Posted on 12/15/2004 7:02:32 AM PST by MikeEdwards
Some 2000 years ago, in a small, unimportant corner of the world, a baby was born. His mother lovingly wrapped him in swaddling clothes and gently laid him in a manger. Some people today want to figuratively drop that same child into the nearest dumpster and walk away.
Take a stroll through the local shopping mall and try to spot the word 'Christmas'. Listen to how rarely the staff will greet customers with 'Merry Christmas', and notice how few advertising campaigns use the word. If you want a real challenge, try to find any kind of reference to the nativity in a public school's 'Holiday' Concert. In some schools, even Jingle Bells is on the verge of being banned.
The motive might be to avoid offending some religiously intolerant person, but the result is open hostility towards Christianity. The deliberate removal of 'Christmas' from public language is a cold shoulder of disrespect that tells believers they are only tolerated if they stay quiet. George Orwell was correct when he wrote that language shapes our thoughts. Replacing 'Merry Christmas' with 'Happy holidays', or 'Christmas tree' with 'holiday tree', or 'Christmas cards' with 'special occasion cards' changes how we think of those items in a way that lessens their value, and that causes far more offence than it cures.
Treating the word 'Christmas' like it is a profanity is an insult, especially when Ramadan and Kwanza get more and more positive media attention every year. No effort is made to suppress the customs of those celebrations and you don't find the media suggesting that they are based on a myth or a lie. Double standards like this are not the way to bring joy to the world. . . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
> Why would I not wish people to enjoy the holiday they celebrate?
Depends on the holiday. "Smack A Cat Day" is a holiday I'd just as soon the adherants to AntiCatism failed to enjoy.
Yeah, they don't care about religion to the point that many companies are VERBOTEN from expressing the "Christian" term of "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending the odd 4% of the country that supposedly doesn't celebrate it.
"Dept. stores are all about making money in this peak season and could not care less about religion.
"
Well, that's certainly true. Some, if not most, have some sort of Christmas references. Some don't. It doesn't really matter to me, because my celebration is a secular one at this time of year. My wife is a Christian, and so we have a couple of creches in the house and an angel at the top of the tree.
I'm not offended, and she's not offended by my atheism. We love each other. I see no problem.
"Yeah, they don't care about religion to the point that many companies are VERBOTEN from expressing the "Christian" term of "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending the odd 4% of the country that supposedly doesn't celebrate it."
Which companies? So far, I've seen reference to Macy's. Oddly, if you go to www.macys.com, you'll find a Christmas greeting right on their web site. Same with the Federated Department Store's site.
I'd like to see a list of these companies that forbid Christmas, so I can check it out.
> Dept. stores are all about making money in this peak season and could not care less about religion.
Indeed. Corporations are in the business of making money. However, naked greed is often a way to *lose* money. Look at the various Christmas threads here on FR... many abouts are annoyed *as* *is* that the holiday is so commercial. Imagine their annoyance if WalMart put on a "What Would Jesus Buy" sale, or a "Shopping at Target Makes Baby Jesus Cry" sale.
Consequently, "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" or whatever, gets the same commercial message across, but without the blatant appeal to many people's deeply held religious beliefs to make a buck.
They should wish other Christians that greeting, but why you? Why on earth would I wish you to have a nice celebration of everything you do not believe in?
"Have a happy day for a fraud savior that doesn't save and a God who doesn't exist".
That makes no sense. How about this, Have a nice labor day, or Sweetest day, or Groundhog day? After all, those are your days,,,I guess.
Or, have a nice Dec. 25th,,,,and 26th,,,and 27th,,,,and,,,,,
"Oh, come on. You're gonna claim mass hysteria now???"
Not at all. I wrote in this thread about my trip to the mall, where I saw all sorts of references to Christmas. I'd just like to see a list of all these stores that forbid the mention of Christmas.
I've already pointed out that Macy's and it's parent company have Merry Christmas messages right on their home pages, so they're right out of the list.
Walmart doesn't, though, and neither does Sears. They seem to be ignoring Christmas on their web site. I'd like to see a list, so I can investigate for myself. So far, no such list has appeared.
Looks like you've already done some homework there since you know about Sears, WalMart, etc. Keep up the good work.
"They should wish other Christians that greeting, but why you? Why on earth would I wish you to have a nice celebration of everything you do not believe in? "
You needn't wish me a "Merry Christmas." If you do, though, I'll wish you one. If you saw me on the street, or in a store, you wouldn't know that I'm an atheist, so you might just wish me a "Merry Christmas." I'll return the greeting, because I sincerely hope that you have a Merry Christmas.
If you wish me a Happy Hannukah, I'll assume you're Jewish, and return that greeting as well, since I would hope that you have a Happy Hannukah.
I won't tell you that I'm an atheist unless you ask me about my beliefs. What would be the point of that?
Have a Merry Christmas!
"How about this, Have a nice labor day, or Sweetest day, or Groundhog day? After all, those are your days,,,I guess.
"
You could say those things, and I hope you'll enjoy those holidays, too. Happy Columbus Day! Who cares? I enjoy all holidays, and hope everyone else does, too.
On Veterans Day, I attend an event that honors veterans. It's not a "happy" day. It's a solemn remembrance of those who died in the service of their nation.
Christmas is celebrated by Christians as a holy day. I wish all Christians a good Christmas.
I have no intention of doing so, I already explained how stupid that is.
Have a Merry Christmas!
Thank you.
And I wish you a good life. I feel so badly for you people. It's not your fault. It must be so sad to think that this pathetic place is all there is and it all happened by accident. Such an empty feeling.
I wear a small pin that says: "Merry Christmas, Believe it. Say it." from the Alliance Defense Fund (group that fights the ACLU frivolous lawsuits about religious expression and displays).
It's okay to say Merry Christmas! Get your Christmas pin here:
TRANSGENDER, BISEXUAL, GAY AND LESBIAN AWARENESS DAY
Have a nice one!
"Here's a different thread, maybe a day you can celebrate
TRANSGENDER, BISEXUAL, GAY AND LESBIAN AWARENESS DAY
Have a nice one!"
Well, I'm none of those things, so that wouldn't be a day I'd celebrate. How sad that you can't recognize those of faiths other than yours without some sort of slur.
What slur?
What was your "faith" again? Is that an admission that atheism is a religion?
Again, what slur? Please don't accuse people without specific information.
That's an odd thing to say. You aren't a Christian but you celebrate Christmas.
Your unbelief is a self evident proof--every time you post
it is clear you do not believe in anyhting beyond yourself.
May Christ soften your heart--and open your eyes-but you
are without excuse (ROmans chapter 1) for your self imposed
blindness.
In the post office: "Holiday Ornament Stamps". On what holiday other than Christmas do we use Christmas-looking ornaments? Hmm...let me think...
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