I typically respond to “Happy Holidays” with “Merry Christmas”, which often makes those who have been told what to say at work smile. When the person is an obvious far-left activist, I echo their greeting - almost. They don’t seem to know how to react to “Happy Holy-days”.
Holy Days should be happy days.
In some areas of the world Epiphany (Jan 6th) is observed as the day for gift giving and most American calendars until a few years ago had it listed.
Seems like. When the ACCB seemed to have caved into the misuse and crass commercialization of the 12 days of Christmas by moving Epiphany’s observance to the 1st Sunday after Circumcision (New Years) the date was no longer listed.
This is my recollection of the season in poetry page
http://www.theusmat.com/natdesk.htm which includes this
On This “Little Christmas”
January 6th
Once Upon a Time and not too long ago
The Twelfth Night Of Christmas
was celebrated with a ball
From the Day of Babes Birth
and the 11 thereafter
kith and kin were paid a visit
and friends from far and near
once were paid a call
So on this day I pray in the spirit that this date recalls
Let the gift of homage of kings gain
in the spirit of the days this season yet remain
ere it wane
Be thine Blessings Great
and misfortunes thee none befall
I volunteer at my local VA. I was asked to sort through a large box of Christmas cards to sort out any that had a religious theme. Those would be sent to the hapel and only distributed by them.
I politely refused.
I then went on to note that if the government was so concerned about offending some with religion, they need to stop saying “Happy Holiday” since the root of the second part is in fact “Holy Day”.
We all agreed that political correctness has ruined everything it touches.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I always say,”Happy Birthday to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, without Him we’d spend eternity in hell.
Just say “Happy whatever, or maybe not. I don’t care. Whatever.” That way, no one cares, and you can go about your dreary existence.
Well, if you only see a person once a year, then happy holidays would include all the recognized holidays...Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, etc........so it’s totally appropriate... :)
Don't wish me "merry Xmas" or "happy holidays."
Put Christ back into Christmas on this blessed holy day
Put Christ back into Christmas like on that silent night
When the Star of Bethlehem gave way to newborn light.
>> thereby offending many who don’t even realize they’ve been offended. <<
..
My lexical problem with Happy Holidays is simply that Hannukah was over a long time ago, and there IS no Muslim holiday that consistently falls in December. (This year, the nearest was Mawlid, which falls on Dec 5 OR Nov 20, depending on which Islamic calendar is being used.)
I just don’t say ANYTHING to anyone unless they greet me first.
If I get a ‘Merry Christmas’, I smile and say “AND a Merry Christmas to YOU also”.
If I get ANYTHING else, I smile and say “NO - it is MERRY CHRISTMAS” - thank you anyway.
And if I see banners etc saying ‘HH’ I point at it and say “REALLY?” and normally just get a shrug.
OTOH, if I do not know someone, I let them address me first - don’t want to ‘offend’ one by saying Hello and hurting their feelings.
I am not running for office or looking to make ‘friends’ so I really don’t care what you may ‘think’ of me.
My former wife used to say something like “You are so miserable NO one will come to your funeral” I would respond with “I really don’t care, it won’t bother me, may embarrass YOU - if YOU decide to show up”
How about, “Thank you.”
Not everything is an attack. Why give a retail person a hard time?
Be gracious.
It’s not politically correct, and it makes perfect sense. There’s a fistful of holidays this time of year. Even your crowd is just Christian. Had a bunch of people I knew I wasn’t going to see until after the New Year, so Happy Holidays it was since they’d be having at least 2 before I saw them again. Really the whining about happy holidays is just as pathetically stupid as leftist whining about PC stuff.
I try to be tolerant, because some people are clearly conflicted about what to say and don't want to "offend" someone. They aren't bad people or "anti-Christmas zealots", but are people who are just cowed by the PC-crowd and let it affect them.
I have always liked Dennis Prager's view on this (He is Jewish, and he thinks the forcing of people to say "Happy Holidays"...He says OF COURSE it is a "War on Christmas"):
What’s your view on wishing one another Happy New Year instead of Merry Christmas during the heart of the 12 days of the Christmas Season?
thereby offending many who don’t even realize they’ve been offended... then I’ve confused everyone present, whether they realize it or not.
Contrary to what the lying liar, Richard Dawkins, says, this is indeed a specific Marxist assault on Biblical Christianity.
Happy Holidays, a generic Holy-Day greeting, has replaced a specific one, Merry Christmas.
Similarly, BCE/CE, a generic timeline demarcation, has replaced a specific one, BC/AD.
Note well: In both instances, the secular Marxists who inflicted this upon American society did not replace either the actual holiday season or the timeline dates!
The so-called holiday season still coincides with the long-chosen time for Christians to celebrate Christmas [Christ Mass]; all dates in use still follow the timeline originated by Dennis the Little, who sought to determine the time of Christ’s birth so that the church calendar could predict all future Easter celebrations - which holy day, the time of the Death and Resurrection of the Christ, was considered the actual focus of Christendom, not the birth of the Savior.
(Dennis was somewhat in error because he was limited by using Roman Numerals, without the advantage of the Zero.)
Note also: None of these Marxists are attempting to replace Ramadan with something generic. That alone disproves Dawkins’ sophistic argument that this is all about not offending people of other faiths (or of no faiths).
I would like to see him go to a Muslim-dominant nation and try to preach his condescending sophistry.