CNN coming up: "Merry Xmas vs. Happy Holidays" is a partisan trait

[Bluebear]

Judy Woodruff is about to explain it all for us.

on edit: turns out "Happy Holidays" is now considered "PC" and only 44% of Democrats favor saying "Merry Christmas" to someone they just met, yet a whopping 75% of Republicans prefer saying "Merry Christmas" to someone they just met. A CNN/Gallup poll.

[secedeeconomically]

1. CNN is a joke plain and simple

[heretheycome]

18. you know

I have always enjoyed the holidays. I used to walk or shop threw the stores singing away not really caring who hears me.
I am especially polite. When my kids were young I so enjoyed shopping at Toy R Us. Nothing like lighten up a little dubie and then strolling threw the isles looking for Herman toys. Yes it was a while ago. :-)

This year, I am sad, almost depressed. I am sick of all the fighting here and abroad. My oldest son is talking of joining the Army. Not because he believes in what this country is doing, but he has a record and the military has promised to expunge his record if he joins. He is a techy but can't get bonded for 4 years, hence he can't work. My son feels this is his way of getting a second chance in life.

OK enough sorry for even writing this

[Bluebear]

20. Well I am wishing you well from afar.

I hope you perk up, and yes Happy Holidays to you :)

[heretheycome]

24. thanks bluebear

I wish you a happy holiday too. Just for the record, I am doing my best in talking my son out of joining the army and opening his own web/PC networking shop.

[ProfessorPlum]

2. I believe James Wolcott summed this one up best

http://jameswolcott.com/archives/2004/12/christmas_kvetc.php

quote

This "fear of Christmas" is a phantom menace conjured every year so that certain crybaby Christians can adopt victim status and model a pained expression over the sad fact that not everyone around them isn't carrying on like the Cratchits. This thin-skinned grievance-collecting gives birth to all sorts of urban legends and rumors about big institutions being hostile to Christ's birthday, such as the one that swirled on WOR radio last week about how Macy's employees had been instructed not to say "Merry Christmas!" to shoppers. A fiction that was put to rest when the host hit Macy's website and saw its "Merry Christmas" greeting, and Macy's employees chimed in over the phones to say there was no such policy. To read conservative pundits, you'd think everybody was wishing each other Happy Kwanzaa! and averting their eyes from oh so gauche Nativity scenes. I've got news: Even here on the godless, liberal Upper West Side, people wish each other Merry Christmas without staggering three steps backward, thunderstruck and covered with chagrin.

end quote

[Skidmore]

3. Do these people not see that they are part of the problem of

divisiveness in this country? Are they that stupid? Or are they willfully belligerent?

[JHB]

4. At least two of the above.

Sometimes all three.

[tom_paine]

25. As stupid as the Nazis they pattern themselves after

(yes, I know they aren't DIRECTLY racist or violent -- give it time)

[rurallib]

5. I think we need a constitutional ammendment

"Every citizen having attained majority age shall be required to say "merry Christmas" to every other citizen beginning not less than one calendar month prior to the holiday and continuing until after new years day. This shall pertain to all citizens regardless of religious affiliation."
That oughta do it, by Christ!

[Bluebear]

7. NOOOO!!!! Must continue until January 6th/Epiphany

Why do you hate the baby Jesus?

[Bridget Burke]

9. No, the modern American Christmas ends December 25th....

If you don't count the post-Christmas sales. After all, the stores have been full of Christmas stuff since Labor Day & people are ready to move on. Epiphany is a bit too Catholic, y'know.

The next Sacred Day on the US Calendar is Super Bowl Sunday!

[rurallib]

15. Ok January 6th

"after which above said must greet each other with "Christ be with you"

Wow look at old Tom Jefferson spin. He's a gonna fly right oughta his grave if that keeps up.

[gottaB]

46. Noooo!--January 19th

Why must the reformers ruin Theophany for everybody?

[IHeart1993]

6. Don't they have real news to cover?

To answer my own question: Yes, but they don't want to! Watch, on Saturday CNN will show "good christians" celebrating Christmas.

[Sparkly]

8. You're kidding, right?

Please tell me you're kidding.

[Bluebear]

11. Unfortunately not.

I was channel surfing and she came up with the teaser. She still hasn't given the 'story' yet.

[Sparkly]

13. Argh!! Make it STOPPppp!!!!

:crazy:

[Dulcinea]

10. This is just plain stupid.

Not everyone celebrates Christmas!

How is a store employee, or anyone else, supposed to know what holiday someone else celebrates? Can you just look at someone & know if they celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or what have you?

:wtf:

[Bluebear]

12. 'This is a Christian nation, why do you hate the baby Jesus?'

[Sparkly]

14. Besides, if you add any one of those to New Year's Day you get HolidayS

plural. As in, "Happy Holidays."

[Bluebear]

16. "While the merry bells keep ringing, happy holidays to you"

Yours is the explanation I always assumed. Are Steve and Eydie now athiest and unamerican for having sung "Happy holidays"?

[rurallib]

17. New Years to catholics is feast of the circumcision

When I was a faithful catholic, that one used to make wince and chuckle at the same time. I always what ever happened to the holy foreskin, was it reunited with its owner when he went to heaven? Will mune be returned at the rapture? And what did our baby lord's penis do to be treated so meanly? Hell, what did I do?
Maybe the holy foreskin is really the holy grail we always hear about. My brain is discombobulating.

[Bluebear]

19. You can have it made into a Thomas Kinkade ornament

Festive, yet biblically correct!

[rurallib]

21. It would be a conversation starter

Would it help me pick up women?

[Bluebear]

23. Only women who like mass produced art??

nt

[AliciaKeyedUp]

40. Store employee should do what the boss says

That makes it easy.

Merry Christmas!

[renaissanceguy]

52. And if the boss is Jewish?

Happy Hanukkah? Or if the boss is pagan...happy solstice?

Give me a break.

--------------
JESUS W. BUSH and other outspoken and hilarious political merchandise at www.cafepress.com/liberalissues

[Kber]

53. If the boss is Jewish, we should all boycot the store of course.

kidding of course - but where do you think it's heading? Celebrating Xmas as a condition of employment?

[Cat Atomic]

22. Want to hear the most ironic news quote of the week?

"'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Holidays'? Have we become too politically correct? That's the question of the day, and we'll be discussing it next hour.

But now, back to The Mystery of Jesus."

That was just yesterday on CNN. My roommate and I just busted out laughing.

[BattyDem]

30. LOL!

CNN - the news channel with a sense of humor. :eyes:


The question they should be asking is, "Why would a person say 'Merry Christmas' to a non-Christian friend or to a stranger of unknown faith?" Since when do Christians own the entire month of December? :eyes:

[Solly Mack]

26. CNN can suck my big toe

after I've walked around barefooted all day in the dirt.

[DireStrike]

27. I guess that's why Bush said "Happy Holidays" 2x in his press conf. today

[Nobody]

28. I'm not going to say "Merry Christmas" to my Muslim neighbors

Or my Hindu neighbors. If I know the holiday, I'll use the appropriate one. If I don't know, Happy Holidays fits the bill quite nicely.

Sheesh!

[BattyDem]

29. Why the f*ck is this news????

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, "Enjoy the holidays" (someone said that to me today), "Have a good holiday", etc.

Who gives a shit? The point is the person, usually someone you don't know very well, is wishing you joy - WHY IS THAT A PROBLEM FOR PEOPLE?!

These damn fundies have to find evil and ulterior motives in everything! WHY CAN'T THEY JUST ACCEPT THE WELL WISHES IN THE SPIRIT IN WHICH THEY WERE INTENDED AND SAY "THANK YOU!" :eyes: :grr:

Sorry for yelling ... but I've had enough of this crap! If they spent half as much time getting worked up over something important, the world would be a much better place. Oops, there I go again ... thinking about "the world" instead of just "me, Me, ME" - stupid liberal! :eyes:

[joebascemy]

32. This is another distraction

The media whores love to blow this stuff up and get everyone steamed at each other. First, the Macy's story apparently was reported in error, intentionally or not. And at no time have I heard any report of a customer actually raising an objection to an innocuous holiday greeting offered in a retail store. If this isn't fake journalism. what is?

[Roark]

31. Holiday = "Holy" + "Day"

No thanks. I won't be saying that either.

[THUNDER HANDS]

33. I'll just say 'Happy Chanukah' to everyone

and if they tell me they're Christian I'll be like 'oh, I'm sorry, well, Happy Chanukah!"

see how much they like it.

[Telly Savalas]

34. That's why I don't get the aversion to "Merry Christmas"

If somebody were to say to me "Happy Chanukah" or "Happy Kwanzaa" or "Have a bitchin' Ramadan", I'd be cool with it. In fact, I took my daughter to a parent/tot drop-in center this morning, and there was a Chanukah display on the wall, with a picture of a menorah and all that. Despite my vaguely Christian worldview, I found nothing remotely offensive or intrusive about it. Personally, I like the idea of a community recognizing and celebrating the cultures and holidays of all of its members.

That said, when I come to the States to visit my family for xmas this week, I'll be sure to say "Happy Holidays" to everyone, since sanctimonious rightwing pricks will find it offensive.

[Bluebear]

35. I think there's no particular 'aversion' to Merry Christmas

I always said "Happy Holidays" to include Christmas and New Year's but now the Talibornagains say Democrats are "attacking" Christmas. All the more reason to say Happy Holidays now!

[AuntiBush]

36. It's not that, good grief!

It's not that people hate baby Jesus. It's about respecting one another's privilege to practice or not practice whatever... besides, what's more "attacking" that to use "Jesus" as a great way to build those corporate payloads up, up, up to the heavens, now.

3 Wisemen gave baby Jesus gifts. That's it. And the birth of SHOPPING for CHRISTMAS is BIGGER than baby Jesus. Sorry, had to post this one.

Try thinking of the good things he did while here, when he was an adult, you know. I'm done.

[Blue Gardener]

50. Exactly

The more the fundie nutjobs bitch about something, the more I want to do whatever it is they're bitching about. So, Happy Holidays it is. And I'm still shopping at Target and enjoying the silence (no bell wringers).

[JerseygirlCT]

47. I think the difference is that a "Merry Christmas"

underlines an assumption that the majority religion MUST be shared by all. "Happy Hanukkah" doesn't have the same implied coercion.

[Revolucionario83]

37. I just say both

I work in retail so if someone says "Happy Holidays" I just say it back or if someone says "Merry Christmas" to me I just say the same thing back. I'm just tired of everything being politicized, who cares?? People should say whatever the hell they want. :boring:

[Redleg]

38. Republicans are intolerant fuckers too.

They assume that everyone is a Christian and if they are not Christian, then fuck 'em.

[vixengrl]

39. Saturnalia Felix, fellow citizen of the Empire...

:eyes: Maybe I just want them to have both a Happy Christmac and a Merry New Year--is that *so* wrong? See-liberal trait--two for the price of one.

[deadparrot]

41. *These* are the questions we ask

when we poll someone?

Good lord, this is the state of journalism in this country.

[Lorien]

42. It's not partisan

it's common sense in a diverse country.

I made my own cards this year; they went out to my best friend (Jewish), another close friend who's an atheist, my born again baptist mom, my catholic buddies, my casual Buddhist dad, etc. etc. MOST Americans are surrounded by people of different faiths. About the only thing that most of them agree on is the exchange of gifts (less for all of us this year). You won't see the GOP demanding that we all spend more time at church and LESS time at the mall this Christmas; their real God is the almighty buck, their true place of worship is Neiman Marcus.

[Piperay]

45. It's good commonsense

and also I like Happy Holidays because it includes New Year's too after all this is the holiday season.

[leesa]

43. Shameful! CNN and Gallup are the lowest kind of whore.

[Piperay]

44. WOW

that is some "heavy news" for CNN to be reporting. :eyes: :puke:

[Q]

48. Wow. What an absolutely meaningless issue and poll...

"Happy Holidays" is an expression you can use throughout the holidays. Merry Christmas is generally reserved for CHRISTMAS DAY.

Why in the hell would you say merry christmas before or after christmas?

[maxrandb]

49. I Think the Kinks Said it best!

"Father Christmas, give us some money,
We've got no time for your silly toys.

We'll beat you up, if you don't hand it over
We'll really tough so don't make us annoyed,

Save all the toys,
For the little rich boys"

[nascarblue]

51. I am so sick of this... why is this getting so much air this year?

I suspect all of our federal tax dollars that the evangelicals have been funneling into their voucher programs have alot to do with their being able to get all this f'in airtime. This story is so burnt. I want to smash my television when I hear this crap. They just had a segment on MSNBC about 4 minutes ago with the savechristmas.com idiot being interviewed about boycotting Macys. I'm sure Macy's is shaking in their stockings!

[American Tragedy]

54. Am I the only one who JUST DOESN'T CARE???

Why the hell are they even discussing this? Offhand, I would guess that I say Merry Christmas most often, but really, who ever actually stops to consider stuff like this? I can't believe that fundamentalists are trying to make a fucking issue out of this.

What does this have to do with anything?