Whether you celebrate it or not, it's still Christmas, so why be offended ...

[11 Bravo]

when someone expresses a desire for you to have a "Merry" particular day?
And by all means, please also have a happy Hanukkah, Mabon, Diwali, Ramadan, Gantan-sai,Vaisakhi, or any other day you may be able to conjure up.
BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL JUST DAYS OR HOLIDAY SEASONS, and if someone encourages you to spend one that they hold sacred in an enjoyable frame of mind, I can almost promise you, they're not simply doing it to try and piss you off.
So Merry Christmas, DU.

[Marrah_G]

1. I don't get upset, in fact I say meery christmas to those I know are christian

Now occasionally when I wish someone a happy holidays, they get upset. This happened when I had a part time job ringing a register last winter.

I'ver never seen anyone get upset at being wished a merry christmas. I've only seen people upset when Not wished one.

[11 Bravo]

2. I've not experienced that, but I can comfortably state that ...

those people are probably assholes. (And I will freely admit that there are Christians, or at least people claiming to be, that give the rest of us a REALLY bad rep.)

[Mariana]

21. Of course they're assholes.

And, most of them are probably also flaming RWers. Fox News and RW radio have been telling their audiences for years that saying "Happy Holidays" is a hostile act, and anyone who says it is attacking Christmas and hates America. It's no wonder they get so upset.

I experienced it in Texas when I lived there, several times each season, but it's not so suprising considering the particular area I was in. There were a huge number of teabagger types there. I haven't had it happen since I moved away from there.

You know, they're probably real Christians, too, in the sense that their faith is genuine, and they truly believe they're serving Christ with their actions.

[patrice]

3. Like all forms of fascism, holiday fascism is a sign of weakness.

If one's truths, whatever they are, are so weak as to need external support or submission or blind conformity from anyone and everyone, including total strangers, perhaps one should be re-examining one's "truths".

[11 Bravo]

8. Last time I checked, wishing someone a Merry Christmas did not compel them ...

to immediately drop to their knees, confess their sins, accept Christ as their savior, and run home and string up Christmas lights in a mad frenzy of "external support, submission, and blind conformity".
But maybe you live in a different neighborhood.

[patrice]

9. Hey, well whatever, I was thinking that it is obvious that what I said works both ways, though you

apparently only saw that as an attack upon Christmas, so perhaps you should consider why that is. What I said fits people who can't be non-Christian or athiest or agnostic or whatever without reinforcement from others and who ALSO need to do some self-reality-testing for weakness, but then . . . .

I guess I recommend self-reality-testing for everyone, including myself, all of the time and if you read some of my posts around here you might see how often I remind myself and others that you must always keep at least a fraction of your awareness directed toward how one can be wrong, so, by implication, one ought not to inflict that upon others by insisting that one is absolutely right in all things (like God) and all that is required, as you so aptly described, is that anyone who disagrees "immediately drop to their knees and etc. etc. etc." to one's OWN truths. If we can't stand for them alone, how is standing "together" going to make our errors any better?

BTW, I agree with you, and am well known for saying Merry Christmas as Often as I can, from on or about November 26 to December 26+.

Also BTW, I live in Cupcake Land where we are in the perfect frenzy that you described so well above, so the greeting/fare-thee-well that we are talking about is pretty common here, but I don't go to the self-congratulatory candy-shops known as church anymore and I am also known for being as honest as I can IN PUBLIC about the Lord of Love, a guy known as Jesus, at every opportunity 24/365, don't need a church to tell me how to do that, so . . .

Merry! Christ -mas!! 11 Bravo!

See you around.

[ZombieHorde]

4. Have DUers been getting offended from folks saying "merry christmas?" nt

[OneMoreDemocrat]

14. *giggle*...

I think there are DUers that would get offended at just about anything.

In fact I'm offended right now...I just can't remember why.

[trumad]

5. Youy've fallen for the Fox news war on Christmas bullshit.

Think about it---no one---and I mean no one was offended before Bill O'Reilly and his crew made up this fake war.

[11 Bravo]

7. Are you kidding me? Fox's "War on Christmas" is one of the dumbest fucking...

made-up, bullshit, faux- controversies I've ever witnessed.
(And if the day ever comes when I'm influenced by anything that comes out of Bill-o the Clown's mouth, you have my permission to euthanize me.)
Now, as I said before, Merry Christmas.

[trumad]

11. Fuck you...I'm Jewish...

Actually I'm Irish Catholic.

[The Straight Story]

18. I have seen some ops here over time where people were offended by the phrase (nt)

[Mariana]

20. I remember one recently that turned into a great long thread.

The poster was very clear that she was not offended by the phrase itself, but by the nasty manner in which it was said to her. Naturally, some of the people on that thread pretended not to understand that, and she was thoroughly flamed by them.

[RandiFan1290]

6. Clear Channel and Chick Fil A are using Happy Holidays

Maybe you should focus on them?

[ElbarDee]

10. Just a day, really.

■Was Jesus born on December 25, or in December at all?

Although it’s not impossible, it seems unlikely. The Bible does not specify a date or month. One problem with December is that it would be unusual for shepherds to be “abiding in the field” at this cold time of year when fields were unproductive. The normal practice was to keep the flocks in the fields from Spring to Autumn. Also, winter would likely be an especially difficult time for pregnant Mary to travel the long distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem (70 miles).

“A more probable time would be late September, the time of the annual Feast of Tabernacles, when such travel was commonly accepted. Thus, it is rather commonly believed (though not certain) that Jesus’ birth was around the last of September. The conception of Christ, however, may have taken place in late December of the previous year. Our Christmas celebration may well be recognized as an honored observation of the incarnation of ‘the Word made flesh’ (John 1:14).”


“…The probability is that this mighty angel, leading the heavenly host in their praises, was Michael the archangel; this occasion was later commemorated by the early church as Michaelmas (‘Michael sent’), on September 29, the same as the date of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. It would have at least been appropriate for Christ to have been born on such a date, for it was at His birth that ‘the Word was made flesh and dwelt (literally tabernacled) among us’ (John 1:14).

This would mean, then, that His conception took place in late December. Thus, it might well be that when we today celebrate Christ’s birth at what we call Christmas (i.e., ‘Christ sent’), we are actually celebrating His miraculous conception, the time when the Father sent the Son into the world, in the virgin’s womb. This darkest time of the year—the time of the pagan Saturnalia, and the time when the sun (the physical ‘light of the world’) is at its greatest distance from the Holy Land—would surely be an appropriate time for God to send the spiritual ‘light of the world’ into the world as the ‘Savior, which is Christ the Lord’ (Luke 2:11)” [Dr. Henry M. Morris, The Defender’s Study Bible (notes for Luke 2:8,13)].

(The word “Christmas” means “Christ mass,” a special celebration of the Lord’s supper—called a mass in the Roman Catholic Church and a Communion supper in most Protestant churches.)

■Why do many Christians celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, if that is not when he was born?

The date was chosen by the Roman Catholic Church. Because Rome dominated most of the “Christian” world for centuries, the date became tradition throughout most of Christendom.

The original significance of December 25 is that it was a well-known festival day celebrating the annual return of the sun. December 21 is the winter solstice (shortest day of the year and thus a key date on the calendar), and December 25 is the first day that ancients could clearly note that the days were definitely getting longer and the sunlight was returning.

So, why was December 25 chosen to remember Jesus Christ’s birth with a mass (or Communion supper)? Since no one knows the day of his birth, the Roman Catholic Church felt free to chose this date. The Church wished to replace the pagan festival with a Christian holy day (holiday). The psychology was that is easier to take away an unholy (but traditional) festival from the population, when you can replace it with a good one. Otherwise, the Church would have left a void where there was a long-standing tradition, and risked producing a discontented population and a rapid return to the old ways.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Raine]

12. That's the way I feel too. nt

[BigDemVoter]

13. I'm not Christian and I don't get offended.

What bothers me are the idiots who get offended when I don't wish THEM a Merry Christmas!

Before leaving work on Friday, I replied to an e-mail at work and ended with, "have a nice holiday." The recipient responded with something along the lines of, "you've got to believe! Merry Christmas!"

Now, what on earth must I believe in? Woman was an idiot, that's for sure. But did I truly get offended? Not really. In fact, I laughed.

However, this idea that there's a war on Christianity or a war on Christmas is such a bunch of horse shit.

I'll be eating Chinese food tomorrow with all the other 5 Jews in my town. . . .

[Mariana]

17. No one else gets offended, either.

Lots of people seem to believe there are legions of non-Christians out there who don't want anyone to say Merry Christmas at Christmastime. Of course, lots of people believe in Bigfoot and UFO's, too.

[xfundy]

15. Well, I say it on one day only.

Merry, to you, tomorrow.

I don't get what the big deal is. Actually, yes I do, as a bunch of assholes seeking to politicize something ELSE they don't own try to make a big deal out of nothing.

Yes, MERRY to you, on that day.

Merry xmess, tomorrow.

Happy Holidays includes everything from Thanksgiving, or Indigenous Peoples' Day, through New Nears.

The usual muddying and discombobulating comes from those with a rusty political axe to grind. Screw them.

[Duppers]

16. this atheist agrees with you.

Merry Christmas.

[aikoaiko]

19. I like festive cultural events. I'm not picky about which culture