"Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas?"
I try not to think too much--no news to old posters here--'cause it's been proven to shorten life and ruin conversations. But while driving alone today, I was musing about the seasonal jargon that gets batted about of late.
Some can't bring themselves to say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" for concern that it may be offensive to some others. They retreat to a safer "Happy Holidays." Do those people consider that the word "holiday" is a derivative of "HOLY day," itself being potentially offensive to those who reject the idea of "holiness" in general, and specifically the HOLINESS that delineates CHRISTMAS?
Settling the dilema (at least for yours truly) is the question with the built in answer: "Of all the 'holidays' in the winter season--Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, Winter Solstice (these are the ones I know)--which one is the occasion for the place where you work being shut down?" If it's Hanukkah, you should scream "Happy Hanukkah" or whatever appropriate greeting fills the bill. If it is Kwanza, go ahead with "Slammin' Kwanza" or whatever blows up your skirt. If your place of employ closes down for the Winter Solstice, then by all means, dance around the oak grove in a black robe and sacrifice an armadillo or whatever while whistling "In-a-gadda-da-vida honey." http://tinyurl.com/2r8ne3 But if you get a break from the salt mines on DECEMBER 25, how 'bout a good old fashioned MERRY CHRISTMAS? I'm just saying...[^]
Of course, if you get ALL the aforementioned days off from your labors (WITH PAY), then by all means, a robust "HAPPY HOLIDAYS" should be your greeting of choice. And you have my heart-felt envy.[:p][V]
Some can't bring themselves to say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" for concern that it may be offensive to some others. They retreat to a safer "Happy Holidays." Do those people consider that the word "holiday" is a derivative of "HOLY day," itself being potentially offensive to those who reject the idea of "holiness" in general, and specifically the HOLINESS that delineates CHRISTMAS?
Settling the dilema (at least for yours truly) is the question with the built in answer: "Of all the 'holidays' in the winter season--Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, Winter Solstice (these are the ones I know)--which one is the occasion for the place where you work being shut down?" If it's Hanukkah, you should scream "Happy Hanukkah" or whatever appropriate greeting fills the bill. If it is Kwanza, go ahead with "Slammin' Kwanza" or whatever blows up your skirt. If your place of employ closes down for the Winter Solstice, then by all means, dance around the oak grove in a black robe and sacrifice an armadillo or whatever while whistling "In-a-gadda-da-vida honey." http://tinyurl.com/2r8ne3 But if you get a break from the salt mines on DECEMBER 25, how 'bout a good old fashioned MERRY CHRISTMAS? I'm just saying...[^]
Of course, if you get ALL the aforementioned days off from your labors (WITH PAY), then by all means, a robust "HAPPY HOLIDAYS" should be your greeting of choice. And you have my heart-felt envy.[:p][V]
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Merry Christmas to ya! 0 -
I'm a stogy fogey.
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!
Doug0 -
MERRY CHRISTMAS and proud to say it,[:D][:D][:p][^] 0 -
I say Merry Christmas to everyone....If that offends them, well that is their problem. 0 -
lady at Wally world said happy holiday to me yesterday.[V]
i ask why not merry Christmas.
she said it was safer, didn't want someone complaining to management on her
I REPLYED
MERRY CHRISTMAS
hope nobody reported me0 -
Feliz Navidad! Hard to offend the illegal's! 0 -
Merry CHRISTmas! 0 -
i had a jewish anatomy professor who said " yes i am jewish, but i do not become offended when one wishes me a merry christmas. it is their greeting for that day, i also beleive that people should not be offended when i wish them a happy Chanukka.
i am in full agreeance with him. and to that i say MERRY CHRISTMAS!0 -
its kinda goffy that it would offend anyone with a greeting anyway, I mean if you say some thing nice to some one wether it be any of the afore mentioned or a different greeting they should not take ofense to a gesture of politeness. personally i think it is pretty childish, to let something as trivial as that bother you. but for the record its MERRY CHRISTMAS around here. 0 -
As said before, there is too much animosity in the world to bandy semantics.
The greeting is taken for it's meaning and not for it's implications.
Peace. Love. Hope. Joy.
Get over it.0 -
Offending people and religious preferences aside, I'm just one of those people who the harder someone tries to control what I say, the more determined I am to be out of control.
MERRY CHRISTMAS !0 -
MERRY CHRISTMAS
But sometimes I say "Have a Joyous Festivus"0 -
MERRY CHRITMAS 0 -
MERRY CHRISTMAS RAM,..Loko 0 -
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Merry Christmas. 0 -
How about the original "Happy Christmas" 0 -
I am a Christian and celebrate Christmas. 0 -
Merry Christmas
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=02123200030 -
When you thing about it most of our major holidays are religion based. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving. If it were not for religion they would not exist. So if you don't believe why should you get to celebrate on those holidays. Those that don'tlike religious holidays can petition Congress to get their own to celebrate and continue to go to work on the religious ones. 0 -
I'm actually surprised they haven't made people switch to something like "Happy Winterfest!!!"
"Happy Holidays" comes from "Happy Holy Days" originally.
But I'll take this all a step further:
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a blessed new year to you all!0 -
What a silly debate. Would it not be rude to wish our Jewish friends 'Merry Christmas?' Equally, would you want them to wish you a Happy Hanukah, because they were simply too provincial to wish you a Merry Christmas? In truth, Jesus was born in the spring, probably April, but the celebration of his birth was moved to the mid-winter festival time to attempt to co-opt the pagans.
Assuming that it is only right that everyone should be content with Merry Christmas is religious intolerance. Shame on you.
Beyond that the suggestion that we should say Merry Christimas because that acknowledges that we get that holiday off work strikes me as blasphemy, not unlike the good news message of Joel Osteen, who suggest we be Christian because of all the good things that will flow to us for doing so. Blasphemy. You worship god because he is god and is worthy of worship not because you are going to get blessings and newer, larger TV's. Shame.0 -
MERRY CHRISTMAS !! 0 -
"Assuming that it is only right that everyone should be content with Merry Christmas is religious intolerance. Shame on you."
We celebrate Christmas as a NATION on December 25th. This is the CHRISTMAS season. For that reason, I will ALWAYS use the 'Merry Christmas.'
If I say this to someone, wishing them well (not intending to offend), who happens to be Jewish, well, he can just deal with it. In this country you don't have the right to NOT be offended. If that were the case, we Christians would have a lot more to complain about than the Jews, at least here in the US.0 -
quote:Originally posted by He Dog
What a silly debate. Would it not be rude to wish our Jewish friends 'Merry Christmas?' Equally, would you want them to wish you a Happy Hanukah, because they were simply too provincial to wish you a Merry Christmas?
No. Why would you think it is rude for me to wish a Jewish fried `Merry Christmas'? Why would you think it is rude for a Jewish friend to wish me a `Happy Chanukah'?
Fact of the matter is I do wish my Jewish friends (and others) a Merry Christmas at Christmas time and I wish them Happy Chanukah at the time of Chanukah.
What the debate is really about is Christians are starting to demand the same tolerance from non-Christians as the non-Christians expect from the Christians. I'm glad to see it.
The only reason I can think of for anybody to be offended at a season's greeting for any holiday of any religion is simple bigotry and intolerance.
At one time I had a sister-in-law who was a Wiccan. Should we have left her out of the Christmas celebrations? I don't think so, and evidently she didn't either. I wasn't very enthusiastic about her Halloween celebrations, but I usually put in an appearance.
In the infamous words of Rodney King "Can't we all just get along?"0 -
Merrrrrrry Christmas! Merry Christmas! And, have a Merrrrrrry Christmas New Year! 0 -
Anything offered out of kindness is worth accepting in the spirit in which it was given. 0 -
Bah Humbug. Work don't shut down for anything. [:(!] 0 -
After thinking about it some more:
I have never had a problem with any person of any religion being offended by "Merry Christmas". Not the two Jewish guys in my division here at work, or the Indian guy (he's Hindu) that works in IIS.
The only people who get angry and self rightous are the atheists.0 -
MARRY CHRISTMAS 0
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