Christian Group Demands That We All Say ‘Merry Christmas’

Means absolutely dick to me whatever feel-good greeting someone wishes me. This is strike two for the day.

Christmas is a Secular holiday. I get that the christians want to take it back (but not all the way back to its pagan roots, just back to when they stole it) but why should we cede it to them when for years it has belonged to everyone?

Santa, Frosty the Snowman, Jack Frost, the Tree, Scrooge,… all have more of a connection to christmas than Jesus for most people.

This is what makes it apparent that groups like AFA are protecting Christian privilege rather than trying to honor their deity.  If I thought something was sacred, the last thing I would do is demand that corporations exploit it for the sake of profit.

I used to work in retail. I remember when I used to say “happy holidays”, people would correct me and say “You can say ‘merry Christmas’ to me, I prefer it.” I would normally respond something like “Oh, I don’t celebrate that holiday” (even though I do, with my family, just not any of the religious aspects).

Normally, people would just walk away. Sometimes, people would try to sell me the “good news”. One time, someone said  “I can see the devil on your shoulder, you need to be saved by the blood of the lamb”. After that, I stopped telling people I don’t celebrate their holiday.

Last night I watched ‘Christmas With a Capital C’. You know, for shits and giggles. And to see just how worthy of MST3K style commentary it actually is (turns out it would fit right in!). This reminds me so very much of that movie.

Totally unrelated, but if you’re into MST3K, I’d spend the few dollars to buy “Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny”, available at rifftrax.com.  Never has something been so funny and made so little sense.

Love this post, especially the line ” If you’re getting upset because someone says “Bless you,” you need to calm the fuck down.”

I used to work retail & as a Jew, chose to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” In hillbilly, Bible-thumping Ohio, I got PLENTY of cranky people who told me, “Why don’t you just say what you mean? Say ‘Merry Christmas!'” to which I put on my best simpering, douchey-but-still-professional smile & told them, “Actually, I’m Jewish, so I don’t celebrate Christmas. But I hope you enjoy the holiday season!”

Imagine they succeed in getting everyone to say Merry Christmas. Non-Christians saying Merry Christmas everywhere. Wouldn’t that actually mean the holiday had become even more secularized and generic?  “Merry Christmas” would be the new “Happy Holidays” – exactly the opposite of what they want, but they are too stupid to realize it.

I thought this was amusing, since I was just sitting here congratulating myself on finding a pretty good un-christmas card for this year (Snowman on the front, “celebrate the season” inside, and only $1 for a box of 10!).  What can I say–I’m a sucker for sending greeting cards at this time of years, as long as they don’t actually mention this time of year.

Although greenery does appear in other Nordic festivals, Christmas trees didn’t become popular until the late 18th century and early 19th century. The custom’s origins are a bit older, but it’s really a very recent thing. Despite the symbolism, that one kind of belongs to Christians.

But yeah, Christmas is really little more than a winter solstice celebration combined with some other pre-existing stuff

It’s okay to say Happy Yule. I bring you tidings of spiced booze and warmth.

I was also surprised once to read that, if there was a Jesus, he would have been born in the spring. That’s when the census would have been taken as it was easier for people to travel then rather than in winter.

I don’t understand why they would have a problem with “Happy Holidays.”  The word “holiday” is just shortened from the phrased, “holy day.”  Do those xians not consider those days to be holy for them or something?  Or are they just too stupid to understand this?

I generally say “Happy Holidays”, but I write “Season’s Greeting?”  I mean, “season’s greetings” just doesn’t roll off of the tongue.  Although, when I was in school, I would often wish others to “have a good winter break.”

Although it’s a little weird that Jesus was supposedly born during the census of Quirinius and then had to flee from Herod into Egypt, given that Herod died a good decade before that census took place.

Yes, they only hung out with the flocks during lambing season.  In the spring.

The  only time Christmas has ever been banned in America, it was banned  by Christians (the Puritans) for being an immoral, pagan celebration.  Christmas wasn’t really celebrated in America until the mid to late 1800s, and it wasn’t a federal holiday until 1870.

It’s ok to kill christians, rape their women and sale their children for pleasure slaves (they aren’t fit for anything else).

The day will come, when every christian on Mother Earth will be given the honor of slaughter by blade. Oh, be still my heart!

Fuck you christmas!

It’s simple: there are more groups than Christianity that celebrate a holiday this time of the year, so it’s more inclusive to say “Holidays” instead of the Christian-privileged “Christmas”.

Most languages have a traditional response to a sneeze.

It’s ok to use pepper spray to gain a “competitive advantage” during an xmas gift shopping frenzy, but not ok if the store greeter says “Happy Holidays”… WTF is wrong with these people? So many xians, so few lions.

Once again, cry me a river.

Here’s a hint: If your most pressing problem as a religion is that certain businesses cater their meaningless salutation so that includes you AND other people, you’ve won. No really, the war is over and you are on top. If that’s your idea of a “problem” go home and celebrate being top dog.

Crybabies.

But wishing people “happy holy days” is just SO terribly offensive, ya know!

Io, Saturnalia.

I see they have a Donate button. People give them money to put together inane stuff like this?

The trees are not Christian.

Jeremiah 10:

1     Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2     thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3     For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4     They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5     They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

You missed the point, as so many “accepting” christians do. We atheists/huminists/agnostics know that not all christians are the same. We know that some of you are cool people who care not what others do with their lives if it isn’t hurting people. But, I truly doubt that you are a fundi, which is who we usually target with our blanket statements.
Our claims that christians don’t give much to charities is pretty accurate, when you don’t consider giving money to a church or other religious orginization charity. Those types of “Charities” aren’t just out there to help people. They are there to spread the word of god. They at times refuse care or food or shelter if you refuse to be proselytized to. They waste money sending tons (and I do mean the measurement of weight) of bibles to starving villages, when those tons could have been more food that they actually need. Those charities that closed down had to close down because  either they broke the law by not providing specific services or they just plain weren’t doing the things they said they were with the money they were given. Studies/surveys have shown that non-believers give more to charity even though we are a much smaller group.
The thing about us judging your entire religion isn’t what you think it is. Some people hate christianity yeah, but those folks usually have a good reason. For the most part we dislike religion because what is done in it’s name. All religions have bad things done in their name. Does that mean specific religions are bad? No not really. It means religion as a whole is harmful. That is just a simple fact.
Someone saying happy holidays during thanksgiving is kinda weird, I’ll just assume they had something else going on in their head, possibly they were from canada or something.
And I totally agree that corporations took over christmas a long time ago. But, that hasn’t stopped your average christian from running out to target/walmart/best buy to spend all of their money.

Either way, I hope your Christmas goes well and your muslim/jewish/secular friends have a good holiday season.

Those so-called “charities” only had to close or change their operations because they wanted to receive tax payer money and continue to discriminate. Unfortunately, it has become standard for the government to subcontract social services to private organizations. They essentially pay other people to offer various services. That may not be so bad if those organizations then agreed to follow the law. But in many cases they don’t want to, but demand to be exempt from it. If you want to follow your beliefs do it with your own money

I read some of those posts & comments on the AFA site. They were blaming atheists for the whole “Happy Holidays” phenom. It’s unfair & untrue. Large dept stores in cities like NY & Chicago didn’t want to alienate non xian shoppers (specifically jewish & Muslim) who also celebrated holidays by buying gifts during the Fall/Winter. It was a corporate capitalist decision, not a political secular decision.

I tend to say Happy Holidays to be inclusive. I don’t assume everyone celebrates xmas & my collection of friends is pretty diverse. Saying holidays, plural, covers all bases & new years too.

I only object to your self-description as “douchy but still professional”.  I don’t think you are douchey for pasting on a smile and nicely putting these obnoxious people in their places (FFS…”Say Merry Christmas!” ??  Why don’t they order you to “Smile” while they are at it?  People astound in their presumption).  I picture you smiingly informing them that you are Jewish and standing on (far) higher moral and mannerly ground.  Nothing “douchey” about that!

The people at the American Family Organization (and other groups that share this view) always seem to forget/ignore the fact that there are both employees and customers at these stores who are not Christian.  On top of all that, they act like they’re being persecuted when, in reality, their religious holidays are the ones that often coincide with days off in public schools, jobs, etc. and are the holidays that everyone in the country knows about and accommodates, while holidays of other religions are usually not as well-known.

I saw someone comment on a friend’s FB post about this that she would “head straight for customer service and return everything” that she just bought if the cashier does not tell her Merry Christmas. 

So its more important for these people to complain about the wrong greeting when they could say for example help children dying from malaria.
Looks like they’ve got their priorities right.

Given the lack of evidence that Jesus ever existed, it seems safe enough to assume there never was a historical Jesus.
Null Hypothesis is that Jesus never existed, Alternative Hypothesis is that Jesus existed.

Not “and a very happy Hanukkah to you too!”  Why not?

OK, maybe Europe is a little more secular?
When people shout “Merry Christmas”, I tend to shout back “and a happy Solstice”, so far no complaints – although I have to translate it sometimes.
(Winter Sonnenwende, solsticio, winter-zonnestilstand etc.)

Christians celebrate more than one holiday in this time frame, too. “Happy Holidays” isn’t necessarily being inclusive of other religions.  It might refer to nothing more than the fact that Christmas and New Year’s happen within a week of each other, which is why it’s extra stupid of the AFA to get so butt-hurt over it.

Southern Ohio is a little more akin to Alabama, IMHO.  Lived in Dayton for 3 years.  It was definitely south of the Mason Dixon line.  

I just had to remind a fundie co-worker in the hospital that I work at that the management chose to call our year end party a “Year End Celebration” rather than a “Christmas Party” because there are so many who work here who DON’T celebrate Christmas.   Duh!

How about:

“It’s okay to say Merry Christmas. The words don’t have any magical meaning anyway.”

Nice quote, I’m going to have to remember that.

If that’s the case then what’s the problem with saying Merry Christmas?   Am I missing something there?

Back then and especially in that corner of the world shepherds did guard flocks at night in the same way that cowboys did in North America in times gone by.  The flocks would be taken away from close proximity to homesteads for grazing and servants (shepherds) would be tasked with guarding them overnight and indeed during daylight hours too.

There are arguments and alleged evidence that Jesus was born both in the springtime and in the fall BUT the actually date of Christ’s birth is not a huge issue, we will never know the exact date.  December 25th is the universally accepted date for celebrating the birth of Christ.  If people want to celebrate then fine, let them… if they don’t then that’s fine too… perhaps the one’s who don’t celebrate Christ’s birth day could be the one’s to work so that the people who do celebrate it can take the time to celebrate properly.  Non-Christians could take a week in January or over the New Year instead as the party atmosphere seems to be the attraction for many.

A few minutes with google gives lots of Christian sources that claim that scholars say winter shepherding was possible due to mild Palestinian winters, but none that I could find saying it certainly happened.  In any case it’s moot, since even people who maintain that Jesus could have been born in December don’t claim to know for sure.  There is absolutely nothing in the Bible to tell us which day of the year Jesus was born.

The Christian church decreed Christ’s birthday be celebrated on December 25, a decision made by the Pope in 336.  The date coincided with the winter solstice until the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582.  The winter solstice is a time of celebration for many pagans who recognised that days would grow longer from that point.  Christians co-opted a pagan rite and called it their own.  If Christians want to celebrate their deity on that day then fine.  The rest of us have secular reasons to enjoy the break from work where we can spend time with friends and family and exchange gifts.

If you all want to be athiests, jews, etc., etc., then so be it.  Say whatever you want at the holidays, but why is it that when people who are Christian that want to say such things as “Merry CHRISTmas”, or “My kids get 2 weeks off school for “CHRISTmas break”, or are you going to the 2nd grade “CHRISTmas” program at the elementary school?,  your activist groups have to step up and complain about how you’re offended by it?  It has to be “Happy Holidays”, or “My kids get 2 weeks off school for WINTER break, or are you going to the 2nd grade “HOLIDAY program at the elementary school?, or YOU’RE offended! !  Well, maybe we’re offended that your offended because we WANT to have “CHRIST” in our holiday celebration.  Everyone needs to get a grip, say what they want to say and quit being so freakin’ sensative.  You all are just as bad as the Christians because you ‘re the ones who are constantly trying to get “CHRIST” in the holidays “outlawed”.  You need to get over it, too! !

seriously happy solstice; referring to a heavenly event in reply to a holiday name. Especially Christmas which has been celebrated for years with out end in families across the world. Another thing is that Hanukkah is a completely different kind of celebration; celebrating a liberation and relighting of the temple lights in Jerusalem which is only a Jewish holiday; therefore unless you are a Jew that argument is completely fallacious.

Yeah, they;re not thankful you’re wishing them a good winter, they just want you to share in their primitive rituals and beliefs.