Why does everything have to be happy holidays now? Or Seasons greetings?

Why cant we have happy Christmas anymore? And to make me really mad is that I havent heard any Muslims complain (which is a wonder), the Chinese dont complain, Jews, Indians dont care. So who is it that decides we better not show Santa, dont put up Christmas trees, putting a baby Jesus in a stable is tantamount to a lawsuit!!

I dont mind the Chinese new year, the current Indian celebrations where they give out sweet things (cant remember name sorry) does not offend me, it adds to the culture I am surrounded by. Jewish holidays are well known and enjoyed, and I shop at meat shops where they sell Halal meats.

So who's taken my little boys Santa??? I'll wring thier bloody necks!!!!

NO body has taken Christmas away from ME!!!

That's only if you let it.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, if they like it fine. If they dont like it, that's their problem.

It is Christmas to me and my family and it has been for many many years! The hell with the PC crowd. If someone wishes me a happy whatever, i'd say thanks.
It doesnt matter. Wishing you well, is nice, no matter what religion.

I don't know, but it's ridiculous. I don't see how or why people get offended by it, they usually use his name as a curse word everyday anyway. It's almost sickening how hypocritical it is, I want to hear someone who is offended by Merry Christmas and their reasoning behind it.

I don't know, but it's ridiculous.

I agree It is ridiculous.

I don't see how or why people get offended by it,

The offence began about 30years ago (give or take) When the fundies began demanding
that the "christmas season" was theirs. You MUST put Christ back into xmas. even explaining to them that between the last week in Nov. and the first week of Jan. there
are something like 45 celebrations of various beliefs was to no avail. They were right
everyone else was wrong, their beliefs came from GAWD all others were of the Debil.

Unfortunately what you are seeing today is a result and consequence of the people
who Christmas means the most to { although they still burn a Yule Log and decorate
a Yule Tree with Witch Balls}. I attended my first Hannuka celebration last year.
Although the invitation came for the wrong reasons, and the person who extended
the invitation knew less of their beliefs than I did It was a pleasant experience and I
was grateful to be present as their daughter officated at her first celebration.

Again unfortunately the pendulum has swung to the other extreme, now no belief
can be expressed during the most high of seasons.

'Christmas' may have originally referred specifically to a Christian festival, but it has come to be a generic terms for the general period of mid winter festivities celebrated by most religions and cultures across the N Hemisphere (and in the S Hemisphere at midsummer). Most of the traditions associated with it are non Christian in origin.

You are quite welcome to object to people using the term Christmas. Just so long as you enjoy being tarred and feathered ......

Originally posted by Mcphisto
Why does everything have to be happy holidays now? Or Seasons greetings?

So that the cards are appropriate to all faiths. We tend to buy the cards in bulk and to send them to friends and family of many different faiths. The generic cards sell better -- the card sender doesn't have to buy a pack of Jewish cards and a pack of Cards Suitable For Someone Whose Faith We Don't know, and a different set for the agnostics, and a different set for the Baptists, etc, etc.

It's a way to include EVERYONE in the holiday!

Originally posted by Mcphisto

Well then you need to get out more our move to somewhere bigger!

And I will be giving my boy Santa this year thankyou.

Any suggestions?

Why not give your boy you rather than a creepy fictitious character? It's interesting in itself that some parents would rather give the glory of gift giving to a fat man dressed in a red suit who never even moved his rear end to purchase one single present under the tree. And the worst part is that probably that same lie was fed to you as a child until, 1. you were old enough to figure it out on your own or 2. you were too old for that lie, so you were given the "Santas not real talk"

Don't you see how bad traditions are accepted? Will the chain ever be broken? It starts with you and it's better to build on trust (if you simply cannot do away with Christmas) rather than a lie.

What if you dressed up like santa on Christmas day? That way you would take away the lie without taking away santa. Allow your child to know it is you under the clothing and that you do this once a year at Christmas for him because you enjoy seeing him happy?? or something along those lines....

As I stated previously, eventually your son will come to know the truth anyway, so why not give him both. Christmas can be a cherished time of year for people, with all the beautiful decor, lights, smells, gifts (both giving and receiving) all the things that make that time of year stand out from the rest, and with that, we can sometimes get so wrapped up in the season and lose sight of what Christmas signifies to those who DO believe in Jesus The Messiah. Sure it's not His true birth day and sure it might well have been a day to worship another god but in our time we make it what it is with what's in our hearts and that is the real treasure given to our children and others during the Christmas Season....

Ha! Reading this reminded me of the time that my sister asked her son "When have I ever lied to you? He replied while counting on his fingers "Santa, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy. . ."

Christmas is my absolutely most favorite time, I love Christmas; and I'm not even Christian. I grew up Christian and we had the most fabulous Christmas's, it was the one day no one ever argued, well mostly never argued. Now I'm Pagan, but of course for me, many of the traditions are both Pagan and Christian. I love giving presents, I love decorating the house and having huge numbers of loved ones over for Christmas dinner, etc. I also love Jesus, and I like celebrating the birth of this man, who may well have been the wisest to ever walk the Earth.

To me, Christmas is a state of mind and it's inside yourself that you observe Christmas the way it translates to you. It doesn't matter to me if someone wishes me a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, or whatever, it's the sentiment that counts. We used to shop at a corner market that was owned by a very nice Moslem man from Yemen. He was truly a wonderful man, beloved by the entire neighborhood. We would wish him happy Moslem holidays and he'd wish us Merry Christmas. I used to ask him lots of questions about his faith, and he was always forthcoming and very polite. We all celebrate that time of year in our own way and I think that's a good thing.

Originally posted by darkelf
Ha! Reading this reminded me of the time that my sister asked her son "When have I ever lied to you? He replied while counting on his fingers "Santa, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy. . ."

Do we want to begin the first "crucial" years of our childrens' lives lying to them and on top of that justifying it over and over again in order to keep the masses in order? Look at it this way...it's like saying "Here dear, I'm going to feed you this lie until I think you are "ready" for the truth and then I want you to feed this same lie to your offspring and so on and so on and so on........WE can be that one link in the chain that breaks the bad habits.

Bah Humbug!

Isn't Christmas merely a re-packaged pagan tradition?

"Since the sun reaches its lowest noon-day altitude in the northern sky on the 25th December, the time of the winter solstice, this date was chosen for celebrating the nativity of Mithras. On this day his initiates held festivals and kindled lights, the gleaming tapers of which represented the fire of the newborn sun. "

Mithra being a god specifically worshipped by much of the Roman army before Christianity was made the official religion. And of course the Emperor wanted the army's support, so, yet another ancient tradition is manipulated for propaganda.

I can already feel the icy tendrils of "Christmas Spirit" clutching greedily at peoples material wealth, and draining the milk of human kindness as shoppers are submitted to the howling of fat-faced, malevolent infants.

>shudder<

So, perhaps this year I shall celebrate "Christmas" in proper style: The slaughter of a prize bullock at noon upon the balcony of my flat(I know Zoroaster would disapprove of sacrifice but you really cannot skimp when entertaining), followed by generous feasting of friends and loved ones from golden plates and goblets, wine will flow as though from a spring, there will be no interval in the festivities to watch some old hooting German and her kin on the television. Voices will be raised in praise of Ahuramazda.

The Christmas spectacle of shocking seasonal music and dreadful nativity plays is for Christians, I care not how you celebrate, just as I have no interest whatsoever in the celebrations of Jews, Muslims, Hindus or Scientologists.

Pah!

Originally posted by forestlady
Christmas is my absolutely most favorite time, I love Christmas; and I'm not even Christian.

Christmas isn't Christian. It's just a bunch of symbols (Christmas tree, yule log, holly, etc. . .) gathered from pagan cultures. Jesus was not born on December 25. The Old Testament expressly forbids utilizing worship forms from other cultures (or worship practices to other gods) to worship God. Nowhere in the Bible does it say to remember the birth of Christ. The ressurection is the day Christians are supposed to remember.

Christmas wasn't even a big holiday in old europe, it was only in recent times that it became more popular. Easter was the big christian holiday really.

So as far as 'who took santa claus', christmas, let alone santa claus, really haven't been around for all that long. It wouldn't be too surprising that they fade away back into obscurity and non-existence.

BUT, either way, no one has 'taken away' christmas. People say 'happy holidays' because it'd be silly to say 'merry christmas' to a person that isn't christian, or even a christian that doesn't celebrate it. No one is forcing anyone to not say it.

The secularization of America is to blame. We have a 7% population of athiests in this country and they have the upper hand on the 93% of the rest of us. It's a damn shame.

The ressurection is the day Christians are supposed to remember.

Darkelf,it has been argued,even by some christians, that Easter is "pagan" as well. So...

[edit on 31-10-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]