does not diminish its arbitrary origins.
bg
Oh, also want to point out that this is the very first time, I think, I strongly agree with Flagwaver. Cheers!
JPS
Speaking just for myself, I used to like it when people wished me a Merry Christmas. To me that said, Hey: This holiday is all around us, and I hope you have a nice one, even if you’re not Christian.
The alternative–Uh-oh, I’d better carefully leave you out of this holiday, in the spirit of being inclusive!–strikes me as a little sad.
Hanukkah’s over. Someone wishes me “a happy holiday” now, it’s very nice of them, but it still means Christmas and they’re afraid to call it by name. Which, again, is a little sad.
HH
So the holiday becomes commercializd and secularized to death, only to be whispered about in polite company?
Dave_Violence
bg’s right. Christmas has zero to do with Christianity. Nada, zip. Lot’s o’historical info, on the web, in books, etc. out there for those who are curious. RC paganizing crapola is X-mas.
I HATE Christmas. Absolutely loathe it. I got plenty of stuff from “Santa.” Too much, in fact, but never enough. What’s worse, come February came the bills and a couple of month’s worth of little more than anger, frustration, and more from my mom and dad. And we were Unitarians (not me, not any more!) who should’ve known better (?).
X-mas is B$. A two-month (day after halloween until 2 January) mammon-worshipping festival, that’s all. End-of-the-year, get them bonuses (or get laid-off), spend ’em, spur on the retail economy, suffer for the next several months paying it off. Or worse, deal with kids envious of wealthier children who always seem to get more and better.
One good thing about Christmas season: fewer people at work, so I can get more done.
ANON
Wow Dave, you sound like a real dumbass!
MERRY CHIRSTMAS ASSHOLE.
Nancy Reyes
I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, so see nothing wrong with sending secular cards and saying happy holidays…I was taught it was only polite. However, if I knew the person was Christian, I said Merry Christmas…
But you know, the bruhaha is about the militants instucting people NOT to celebrate Christmas, and forbidding Creches on the same public land that anyone can place any other memorial. This is a freedom of speech issue: the PC censorship of people’s expressions by outside pressure groups…and it allows one disgruntled person to censor speech that offends him or her, even if the other 99 want to say something, they are silenced.
I have no problem with creches, with Devali monuments in October, with Haloween decorations, or with my taxes going to pay for Indian ceremonies to send off our troops, like our town did a couple months ago…
As a good liberal, I know Christmas is about giving to the poor, caring for our neighbor, and celebrating by giving presents to the poor and to children…