The "War on Christmas" in my own neighborhood

[everythingsxen]

I was at a gas station and saw a sign in the window saying that they would be closed for Christmas but they would reopen the day after....

At the bottom it said "Happy Holidays".....

Which someome had blacked out and crudely wote "ITS SUPPOSED TO BE MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!".

I am really worried that before this Christmas is over, there will be some serious damage done, if not violence. The signs are in the air.. This is the angriest holiday season I can remember.

I only pray that if there is violence, O'Reilly and the other Fox news people who have stirred this mess up have charges brought against them.

[NMMNG]

1. The fundies are committed to worldwide domination

And if they have to harm or even kill people to achieve it, so be it. It is truly scary, the lengths they will go to to get what they want.


I got into work tonight and there were two envelopes, obviously containing cards, sitting on the desk. They guy I was relieving said, "There are two Christmas--er--Holiday cards there. For whatever you celebrate." I told him, "Don't worry, I'm not participating in the 'War on Christmas'. You can say whatever you want and I won't bite your head off."

It's pretty bad when people have to fear saying the wrong thing because others are so rabid about it. :eyes:

[rpannier]

2. How Dare They Wish You Happy Holidays

You should immedaitely inform on them to the Purity Patrol in Your Neighborhood.

[xchrom]

4. lol -- purity patrol.

can you imagine?

that's good -- funny and scary.

[hwmnbn]

3. Christmas!! god damn it!!!.....

Say Merry Christmas or I"LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!


That seems to be the fundie holiday spirit. O8)

[Speed8098]

5. It's made up.

This so called "War on Christmas" is a creation of those on the right that want to make those on the left look like petty whiners.

Who really cares what kind of HAPPY GREETING someone gives you. The important thing is that for whatever reason people feel the need to be extra kind to their fellow man at this time of the year.

How you are greeted should not matter. The Christians use "Merry Christmas", which in my mind is their way of saying "Have a happy day." The Jewish say "Happy Chanukah", The agnostics & atheists prefer "Happy Holidays", and I've heard some people say "Happy Kwanzaa". SO WHAT!!!!!

If you want to wish me a good day, do so, in whatever way you choose. I will appreciate it in any form, and I will return the gesture in kind.

I don't understand how anyone who claims to be on the left would complain about a happy greeting of any kind. As of today, and although it is beginning to look less so, it's my understanding that we still live in a free society, and as such, I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

We have more important fish to fry, so the next time someone wishes you a Merry/Happy Christmakwanzaanukah, swallow your anger and wish them a good day in return.

[Mad_Dem_X]

13. WELL SAID!

:applause:

[FloridaPat]

6. But there are two holidays - Xmas and New Years!

And isn't that perfect for the Xmas season - bloodshed over religion.

[lukasahero]

10. There are two holidays on 12/25 - Hanukkah and Christmas

If ever there was a year to wish Happy Holidays, it would be this one. Arg.

[FloridaPat]

12. Three holidays! What a deal!

[neoblues]

7. Jesus Christ!

Oops... Saying that name, by itself, and with emphais is certainly an example of taking someone's Lord in vain... anyway, Christ! What's the deal with Christmas?

I recently wished somebody a Merry Christmas... but since I live in an area where there is a higher than average number of people who practice religions other than Christianity, I instantly got the sense I'd put my foot in my mouth--the people in hearing range actually looked almost shocked that I'd said Christmas rather than Happy Holidays. While I was raised as a Christian, I no longer lay claim to that label. Even so, and while the religious implications of Christmas never played a significant role in our celebrations, we did observe the sense of hoping for Christmas as a time of good-will and kindness, it was primarily just a celebration for the sake of celebration and an opportunity to exchange gifts! Oh, also the decorations did occasionally include a depiction of the manger and the occasional carol would make a relgious reference. Still we perceived it as a secular holiday!

When I first encountered Jewish Americans (that because just saying the word Jews, by itself, with or without emphasis seems to suggest a religious/racial slur), I remember finding it strange that they felt they couldn't in good conscience (or without becoming nauseous) celebrate Christmas! Of course I knew they didn't consider Jesus to be divine, but I just didn't see Christmas as requiring any belief in Jesus (despite the implication of "Christ"-mas and the main definition** of the holiday), after all it's a recognized national holiday.

In any case, it seems to me, anyway, that regarding the celebration of Christmas, the Religious/Jesus dimension is very much in the minority, dwarfed by decorated trees, jolly fat-guys in magic sleighs and, above all, gifts/presents. In reality, even if Jesus did actually exist (regardless of whether he was the "Christ" or merely suffering schizophrenia or temporal lobe epilepsy), December 25th certainly never had anything to do with his actual birthday (I suppose there's a 1 in 365 chance). So, if it's not really 'His' birth day and the holiday is more often an example of a secular mid-winter gift-giving holiday than anything else and because it has a depressing emphasis on the commercial aspects (given all this, I'm almost surprised Christians would even want this holiday associated with their Savior), why keep up the pretense (well, we know why--Christians delight in taking total advantage of every possible opportunity to impinge their belief system on everyone with deliberate disregard for their personal beliefs)? Since Christmas really fits best with the concept of a Santa Claus bringing a sleigh full of presents, perhaps we should just get it over with and change the name so that nobody has a reason to be uncomfortable with it, allowing us to have our winter celebration in peace... Sure, it'd be some effort to come up with a reasonable name, but surely that's do-able? How about Clausmas(!) (yuck, yuck).

I could even imagine (not really) the innocuous choice of wishing somebody a "Merry Whatevermas"! What did you get for Whatever? Be sure to come to our Whatever Party!

So have a Merry Whatever and Happy New Years!

______________________________________________

**Merriam-Webster's Dictionary Entry:
Christ·mas
Pronunciation: 'kris-m&s
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English Christemasse, from Old English Cristes mæsse, literally, Christ's mass
1 : a Christian feast on December 25 or among some Eastern Orthodox on January 7 that commemorates the birth of Christ and is usually observed as a legal holiday
2 : CHRISTMASTIDE
- Christ·mas·sy or Christ·masy /-m&-sE/ adjective

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. Don't forget the other December 25th birthdays...

Annie Lennox - 1954
Jimmy Buffett - 1946
Carlos Casteneda - 1925
Rod Serling - 1924
Anwar Sadat - 1918
Cab Calloway - 1907
Humphrey Bogart - 1899
Issac Newton - 1642

So Dammit, have a Merry Cab Calloway's Birthday!

[rpannier]

15. You left out Sissy Spacek

I learned that from Keith Obermann

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

20. I didn't want to be "too inclusive"

...whatever that means.

[neoblues]

8. Christ's Mass, Christmas and Pagan Origins

Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Christmas (originally the "Mass of Christ") is a holiday, observed in most of the world on December 25, celebrated by Christians to mark the birth of Jesus. Many Christmas traditions originated with pre-Christian observances that were subsumed into Christianity, for example the Winter solstice as well as Yule.

In predominantly Christian countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year, and it is also celebrated as a secular holiday in many countries with small Christian populations like Japan. It is largely characterized by gifts being exchanged within families and being brought by Santa Claus, Father Christmas or by other mythical figures. Local and regional Christmas traditions are still rich and varied, despite the widespread influence of American and British Christmas motifs disseminated by globalisation, popular literature, television, and other media.

The word Christmas is a contraction of Christ's Mass, derived from the Old English Cristes mæsse. It is often abbreviated Xmas, probably because X resembles the Greek letter Χ (chi) which has often historically been used as an abbreviation for Christ (Χριστός in Greek).

_______________________________________________________________________

More History...

Christmas' pagan origins

In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.

Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ.”

The controversy continues even today in some fundamentalist sects.

_______________________________________________________________________

Miscellaneous Ramblings and Name Wonderings...

I wonder if "Xmas" could serve as a secular title for the holiday--it still retains a wee-bit of relationship to Christmas since X resembles the Greek letter X (chi) which is the Greek "initial" for the word Christ (like we could abbreviate it C-mas, which would seem a pretty weak religious link to "Christ").

How about "Feastmas"... (boy am I full of it).

"Wintermas" for Winter Feast

"Grinchmas" for the Grinch

"Whomas" for the Whos

"Solmas" for the Winter Solstice

"Yulemas" for Yule/Yuletide where Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun.

"Paganmas" for the defunct Pagan celebrations

Oh... I just realized (the obvious) the "-mas" is a religious link as well referring the the Christ's Mass...

Okay, then relying on some history, how about:

"Isisfeast" for the ancient feast of the Son of Isis (Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast)(just like Christmas!!!)

"Saturnalia" after the Roman celebration of the Winter Solstice honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture?

If not them, then how about the Seinfeld solution:

"Festivus"!

[insane_cratic_gal]

9. A story my own childhood.

(and all of you should be familiar with it too) I want to leave every freeper lurker with this and anyone who will ever buy into the war on christmas. I promise you, it's a classic.

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He hadn't stopped Christmas from Coming! IT CAME!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags
It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't thought of before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."
"Maybe Christmas.... perhaps... means a little bit more."

---Dr. Seuss


Perhaps O'Reilly ought to read it and realize a holiday: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, winter solstice, are all spent among family. Spent among those we love (most of the time) and trust. It's a celebration of that bond.
Since Christmas doesn't come from a store, perhaps you ought not to care what Greeting or parting Greeting is said once you make your purchase.
and psst Christianity is about 75 percent of the population in US, you've already won making everyone conform to how they Greet others is just a bit controlling, don't you think?

[AlienGirl]

14. There has already been damage

A Hanukkah menorah was vandalized in Philadelphia: http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20051221-21022600-bc-us-menorah.xml

Tucker

[kineneb]

16. Happy Sol Invictus!

Dec. 25 is the day Emperor Aurelian declared in 274 as the festival of Sol Invictus, the invincible sun. Said date was co-opted by Roman Church and declared around 386 as "offical" birthday of Jesus. Jan. 6 is still the date of Christmas in some eastern churches. So take your pick. Jesus was probably born either in the spring or fall, depending on what sources you choose, but not in mid-winter.

[walldude]

17. I have yet to have a bad experience in the "War On Christmas"

So it's not everywhere. I've been to some really busy places too, including Toys R Us, and any parent can tell you, that place is a breeding ground for animosity. They stuff it so full of crap that you can only get one cart through most of the spaces, and it's always packed from Thanksgiving till Christmas. Everyone I have been in contact with has been pleasant. Some say Merry Christmas, some say Happy Holidays, but I haven't come across one "soldier" in the "War On Christmas". On the other hand, there's still a few days to go ;)

[dorktv]

18. I need a tee shirt that says "Companies found that spelling

Happy Holidays is cheaper then Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."

[Raine]

19. I don't say anything anymore

I don't say Merry Christmas cause I don't want to leave out other groups and be insensitive to them. I don't say Happy Holidays cause I don't want some asshole jumping down my throat. I guess the "Christians" have won they scared me out of saying anything but they sure won a lot. :sarcasm: :-(