War On Christmas?

Is there a War On Christmas? I was watching videos on youtube, and came across videos called War On Christmas. People like Bill O'Rilly on Fox News ect, where talking about it. Am not from America, so can any American on ATS tell me whats going on? or what was going on?

Am from the UK and don't see any War here, i can go around and say Merry Christmas. I see shops selling Christmas tree's ect. I see Christmas lights on the streets in towns. Theres Christmas adverts on the TV. So no War here!

Whats going on?

There isn't a war on Christmas, just a BS 'war' on seasonal greetings. Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays.

The Merry Christmas Crowd believes that somehow by not saying Merry Christmas, it's some kind of slander against the holiday itself, or their religious views.

The Happy Holiday's crowd believes that saying Happy Holidays is more political correct, because many religious holidays fall during the month of December, so it's not just about one religious holiday, rather them all. All inclusive basically.

December 2008
6 - St. Nicholas Day (International)
8 - Bodhi Day - Buddha's Enlightenment (Buddhist)
8 - Eid al-adha (Islamic, Muslim)
12 - Virgin of Guadalupe (Mexico)
13 - Santa Lucia Day (Sweden)
16-25 - Las Posadas (Mexico)
22 - Hanukkah* (Jewish)
25 - Christmas (Christian, Roman Catholic, International)
26 - Boxing Day (Canada, United Kingdom)
26 - Jan 1 - Kwanzaa (African-American)
source

[edit on 12/3/2008 by Forest]

If anyone wants to say Merry Christmas they should be aloud. Theres nothing wrong with it.

I wonder if there are people on ATS who would get offended if i said Merry Christmas on the 25th?

I should clarify. Saying Merry Christmas on Christmas isn't the issue in this argument. It's stores with slogans like "Christmas shopping/ Merry Christmas/ Have a Merry Christmas." All December long, not just on Christmas. People who celebrate Christmas 'religiously'[?] like it, while people who don't celebrate Christmas may not like it.

Happy holidays is a alternative that includes everyone's religious beliefs, rather than just one groups. I guess some see it as a selfish gesture, while others see it as the norm.

Besides, you should take everything said on the MSM 'news' with a grain of salt, especially anything from O'Reilly.

Interestingly, a Utah Senator, Chris Butters, wants to make a law that encourages store workers to say "Merry Christmas" instead of Happy Holidays or whatever else they might choose to say.

Source

I have yet to understand how you can make a law - "encouraging" a certain behavior... If they're only going to "encourage" me to stop at red lights, it's really not much of a law at all...

I look forward to the discussions here on ATS about how the liberals are stealing Christmas. It happens every year.

There is no "War on Christmas". Most people LOVE Christmas. The problem comes in when certain religious groups want to claim Christmas as their own because THEY celebrate Christ's birth on Christmas. They try to tell everyone else how to celebrate it, what to call it and how NOT to celebrate it. They take the inclusive greeting "Happy Holidays" as an insult of some kind and want to "fight back". Very confusing.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


That is really funny – a law to encourage store clerks to say "Merry Christmas"

Is it like Monopoly, you get a "Get out of jail free" card for every 100 times you wish someone a Merry Christmas, but lose all your points every time you slip up and say "Happy Holidays" instead?

And what if both the store clerk and the customer are Jewish? Is the clerk still encouraged to wish them a Merry Christmas or is Happy Hannukah acceptable in those circumstances?

And really, why wouldn't I wish someone a Happy Hannukah, even though I don't celebrate it myself?

Happy Holidays to me implies the whole season, not just Christmas day. And if there's a "war on Christmas" going on, I think we should look to the commercialization and relentless advertising and competitive spending going on rather than how someone expresses a desire for another person's well-being.