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What Does Everyone Here Think of the "Christmas" Situation???

thats plain dumb and stupid I am going to wish ppl a merry christmas though I am not celebrating it myself.
 
Gee a touchy topic. I'm a follower of Jesus. I'm not a Jehovah's Witness but share their opinion of Christmas. It's very hard when all the churches I attend celebrate religiously & I don't. I will say Merry Christmas to church friends etc but to Jewish,Muslims & other religions then will use Happy Holidays out of sign of respect
My home is decorated for Christmas but not for religious reasons.
To me Christmas is about LOVE,family & friends.
 
I don't consider myself religious, and I have friends of very different religious backgrounds, so I don't really say Merry Christmas unless it's to someone who I know celebrates it.
 
You ask for our thoughts on your statements, so here are mine.

BillieJean84 said:
I think its ridiculous that we all have to change and get everything so "policially correct"
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We don't all have to change. This supposed "war on Christmas" is a fake "controversy" manufactured by hatemongering radio talk show hosts every year to increase ratings. It's their screaming that in recent years started making Christmas feel like a war zone and is dividing us. Just so they can get rich. Ignore them and their rumors, and focus on what real people are really saying and doing around you.

BillieJean84 said:
I'm almost tempted to say "Merry Christmas" just because it does offend ppl...If ppl do get offended, thats too bad.
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I've never known any non-Christian, and I know many, who are "offended" if someone wishes them a Merry Christmas in good cheer. However, if someone knows you're deliberately trying to goad her, to pick a fight and demonstrate you don't respect her beliefs, she would have reason to not feel "good cheer" in your greeting.

BillieJean84 said:
My mother has decided not to shop at the stores that do not have Christmas decorations, that do not say "Merry Christmas" but instead, "Happy Holidays" ... Nothing Christmas is getting banned from my life.
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Ask yourself how you would feel if someone posted here what you did, but in reverse: "I refuse to shop anywhere that mentions Christmas... everything Christmas is getting banned from my life"?

Doesn't it kind of sap the goodwill out of Christmas for all of this angry checking to make sure others are celebrating it sufficiently?

Let's just each enjoy it, or not, in our own way.
 
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Melania said:
I don't consider myself religious, and I have friends of very different religious backgrounds, so I don't really say Merry Christmas unless it's to someone who I know celebrates it.
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This is a great post!!

I don't understand why everyone has such a big deal with saying "happy holidays". Christmas isn't the only holiday that happens... why can't we say Merry Christmas to our Christian friends/people who celebrate it secularly and then "happy holidays" to everyone else? Spread some unity! :yes:
 
I'm not offended by people saying Merry Christmas even though my family doesn't really celebrate it. At the end of the day, the intention of the people saying it is to spread cheer, and we need more of that.

The problem is, though, that other religions' holidays and traditions aren't really given anywhere near the same attention in America, whereas it becomes Christmas World every December. I know the country was founded on Christianity, but as the society progresses so should we, especially since America is supposed to be all about equality and unity.

The answer isn't "banning" Christmas cheer, but coming from a Muslim family (even though I'm not religious at ALL), I would like to see Ramadan and Eid being glamorized on TV. Of course, if that happened, there would be a gigantic sh*tstorm, and therein lies the BS.

I do gotta admit that when I was a little kid, it would sorta make me angry when my class did all this Christmas stuff 'cause it would make me wish that I would get to celebrate it, and then of course I would come home and there'd be no Christmas. The feeling I got was that if I don't take part in this, then I'm missing out on some essential part of my childhood.

I'd rather see equal attention given to other holidays than trying to PC-ify Christmas (the PC era is lame anyway); unfortunately that's not really the society we live in. It even comes down to the people themselves more so than the government. Half of the people on the "I can say Merry Christmas to whoever I want and it's okay" boat would be the same people who would find it awkward if I went up to them and tried to spread some Eid cheer.
 
I wasn't aware that there was a 'Christmas situation'.

Maybe it is different in the UK. We even have big glass cases with figures of the nativity scene, on the streets in villages, towns and cities, they're lit up at night too.

Other faiths have festivals in December - Hanukkah, Kwanzaa. Christmas is just one of them.

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. 'Christ's Mass'. Not any other reason. I'm not highly religious and I don't usually attend mass, but I find it strange and hypocritical how people who don't believe in Christ still celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ. They have changed it to their own meaning, I don't see people doing this with festivals of other faiths.

To be honest, Christmas has become over commercialised in the UK and USA and for some is more about presents - thats great for businesses so they push this image, money money money. For some its just a tradition to celebrate the end of the year. Perhaps another day should be marked for this, not called Christmas for those who don't believe, because Christmas isn't for that.

Just as the religious festivals of other faiths, listed here http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/calendar/
Christmas should not be censored. I'd never want to ban people from saying Happy Eid, Eid Mubarak, Happy Hanukkah etc. or ban them from displaying their celebrations.

Are they going to ban Happy Easter and change it to Happy chocolate day for the sake of those who don't believe..?

People should be tolerant of everyones beliefs not try to ban it - if they don't want to celebrate it then ignore it.
 
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Grand Master S said:
The answer isn't "banning" Christmas cheer, but coming from a Muslim family (even though I'm not religious at ALL), I would like to see Ramadan and Eid being glamorized on TV. Of course, if that happened, there would be a gigantic sh*tstorm, and therein lies the BS.

I do gotta admit that when I was a little kid, it would sorta make me angry when my class did all this Christmas stuff 'cause it would make me wish that I would get to celebrate it, and then of course I would come home and there'd be no Christmas. The feeling I got was that if I don't take part in this, then I'm missing out on some essential part of my childhood.
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Thats really bad that you felt like that :( but let me guess, it was the pretty decorations etc. that made you want to celebrate it?

Christmas is only everywhere on tv because companies are advertising their products.. its about money. I'd rather it wasn't like that.

I have Muslim and Hindu friends and they actually celebrate Christmas, well, with the present giving and parties anyway.

Its about the countries too like you said. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tunisa.. they likely won't have Christmas displayed on tv and everywhere, but they will have Eid and Ramadan right?

I agree all religions should be encouraged and allowed to display their festivals. Banning should not be the answer.

I hate this tension that PC creates.
 
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I will always forever prefer Christmas over Holidays or Xmas. I just hate seeing Holidays and Xmas so much. I don't understand what is so difficult of saying Christmas. As a Brethren it is like an absolute must we say Christmas. Instead of saying Holidays or Xmas. Because my religion is all about Jesus and continueing his works. I think it is just so stupid about all of this political correctness about Christmas. When Christmas is about celebrating our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's birth.
 
Rockin. said:
Thats really bad that you felt like that :( but let me guess, it was the pretty decorations etc. that made you want to celebrate it?
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That and the whole idea of Santa/Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning. It's a pretty tempting holiday :lol:.
 
Grand Master S said:
That and the whole idea of Santa/Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning. It's a pretty tempting holiday :lol:.
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You are correct! Aww.. it makes me feel bad that you felt bad because of it, I don't like the idea you felt excluded.

Bet you have good Eid celebrations though?
 
Rockin. said:
I wasn't aware that there was a 'Christmas situation'.

Maybe it is different in the UK. We even have big glass cases with figures of the nativity scene, on the streets in villages, towns and cities, they're lit up at night too.

Other faiths have festivals in December - Hanukkah, Kwanzaa. Christmas is just one of them.

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. 'Christ's Mass'. Not any other reason. I'm not highly religious and I don't usually attend mass, but I find it strange and hypocritical how people who don't believe in Christ still celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ. They have changed it to their own meaning, I don't see people doing this with festivals of other faiths.

To be honest, Christmas has become over commercialised in the UK and USA and for some is more about presents - thats great for businesses so they push this image, money money money. For some its just a tradition to celebrate the end of the year. Perhaps another day should be marked for this, not called Christmas for those who don't believe, because Christmas isn't for that.

Just as the religious festivals of other faiths, listed here http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/calendar/
Christmas should not be censored. I'd never want to ban people from saying Happy Eid, Eid Mubarak, Happy Hanukkah etc. or ban them from displaying their celebrations.

Are they going to ban Happy Easter and change it to Happy chocolate day for the sake of those who don't believe..?

People should be tolerant of everyones beliefs not try to ban it - if they don't want to celebrate it then ignore it.
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The "Christmas situation" is a recent invention of American talk radio hosts: Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, and so forth.

Since Christmas evolved from pre-Christian pagan religions and was co-opted by the Church, it most certainly can be genuinely celebrated in a variety of nonChristian, nature-loving ways. Similarly, many Jews who are not religious celebrate Jewish holidays as secular, cultural family traditions, and this is considered welcome among all their community. There is no reason why Christians cannot show the same tolerance for those who wish to honor it as their ancestral cultural tradition.

No one is talking about banning Christmas from anyone's lives. This "banning" talk is a red herring. And boy do I agree with you that all of them are overcommercialized; I so prefer these holidays to be about simple love and goodwill among family and community, and not about tacky conspicious consumption.
 
Grand Master S said:
I'm not offended by people saying Merry Christmas even though my family doesn't really celebrate it. At the end of the day, the intention of the people saying it is to spread cheer, and we need more of that.

The problem is, though, that other religions' holidays and traditions aren't really given anywhere near the same attention in America, whereas it becomes Christmas World every December. I know the country was founded on Christianity, but as the society progresses so should we, especially since America is supposed to be all about equality and unity.

The answer isn't "banning" Christmas cheer, but coming from a Muslim family (even though I'm not religious at ALL), I would like to see Ramadan and Eid being glamorized on TV. Of course, if that happened, there would be a gigantic sh*tstorm, and therein lies the BS.

I do gotta admit that when I was a little kid, it would sorta make me angry when my class did all this Christmas stuff 'cause it would make me wish that I would get to celebrate it, and then of course I would come home and there'd be no Christmas. The feeling I got was that if I don't take part in this, then I'm missing out on some essential part of my childhood.

I'd rather see equal attention given to other holidays than trying to PC-ify Christmas (the PC era is lame anyway); unfortunately that's not really the society we live in. It even comes down to the people themselves more so than the government. Half of the people on the "I can say Merry Christmas to whoever I want and it's okay" boat would be the same people who would find it awkward if I went up to them and tried to spread some Eid cheer.
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:agree:BEST POST :clapping:This should be required reading. Unity is the message :)
And you make a great point with the Eid cheer part.
 
Bo G said:
Since Christmas evolved from pre-Christian pagan religions and was co-opted by the Church, it most certainly can be genuinely celebrated in a variety of nonChristian, nature-loving ways. Similarly, many Jews who are not religious celebrate Jewish holidays as secular, cultural family traditions, and this is considered welcome among all their community. There is no reason why Christians cannot show the same tolerance for those who wish to honor it as their ancestral cultural tradition.

.
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If we're talking about origins of winter festivals, you're right - and some of the customs or traditions that happen at this time of year are from Pre-Christian times. So yes people can go back to that and celebrate it as a festival of the 'sun God' or just a winter festival. That wouldn't be called Christmas though, Christians evolved these festivals into Christmas as it stands today, the use of the word 'Christmas' is as to commemorate the birth of Christ (this is what the controversy is about, yeh.. changing to say happy holidays instead). The focus of Christmas is not meant to be about the customs or traditions, the presents, cards, twinkly lights and over consumption, but in some countries this is what the focus is more strongly on.

I've now read about the controversy in the USA about Christmas displays and even the singing of Christmas carols and the banning or censoring of Christmas.

I don't agree with a banning or censoring of Christmas or any other festival of any faith.

Let people express themselves and be happy, they aren't harming anyone.
 
Rockin. said:
I've now read about the controversy in the USA about Christmas displays and even the singing of Christmas carols and the banning or censoring of Christmas.

I don't agree with a banning or censoring of Christmas or any other festival of any faith
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Neither do Americans. This "controversy" is a media fabrication... like "MJ sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber." There is no movement to ban or censor Christmas. This is simply ridiculous. Americans have a Constitutional first amendment that protects personal freedom of expression, and we are highly supportive of that.

I disagree with you that there must be a "correct" way to celebrate Christmas, and we should police one another to make sure it's done in the "correct" way. There's something a little scary about that. It evolved over thousands of years, and it's appropriate there are thousands of ways to celebrate it.
 
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I'm not getting upset over this, I've said Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, Peace be with you, so on and so forth. Either people will lose the "cheerfulness" of the season over politics or they will smile and say a greeting in return. I remember last year or a couple of years ago when some company started saying merry chrismahanukwanzakah to you (was a commercial can't remember which company) but its ridiculus that it had to go that far, although it is catchy :)


eh, there's some things in life that are not worth worrying about. happy holidays folks :)
 
Sorry I meant to put UK too..as there were articles that came up about incidents there when I searched 'christmas controversy' or 'war on Christmas' in google. There's stuff on Wiki about it.

Well it sounds like you think they are blowing it out of proportion, so I'll believe you because I haven't seen any evidence or talk of any controversy here.

Its really sad that the media creates this atmosphere at this time, its like they want everyone to be arguing.

I disagree with you that there must be a "correct" way to celebrate Christmas, and we should police one another to make sure it's done in the "correct" way. There's something a little scary about that. It evolved over thousands of years, and it's appropriate there are thousands of ways to celebrate it
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Wow. When did I say that there must be a correct way and we should police one another? :bugeyed I didn't say anything of the sort! :bugeyed Please don't put words in my mouth. In fact I said let people express themselves. The only thing remotely like that was when I talked about it being over commecialised and overconsumption being what Christmas has turned into.. which you previously agreed with..??

Anyway, I'm bored of this topic now.. its not worth any more time. Its not that much of a concern to me really.. I just didn't like the banning.
 
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In my mother tongue, this isn't an issue. The word "christmas" bears no religious value here. But in English, I continue to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, which ever. I don't think it needs to be an issue. Merry Xmas, however, is pretty ridiculous. It's like the matter of Santa Claus saying HO HO HO which is like calling people prostitutes or something. :D People need stuff to complain about, I get it.
 
Rockin. said:
Sorry I meant to put UK too..as there were articles that came up about incidents there when I searched 'christmas controversy' or 'war on Christmas' in google. There's stuff on Wiki about it.

Well it sounds like you think they are blowing it out of proportion, so I'll believe you because I haven't seen any evidence or talk of any controversy here.

Its really sad that the media creates this atmosphere at this time, its like they want everyone to be arguing.

Wow. When did I say that there must be a correct way and we should police one another?...

...it being over commecialised and overconsumption being what Christmas has turned into.. which you previously agreed with..?? .
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You're right, you didn't say anything about policing, sorry. I was extending my reaction to other posters who seem to be on Christmas Patrol. You did seem to be disagreeing with me that that Christmas could be a secular holiday, and seemed to be saying the only correct celebration was a Christian one.

Christianity became the world's most widespread religion, so culturally won "naming rights" to several pre-existing seasonal events. This doesn't mean everyone using the name must hold the belief.

But yes, we are agreed on the overcommercialization and overconsumption. Just horrible!
 
No I didn't say the only way to celebrate at this time of year is the Christian way..

Christmas isn't the only festivity going on in December.

Maybe I haven't been clear. The thread is about the semantics, the word Christmas, and people having a problem with it.

I know there were pre-Christian winter celebrations and people can celebrate or not celebrate what they like, of course.

I'm talking about the word Christmas, the origins of the word. I did say it seemed strange to me that people used that word to represent what they are celebrating when it actually goes against what they believe, like they're celebrating something they don't actually believe in. I'm just talking about the word used not whole winter celebration... but whatever.

Its clear what the word refers to, and that is why there seems to be a problem with it, due to political correctness - thats why this thread was created in the first place.

If people don't like the word and don't like what it refers to, then just don't say it. Nobody is forcing anybody to use the word. If they want to they can say happy holidays so they aren't referring to something they don't believe in, but don't ban it and make everyone do the same.

That's what I think. Anywayyy..
 
I celebrate Christmas and have friends of different faiths. I wish them a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday. And they wish me the same. We are speaking of one day out of the year. Here in the U.S. people of ALL faiths or NON-faiths can worship as they so choose. This year more than any other year, I do not understand why so many want to attack this blessed holiday. If you are one that doesn't believe in God, that is certainly your choice. But don't degrade those of us that have faith in the being that created all life in the universe. Please show respect to those of us who enjoy this holiday as you ask us to do the same of yours. Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all! :)
 
MrsMJ2007 said:
If you are one that doesn't believe in God, that is certainly your choice. But don't degrade those of us that have faith in the being that created all life in the universe. Please show respect to those of us who enjoy this holiday as you ask us to do the same of yours. Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all! :)
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As I believe I'm the only nontheist who's posted in this thread, I presume it is me you're accusing of saying something that's somehow "degrading" or lacking "respect." I've been perfectly respectful, while not all here have. Some seem determined to create a "situation."

None in my family is Christian but we all celebrate Christmas every year along with our friends and community. It's an important time to celebrate love of family, community, and nature.

I find your post, and that of the original poster, as distinctly out of keeping with anyone's idea of the spirit of Christmas. I suggest we try this season instead to promote "peace on Earth, good will to all."
 
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