Oh wow. I say Merry Christmas, even though Im not Christian. know a lot of people who do. I know a lot of people who arent Christian celebrate it, like me and my famiy. Its just become sort of a... I dont know. It doesnt seem like a 'Holy Day', everyone around here treats it as a normal holiday.
I celebrate for other reasons too, like Winter Solstice.

I don't really care if people get offended.I say both Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.I'm the kind of person that would still put up Christmas Lights and listen to Christmas Music if they was to do away with Christmas.I hate politcal correctness.This is the United States of America we should be able to say what we want to.

The problem is their trying to take God out of everything.Their already trying to get In God We Trust off of the coins.Easter is another holiday they are now complaining about and I'm talking about the ACLU.They forget that Christians have rights too.I think the ACLU needs to be done away with.Just my opinion.I've already read articles that their trying to do away with Christmas but it won't work because the economy depends on it.

Bottom line I could care less if I offend someone by saying Merry Christmas.Oh and I love how schools are now calling Christmas a winter holiday instead of Christmas.I also love how schools call Christmas Trees Holiday Trees.

It called "separation of church and state" as provided for in the Constitution.

Yes, Christians have rights too; you have the right to celebrate your holiday on the date of your choice, in the manner of your choosing. You do NOT have the right to expect everyone else to share that holiday or its associated customs. You do NOT have the right to make your holiday any more important than that of any other faith or secular group. Just because you are the major religious group in the country does NOT provide you to the right to special treatment, even though Christians are usually the ones accusing everybody else of wanting special treatment.

Only when ALL citizens of the country can expect EQUAL status under the Government (and none of this "seperate but equal" BS the Christian church promgulates) will groups like the ACLU not be necessary.

And this includes the de-Federalization of Christmas, the removal of "In God We Trust" from money, and the removal of "Under God" from the pledge of allegiance among others.

Easter is yet another set of pre-Christian rituals usurped by the church, a'la Christmas.

(EDIT: Lol, this was meant for sharkloverplayer, and I posted before I saw the above post. Seems we see things the same way. )

The separation of church and state has nothing to do with political correctness.

You are exactly right (lol) that Christians have rights, as they have the exact same rights as everyone else. In their personal lives, they have the right to practice their own religion and celebrate whatever holidays they choose to celebrate, just as Jews and Muslims and Hindus have the same right, and atheists have the right not to practice a religion. What they (Jews and Muslims and Hindus, as well) do not have in this country is the right to mandate practice of their religion, including in public schools.

You should read up on the ACLU, btw, and not from Fox News: http://www.aclu.org/about/index.html.

The U.S. as generally been a Christian and Jewish country.
Twenty (and more) years ago, the greeting was always, "Merry Christmas."
When people come from different places and expect that their culture is gold wherever they move to that's where most people are offeneded.

"Merry Christmas" is just a greeting of peace and happiness, not the whole, 'You must believe in Jesus or die'.

If a person doesn't care about the holiday and some random stranger greets you with "Merry Christmas" just simply reply, "You too."
It's just like saying what they just said in another way. You don't have to mean it.

If some person from the U.S. moves to another country that aren't like here, they look at you like you are an idiot. If someone moves here for life, they should adapt to the customs. You don't have to forget about your culture, but a simple, happy gesture in insulting?

My whole take on this is, say what you want and f whatever anyone else thinks, though if someone perhaps tells you "Happy Channukah"(sp?) then it would be polite to repeat the greeting. I've always said "Merry Christmas/xmas" or "Happy Holidays" as that's just the culture I grew up in, "Season's Greetings" sounds odd to me but I'll only use it if someone uses it first.



I see it the same way, also to take it a step further, people from america shouldn't go to other countries and expect say a japanese person speak english in japan when the american is a tourist, that is just downright rude and inconsiderate, I see that type of situation in the same light just not the same way as the use of "Ho Ho Ho" or "Merry Christmas".

When people in stores and other businesses say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" they aren't doing it to praise Jesus or to recognize Hanukkah or anything else. They do it to be nice because they want your money. So if Christians are going to be offended by anything here, they should be offended by business people desecrating their holy day for monetary gain. And if you're deeply offended by someone saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" and get angry about it, I think you're missing the whole message of Jesus in the first place.

I agree! We're not religious but we celebrate Christmas, and we also celebrate Easter but we also celebrate Diwali and other festivals, not as religious festivals but as cultural. It's fun and makes people happy.

I agree totally with your point.

However, in the UK things are a little different. Whilst we are living in an increasingly secular, and multi-racial/multi-cultural society we are a Christian country. That's not to say Christianity is the majority religion, it is written into our (unwritten) Constitution. Our monarch is not only the Head of State in the UK, she is also the Supreme Governor of the established Church of England.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_monarchy

As such, whether we like it or not, Church and State are kinda entertwined in the UK, and our established Church is a Protestant Church and as such we are a Christian country. Therefore, it's much harder to say that we shouldn't force Christian values on others, because our Head of State is also the head of a Christian religion. TO BE CLEAR I'm not saying that we should ignore the rights and tradtions of other religions, I'm just saying that Christianity is perhaps a more inherent part of British culture and society than it is in, say, America where there are clear laws seperating the Church from the State. America is legally a secular, and therefore perhaps inherently more athiest, society. This is why, in some respects, I do understand peoples resentment when UK Councils and groups try and "ban" Christmas festivities. I may not nessecarilly agree with their arguements, but I do see how the UK does have a very long Christiain tradition, and Christmas is part of that.

I have friends of various creeds, colours and faiths and even those of other religions celebrate "Christmas" in the sense of "it's a national holiday". I personally am athiest, so Christmas for me has relatively little to do the birth of Jesus Christ, and is more a time for family, for catching up with friends and taking stock of the events of the past year, with the new one just on the horizion.

So, to answer the question, if we do now have to abandon "Merry Christmas" for a more 'secular' version, I would much rather say "Seasons Greetings" as opposed to "Happy Holidays" as I feel that Christmas, and what Christmas means to me (family, friends, charity and goodwill), is definetly a seasonal thing, whereas "Holidays" is too generic and doesn't really apply to any one period.

I would think that instead of a 'you too,' you could respond with your own religious 'greeting.'

So you say Merry Christmas, and a Jew could reply with "Happy Chanukah." That way, you not only accept the good wishes from someone, but share and illustrate, in a kind way, that you may not share their religious belief...

Oh, hell... who am I kidding... people can't be that mature...

- Peace

ETA:



Err... I believe the correct response is.. AMEN!

- Peace, again...

Just because the United States is a majorly Christian country doesn't mean that courtesy shouldn't be extended to those of minority religions. Times change, and seeing as the U.S. is becoming more diverse and more religions are pouring in, we need to adjust our mannerisms and be courteous. Immigrants of different religions don't expect us to treat them preferentially, but the fact remains that it's good manners to be inclusive. The amount of intolerance in this country astounds me.



That's the way you feel- as an atheist that has experienced lifelong flack for lacking religion, it sometimes feels like people that wish me a merry Christmas are implying that I should believe in Jesus. Perhaps I'm just being hypersensitive, but I'm big on secularism. Yes, everyone has a right to freely practice their religion, but as the French proverb goes, that right ends where mine begins. I think that the right to freedom of religion is private, and it gives a citizen no right to impose it upon someone else. Again, perhaps I'm just overreacting, but in a largely conservative part of the country, it sometimes feels like greetings of "Merry Christmas" are more about the religion than they are about the seasons greetings.



When people immigrate to the United States, they assume a large amount of our customs. That doesn't mean they lose their culture, but they often fulfill our shitty jobs, they assimilate into our society, and they grow accustomed to our societal norms. They do this for our country, so is it so wrong to be politically incorrect to include them? Tolerance is a two way street- if we want this country to keep growing and evolving, there needs to be a balance of give and take. They can't abandon their entire culture in order to assimilate into ours, and therefore I see nothing wrong with saying "Seasons Greetings" to be sure that those who make the colossal sacrifice to come to the U.S. and mop our floors feel included.

If Jews go into a store at Holiday Season, and the store tries to be polite by saying Happy Holidays, or (usually) both Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah, I imagine some may feel so welcomed by it that they may want to give that store some repeat business. So it's just good business sense.

Personally, I don't mind either way, and we always celebrated both holidays. It's tough growing up as a Jewish kid and not having Christmas with the tree and the Santa stuff and all that, so we always had a Christmas tree when I was a kid, as naughty as that might be to some.

That's disturbing.

If a Jewish person wishes me Happy Chanukah, (Hanukkah? I never was sure of the spelling) I won't get offended. If a Muslim wishes me Happy Kwanzaa, I won't get offended. Wishing someone Merry Christmas is not an attempt to evangelize, its not an attempt to offend someone of another faith, its a simple greeting whose meaning is positive, not negative. How in the world can someone get offended at a greeting that is intended to beckon forth goodwill?

Rabid, yes, you are being hypersensitive. Unless you would prefer that everyone become as sensitive as you, in which case, allow me to get offended by Happy Holidays, and your atheistic agenda attempting to promote your godless values upon religious folk by destroying any mention of God from the public lexicon. If I were to be as hypersensitive as you, I would condemn any attempt to remove Christmas from greetings as a secular attempt to destroy God, and as you say, your right ends where mine begins, and if I were being hypersensitive, I would have to say that you are definitely infringing on my right as a Christian, to practice my faith. By telling me I can't wish someone a Merry Christmas, and that I have to say Seasons Greetings or Happy Holidays instead, you are restricting my Constitutionally protected right to free speech, and prohibiting the free exercise of my faith. I would be forced to say that, if I were being hypersensitive, that is. :hmm:

Clearly, you aren't attempting to convert anyone to atheism by saying Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings instead of Merry Christmas, and I hope it is equally clear that Merry Christmas is not an attempt to convert you to Christianity, Happy Chanukah/Hanukkah is not an attempt to convert you to Judaism, and Happy Kwanzaa is not an attempt to convert you to Islam. I hope that the notion of saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas as an attempt to convert people to Atheism as patently absurd...because, frankly, it probably is absurd. But, then again, so is wishing someone Merry Christmas as an evangelical statement. Sometimes a greeting is just a greeting. Do you also get offended when someone says "bless you" or God bless you" after a sneeze? Further, if you are that into secularism, and against any mention of religion in public at all, all of your money must really twist you up inside, what with the "In God We Trust" stamped on every bit of American currency...being the generous guy I am, I would be more than happy to help you out with that, send me all of your money with the offending statement on it, I would be glad to take it off of your hands. Would hate to think that you are being forced to carry around currency that is offensive and insensitive to your secular beliefs.

I'm not saying that we should pass a law to ensure that no one ever utters the words "Merry Christmas" again- merely that it's more politically correct to wish someone happy holidays or seasons greetings. I don't intend to convert citizens to atheism by saying "Happy Holidays," and I'm not saying that you can't wish someone a "Merry Christmas"; just that I think it's more polite and inclusive to say something secular.

You're right, I don't like any mention of religion at all in public. I was raised that religion and politics are two things that one never discusses unless in the company or intimate friends or family, and sometimes not even then. No, "in God we trust" on currency doesn't offend me, and neither does "bless you," but it's the principle of the thing. I've always looked at religion as something private, and the world would be a better, less argumentative place if people could learn to keep such controversial topics to themselves. Even in casual, passing conversation, it just spells disagreement.

As an athiest I understand your point, but somepeople (random strangers) are just trying to be polite.

As Safyre420 stated, Americans move to Japan (just a random country), we are extremely looked down upon.
Wherever we move we have to adjust, but people who move here get to act like it's still their home country which I don't think is very right.

They also don't fill our bad jobs, yes, some do. A family friend needed a place to work and was hired by some place. She was treated poorly, looked down upon. She not only is a woman, but she is gay and they knew that.
If an American ran business hires an American woman and not the Afgan (random nationality), the man can sue that company.
So people from other places and different cultures feel like they should be treated like fragile doll when everyone else here just rolls with the punches.

Its the thought that counts. This (well almost) is considered Christmas time, and half the people that say it are pretty much wishing you well. Can't people take it as a polite comment!? Really, sometimes half the people that say, don't even think of Christ. It's the season!

I grew up with Merry Christmas all my life.. well up until the last few years where its been "wrong" to wish people that. While in school it was always "Christmas Break" now its "winter break". I guess I'm not going to let some people try to take that time of year away from me. When I hear Merry Christmas I think of the times I had with my family. The good times and the fun. All the kindness people gave during this time of year. I live in America, I feel its my right to say whichever greeting I want. I also feel its their right as well. What kind of a sad person would I be if someone wished me a Happy Hanukkah and I got all ticked off? So no I will not be changing my greeting.

Nor do I expect you to change it. I do, however, expect you to respect my right to use an alternative greeting, and not tell me off when I do so. In my own family I have a cousin who is very religious and married into an extremely religious family (her husband, his brother, his father, his uncle, and his cousin are all Baptist ministers) who has purposly excluded me from holiday gatherings to which the rest of the family was invited because of, among other things, my lack of religion. When I do come into contact with her, she is always ranting at me about my "damnation". Again, I repeat, just because Christians hold the majority faith in this country it does not give them the right to expect everyone to hold their faith and traditions above those of other religious or secular groups.

The funniest thing about this is that I know of another Baptist minister that rallies every year against the "pagan idolatry" that has become synonomous with Christmas. (the tree, wreaths, carols, etc.) So, even within the same christian sect, what is one man's "tradition" is another's "blasphemy".

To me, Christmas is just a word. That's it, a single word. Just because it has 'Christ' in doesn't mean it's only about him. To me, Christmas is family, presents, and love. No Christ or religion in that. Afterall, my name is Christine, does that mean I'm holy?

I can't see a problem in saying merry christmas. I mean, some of my friends are muslims and they say merry christmas and some of them celebrate christmas, because it's a tradition, and not because they believe in Jesus.
To put is this way, I wouldn't be offended if someone for example said 'happy eid' to me either.

I don't know why people can't just say "Happy Holidays". I mean, it covers everything.. why not please the majority of people?

My family is Jewish and my mom's response to "Merry Christmas" has always been "Happy Hanukkah". Her response to "Happy Holidays" has always been "You too!"


You can spell it either way. The confusion is just that it's a Hebrew word and they have a completely different alphabet and system for writing/speaking. So when it's translated into English things get a little funky It's pronounced the same way regardless of spelling.

I hate that attitude. Saying "Happy Holidays" or "winter break" is not an attempt to take your Christianity away from you, but an inclusive gesture that doesn't leave out those of other religions. It's said out of politeness and sensitivity, not malice. Christmas is included in the winter holidays, after all.

davious, I think you're confusing atheism and (social) secularism. "Happy Holidays" is not an atheist expression. It's an inclusive one.

The reason why most people wont say "Happy Holidays" is because, they want to spread cheer and happiness in their way.
I see "Happy Holidays" as more of a 'Happy whatever in the world you celebrate'.
"Merry Christams" (in my opinion) is saying more of a, 'Have a wonderful, peaceful, happy day'.
The majority of the U.S. are Christians or celebrate the Christmas holiday.
(96% of the population)

Most people see Christmas as the birth of Jesus.
(I'm not a fan of The birth of Jesus or the rebirth of Jesus doesn't mean I don't celebrate Easter or Christmas)
While to others Christmas is more about gift-giving, family get-togethers/bonding, memories, peace, happiness.

"Merry Christmas" around where I live in more of a way to get starred at like your are an alien.

I'm in Australia and I do say Merry Xmas to my customers when they leave. I've only ever had one person get upset at me and I just looked at them and didn't really say much.