"Christmas not X-mas"

[Richter]

All this political correctness doesn't really help. It is just a way to cover up prejudice and spite in more pleasant sounding words.

Myself being atheist, I could care less about Christmay. I celebrate christmas because I think any reason to celebrate is a good one (I also joined a musil co-student on faste-breaking, for instance, and regularily join pagan friends for Belthane or Samhein). Besides, Jul is a tradition much older than this middle-eastern import that has brought more than 1000 years of decay with it. I don't celebrate easter, though (cheer your supposed savior all you want, but don't expect me to).

Yeah, I have little love lost for Christianity, or any monotheist faith. If you ask me, monotheism is the worst thing that ever happened to humanity (including diseases like the plague and AIDS). It very rarely spawned positive ideas, and the few it did are outweighed by far by the crimes it justified or inspired.

But you know what? I don't take this out on the faithful. They can celebrate their faith all they want (no matter what I may think of that faith). They just better not try and force it on me. Goes for all religions, by the way, not only monotheists. Neo-Buddhists or new pagans can be dreadfully irritating to. Not to mention cults like Mormons, Jehova's Witnesses or Scientology.

[iRobot]

Considering that you don't know the religious beliefs of people coming into a store, saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" seems like common decency and the only polite thing to me. It's rude to make assumptions about people's beliefs, and rather weird to tell them to have a good holiday when they might not only not celebrate that holiday, but have problematic associations with it.

By contrast though, is it offensive to to wish someone a happy 4th of July or Thanksgiving if they're not American citizens? How about, for example, if you were in India, and someone there wished you to have a happy [insert Hindu holy day/festival]--should you be offended? I mean, I have no love (at all) for the holidays (outside of getting paid for a day that I'm not working), but I think that people that get up in arms over "merry Christmas" are in the same category as those that were chaffing at oenone's poster.

[RentACop]

Christmas for my family has always been been more about food, parties and presents than religion, so in my mind "Merry Christmas" was already a generic "I wish you well" saying. But I think anyone who cares strongly one way or the other about the phrasing of a store's ad campaign needs to relax.

[oddtail]

I'm probably not qualified to state my opinion, what with my living in a country where a vast majority of people follows the same religion (or rather, ADMITS to the same religion)... but I will anyway.

I honestly don't understand what the fuss is about. If someone wishes me Happy Chanukkah, should I be offended? No, I'm happy because I know that they're being polite and nice to me. Sure, I can always say "happy holidays", I suppose. But I customarily say "Merry Christmas", and as outrageously un-PC as that might be, I subconsciously think of it as my "default" greeting. I think it's obvious that I do not mean to offend anyone when I say that.

Christmas is the most widely celebrated holiday in the US, I take it. Sure, the country is so multicultural and multiethnical that it makes your head spin. But what is more important - the sentiment behind what you say or weighing every word of yours, because, OMG (*), I might offend someone by saying something which is not perfectly bland and neutral and generic.

Seriously, in an IRC channel I frequent that's dominated by Americans and Canadians, I wish everyone a happy 11th of November every year (that's Independence Day in my country). Nobody's, curiously enough, taken offence at that.

I'm not only saying I disagree with the "happy holidays" imperative. I don't see how that's even relevant. I *would* understand taking offence if one's religion prohibited them from hearing about other people's beliefs at all, or something .


(*) Incidentally, using the "Merry Christmas logic", saying "OMG" on IRC or other chat - seeing as it stands for "Oh My God", should offend atheists, and followers of polytheistic religions. Not to mention Buddhists.

[snowp14]

I've noticed that more and more people just say "happy holidays" now instead of Merry Christmas. well, at least in my area (I live in southern California), since it's really diverse here. I've noticed this especially at stores... I hear more "Happy Holidays" from cashiers than I do "Merry Christmas" these days.

[iRobot]

Seriously, in an IRC channel I frequent that's dominated by Americans and Canadians, I wish everyone a happy 11th of November every year (that's Independence Day in my country). Nobody's, curiously enough, taken offence at that.

Out of curiosity, Poland or Angora?

[oddtail]

Seriously, in an IRC channel I frequent that's dominated by Americans and Canadians, I wish everyone a happy 11th of November every year (that's Independence Day in my country). Nobody's, curiously enough, taken offence at that.

Out of curiosity, Poland or Angora?

Google is your friend, right?

Poland =).

[iRobot]

Seriously, in an IRC channel I frequent that's dominated by Americans and Canadians, I wish everyone a happy 11th of November every year (that's Independence Day in my country). Nobody's, curiously enough, taken offence at that.

Out of curiosity, Poland or Angora?

Google is your friend, right?

Poland =).

Wikipedia this time, but yeah.

[Cameo]

November 11th is Remembrance Day here in Canada. I'm not completely sure, but I think that if they do have that in America it's on a different day and possibly also called something different.

[oddtail]

November 11th is Remembrance Day here in Canada.

Well, no coincidence here. That's the day that marks the end of WW1. It's celebrated, under various names, in many countries, not only Canada/UK/Australia.

And in the US, it's called Veteran's Day, from what I remember.

[iRobot]

November 11th is Remembrance Day here in Canada.

Well, no coincidence here. That's the day that marks the end of WW1. It's celebrated, under various names, in many countries, not only Canada/UK/Australia.

And in the US, it's called Veteran's Day, from what I remember.

Yep.

Quite a day with a lot of meaning that crosses national boundaries. Of course, I never realised that until now.

[baileygoat]

As regards "Merry Christmas", when I'm home for the holidays (as now), it's not really an issue as so many people here in Northern Ireland are Christian, or at least were brought up in a Christian household.

Because of this, I figure you'd probably be more likely to offend someone here by saying "Happy Holidays" (accusations of removing God and Jesus from the holiday coming from the older generation) than you would to offend someone by saying "Merry Christmas".

Sometimes I think the Catholic vs. Protestant thing is a bit too implanted for a lot of people to remember that other religions exist.

[Magick Lorelai]

I d'wanna drudge this up too much, but I wanted to throw in my two cents.

I take no offense to "Merry Christmas", because someone is giving me well-wishes. I reply "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Yule" or something to that effect, because I feel that this time of year is not about WHAT religion you are practicing, but that the season calls for love, peace, and general good-will-towards-man. I'm upset by the people who have declared that there's a "War On Christmas" just because there have been those demanding equal rights for the other religions that celebrate something this time of year. At the same time, I'm irked by the non-Christians who rant about being wished "Merry Christmas", because that's like getting upset at someone who wishes you "Good Morning". "I DON'T BELIEVE IN MORNING!!"

(Just to clarify what I mean, just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist- in this example, you just don't get up in the morning. Other people do, and want you to have a good morning). Now, I agree that it's wrong to assume that just because the MAJORITY are Christian in the US, EVERYONE you encounter is, and that a level of tolerance needs to be adopted, but the same tolerance should be shown when someone wishes you Merry Christmas.

At the same time, I'm personally offended by the movement to force Christianity down the throats of ALL citizens; Intelligent Design, the attempts to remove fossils and other such proof of Evolution, the long-term denial by the VA to approve the pentacle for the fallen US soldier who was Wiccan, just to mention a few things. Until someone completely uproots the constitution and removes our right to freedom of religion, the idea that everyone in this country should be Christian is futile.

...though...I'm scared that we might be moving in that direction.

Anyway. xD Again, apologies for bringing this back up and all, this is just something of an issue that hits close to home fer me.