If I'm not mistaken, the crux of this whole manufactured controversy revolves around the alleged replacement of the phrase "Merry Christmas" with the phrase "Happy Holidays." Isn't the phrase "Happy Holidays" simple shorthand for "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year?" It's not nefarious at all! And if by using "Happy Holidays" you are inclusive to those who celebrate Hanukkah, then so much the better.
Could it be that the religious right has it all wrong? Could it be that the merchants aren't really trying to alienate gift-buying Christians in favor of Jews, militant Muslims, and baby Jesus-hating Atheists? What would be the point in that?
Oh, and Happy Holidays everyone...
5 comments:
Anyone offended by Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings, etc. needs to get a life.
With all the stuff going on in this world, if you're so offended by this that it takes moments out of your life then you have serious personal issues.
Hey guys,
I think that what is really unsettling for Christians is that organizations are FORBIDDING the use of the phrase "Merry Christmas" and promoting the phrase "Happy Holidays" in its place. Many employees want to say "Merry Christmas" around Christmas time but many of them are being deterred from saying Christian phrases such as "Merry Christmas". I still remember going to Meijer and the lady at the cash register saw that I was waering a shirt that implied I may have been a Christian. She told us that she used to say "God bless you" to shoppers but her manager had her stop doing that. She had to kind of secretly whisperto us, "God bless you" as we were leaving.
I could give more examples (like when my concert band instructor, even though he is a Christian, didn't say the name of the piece we where playing because it had the word "Christmas" in it) but the heart of the issue is that there seems to be a push for tolerance for everything but Christianity, even though America is composed of many Christians.
I suppose this may appear pretty extreme, but that's what I believe and it makes sense from my perspective.
Ilive, if a manager told her to stop, it was probably because someone (who needs a life, btw) got offended and told the manager.
But there's not a tolerance thing going on for "everyone but Christians." I doubt the cashier would be allowed to say "salam alaikum", either.:)
Isn't it ironic that many Christians view the omission of the word "Christmas" from RETAIL STORES as evidence of the secularization of Christmas? Isn't the fact that I spend an inordinate amount of time and money at these retail stores (whether or not they recognize Christmas) in and of itself a secularization of the season? Oh, I get it. My guilt is assuaged if someone at Toys-R-Us (on Focus on the Family's blacklist) says "Merry Christmas" to me when I check out. Rock on, Bob. If all the retail stores prominently proclaim "Merry Christmas" I can fully and appropriately celebrate the season without remorse as I ring up debt on my credit cards. Now THAT'S what Christmas is all about. Somehow, a verse in the bible concerning planks, specks and eyes springs to my mind.
From Bob's authoritative news source, WND:
"On Dec. 25, 1789, the first Christmas under the brand-new Constitution, the United States Congress was actually in session, with no day off for any holiday. In fact, the U.S. did not even make Christmas a federal holiday until 1870."
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