Merry Christmas; Okay or Not Okay?

[Guest Faith]

Well basically I remember how this was an extremely controversial matter last year. Those words offend some people, and thus employees nearly everywhere in the States had to switch over to saying 'Happy Holidays' instead.

So are you one of those who are offended by it, and if so, why? Do you believe everyone should say Happy Holidays in replace of Merry Christmas?

I am just wondering what everyone thinks. ^^

[† Emotional Outlet]

I care little. I think it's dumb that it's a big deal at all--for both the atheists and theists. The atheists can very well just ignore it and continue along their merry way, and the theists can stop complaining about how they're always being persecuted and bothered. "Merry Christmas" is such a trivial thing, and I very much doubt that there's any real underlying issue to it--just the theists and atheists picking on each other again.

[Koby]

I don't see why it should bother anyone. True some people don't believe in Christmas or whatnot, but they can easily just ignore it.

[Slayer]

i usually go the extra mile and say "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Good New Year"

[-PHXN- New001]

I'm a happy holidays kindof guy, I just got used to it being in a highly christain and jewish populated town

[† Emotional Outlet]

I solve the problem by not greeting people at all.

When people feel obliged to say something to me, I usually give them a little bow or keep walking and pretend I didn't hear them, because I'm usually doing things or about to do stuff when I am outside the house.

[Original Sora-14]

My teacher is Jewish, so I kinda just say the whole holiday thing. It doesn't matter though, but to stop people from bitching at me.

[Exodus]

I don't see why anyone would be bothered if one were to say Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah. If you don't celebrate those holidays, or any, then just ignore it, as most of you said, don't go around protesting and making airports remove their Christmas trees (which actually happened, in my city actually, others to I'm sure).

[//Cloud//Strife//]

Well I think it's a load of crap to be honest. Here in the UK there's some stupid thing going on where the Government wants to change the name of Christmas Festivities to "Winterval" WTF?

This page shows what extent things are at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/09/nxmas09.xml

I just say Merry Christmas. It's what I've always said and nobody will change that.

[Necrophiliac]

Merry Christmas seems more happy to me. Changing things will just ruin it. Why change the saying for the masses for just a few bitchy people?

[Mujklob]

It isn't a problem around here, I've never heard somebody say "Happy Holidays" as a greeting before. It's always been Merry Christmas. I don't have a religion, so I don't really care, but I do think it's fine. If somebody you know personally doesn't like "Merry Christmas" then don't use it around them. If it's just a random passerby, then it's your choice, but if someone greets you with "Merry Christmas" and you have a religion against that, don't take it personally. This is Canada. Here, you have a freedom of religion, and you have no grounds to start an argument about anything. If you do, nobody's going to care.

[Plo Addonnas]

oh for the love of tits, people aren't trying to force their religion upon you! they're enjoying a holiday in their religion that is about peace on earth and good will towards men! LET THEM SAY MERRY F#CKING CHRISTMAS IF THEY WANT TO! You can say "happy boring bland winter day. I'm an atheist because I'm trying to piss off mommy and daddy." if you want to, or "Merry Kwanzaa" even though it's a made up holiday. It's a greeting and a wish for you to be happy, so stop whinning about it.

(intended for those whinney atheists who started the whole damn thing in the first place, not necessarilly any members.)

[Duelist Dx]

I think Merry Xmas isn't offending, I mean you're not saying much about a god whatsoever, you just wish someone a merry christmas

[RedXIII]

christmas aint offended if someone said it is there offending the christian religion in a way so i just say happy holidays haha

[Osirus Thone]

I'm Atheist and i say merry christmas its not a big deal to me i dont care about it at all.

[RedXIII]

my feeling's exacly haha

[Tifa_Heats_Cloud]

I think the wole 'happy holidays' thing is stupid. Whio cares about being politically correct?

Last year, I was watching a Chrustmas movie with my sister andSANTA CLAUSE said HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I'm sorry, but that's just not right.

[-PHXN- New001]

I think its key that you remember that Christmas, Hanukkahs and Kwanzaa are not the only holidays being celebrated around that 1 week span during December.

Sikhism (the fastest growing religion in N. America)

Zoroastrianism (basis for much of the Christian religion)

and

The Baha'i Faith

all share the holiday season.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Allowing people of different religions to live in a single country doesn't necessarily entail mass evangelism. And so what if they have their religious places everywhere--there's tonnes of churches around ND, but it's not really bothering me. (Listening to them, however, does. I don't push my agnostic beliefs on them.) If your blood pressure raises at the sight of a place of worship, you have problems. Getting short with people who continuously approach you about getting saved is, on the other hand, understandable.

Theists aren't the only ones who get hyper-evangelical about their beliefs. Atheists can be, and are, equally evangelical and pushy about their beliefs. If you're going to get on the case of theists and the spiritual to not push their beliefs, then get on the case of the atheists and non-spiritual to not push THEIR beliefs. If people want to believe in God, a god, a goddess, multiple deities, the spiritual world, whatever--that's their choice. Same goes for the opposite--if you want none of it, then that's your choice. But don't leave it one-sided and get all riled up about the theists when atheists can be just as bad.

People always go on about thinking for yourself and individualism--don't neglect the fact that not all theists are raised that way, that many religious people CHOSE the religion that was best for them, just as many have decided that they wanted nothing to do with religion and/or spirituality.

"Last year, I was watching a Chrustmas movie with my sister andSANTA CLAUSE said HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I'm sorry, but that's just not right."

Santa is a fictional character. Nothing worth getting riled up about. I'm sure you still keep your version sacred in your own home. Christmas movies tend to be feel-good types of things--a generic "happy holidays" will go over better than if he had said "Merry Christmas".

Just as people here keep saying, "Don't get offended by 'Merry Christmas'", I dare say that the reverse should be true as well: Don't get offended by "Happy holidays".

[Mujklob]

Christmas is a Christian thing [...]

I would like to correct you on the 'Christmas is a Christian thing'. Christmas was a Pagan holiday called Yule, in honor of Thor, before it became Christmas.