The Big Christmas Can of Worms

[K.D. Lightner]

When I worked in the County, the site had a Christmas party and everything was really one-sided. I knew that two of the social workers there were Jewish, and so went to their room, presented them with a bag of gelt (chocolate-covered gold coins), and said "Happy Chanukah." They were so pleased and thanked me profusely.

We have to remember that others celebrate the season as something else and it is nice to include them -- I'd rather include other cultural celebrations, not just say a generic happy holidays. It also gives you choices of lots of different decorations, too as well as a chance to learn about other cultures.

karol

 

[jamespowers]

"Happy holidays" is so sanitized it means pretty much, "have a nice day".

Michaelson and I are on the same page. I say Merry Christmas with no reservation. I am not very pc....in spite of some of the accusations lately.

I am on the same page as well. There is no Christmas without the Christ in there. If someone says Happy Holidays I say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Even if they are not of the same religion as I, they can simply take it as me wishing them well now and into the new year. It is the warmth and all the great things within humanity at its best that this time of year entails. I can't see getting offended if someone points that out to you and wishes you more of it. That latest poll out by Gallup has interesting results. It says that 95% of Americans believe in God. 4% believe that there is no such thing and 1% do not know.
So to the 95% out there I can say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am sure that the other 4% don't mind all that much either. The 1% don't know one way or the other. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

 

[flat-top]

Well, being Roman Catholic myself, you'll get no argument from me about the reason for the season! But can any of you truly say that you would say "Merry Christmas" to an Orthadox or Hasidic Jewish person? They are a huge part of my customer base. And although they wear their religious beliefs like a uniform, I STILL wouldn't say "Happy Hanukkah" to them. Never assume anything when something may offend somebody. It's not good business.
With friends and family, obviously, you say what you really feel!
God bless us...EVERYONE!
flat-top

 

[shamus]

That latest poll out by Gallup has interesting results. It says that 95% of Americans believe in God. 4% believe that there is no such thing and 1% do not know.
So to the 95% out there I can say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am sure that the other 4% don't mind all that much either. The 1% don't know one way or the other. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

Just because 95% believe in god, doesn't mean they believe in Jesus and christmas. There are a lot of gods out there.. not just yours.

 

[jamespowers]

Just because 95% believe in god, doesn't mean they believe in Jesus and christmas. There are a lot of gods out there.. not just yours.

This is true and I knew it when I wrote it. Other polls have shown that about 65% identify themselves of Christian of some type but whose counting? It was just the simple idea that you will be right more times than you are wrong. If they are of a different religion then they are likely going to respect religious beliefs in general. There really is not a great deal of differnce. We agree in a lot of areas. I just said Merry Christmas to a Jewish person today and he said the same thing back to me. Its the idea and feeling behind it not only the religion. We also exchanged Happy Hanukahs after that. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I say "Merry Christmas" unless I know that the person is of some other faith.

 

[Lincsong]

I see nothing wrong with saying Merry Christmas. We live in a society with a lot of religions. But, only Christianity is the majority. The one's making the most hay are the non-believers in any religion. So say Merry Christmas!

 

[MudInYerEye]

May the eye of Odin shine brightly upon you and your kinfolk.
Happy Winter Solstice and, gods willing, may we all meet againa in Valhalla!

 

[fedoralover]

Christmas certainly means a lot of different things to different people to be sure. Lately there's been alot of controversy about it in the news. What I find most interesting about it, is how little of it as we have come to know it is actually scripturally accurate. The Biblical account is far different than the scene commonly displayed this time of year with the 3 wise men gathered around the manger with the star over them. The Bible never said there were "3" wise men, and by the time an un-numbered group of star gazers got there Jesus was living in a house according to Matt. 2 verses 9-11. and the star was low enough to the earth that they could tell which house to go to. As already as been pointed out Jesus was not born on Dec. 25th and no where in the Bible nor secular history will you find any recordings of the 1st and second century Christians, those most directly taught by him, ever celebrating his birth.

What did Jesus tell his disciples to do in rememberence of him? He actually did tell them what HE wanted them to do and it's recorded at 1 Corinthians 11 verses 24-26 where they partook of the unleavened bread and wine. He told them to "keep doing this in rememberence of me".

All of the customs associated with Christmas have non Christian origins. This is a sobering fact for those desiring to truly honor God and his Son. For as recorded at John 4 verses 23 and 24, Jesus told a Samaritan woman that "the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for indeed the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a spirit and those worshiping Him MUST worship in spirit and TRUTH."

I'm sure most people today don't worship tree's or have that in mind while celebrating Christmas. But the fact remains, while there is probably much sincerity by many in celebrating Christmas, there is little "Truth" in it. The slogan of "put Christ back in Christmas" is a little misleading as He was never in it to begin with.

This isn't meant to downplay anyones beliefs or promote any other. These are just factoids that are found in the Bible and in secular history.

fedoralover

 

[shamus]

Interesting points.

Everyone here seems to use the phrase, "The True meaning of Christmas".

I'm curious what their version of meaning is.

I bet there's more than one true meaning of christmas to many of the folks on this site.

 

[Doh!]

The fact of the matter is, December 25th is Christmas Day, just like October 31st is Halloween. You can be religious or not (and I'm not), it is what it is whether you choose to celebrate it or not (and I do). Having "Holiday" sales/parties/events seems kinda silly if you are in fact referring to December 25th. Those who are offended at hearing "Merry Christmas" are overly sensitive -- just as if a Christian were offended at hearing "Happy Halloween" ("Get thee behind me, Pagan!").

I suppose from a business standpoint, it makes more sense to cover all of your bases... but I'm not a business, so:

Merry Christmas, folks!
(and a Happy Hanukkah, too!)

 

[matei]

Is it not Kwanzaa time as well in the US?

 

[IndianaGuybrush]

Tis, but let's keep that can of worms firmly sealed

 

[Section10]

Fedoralover pretty much said it all.
Although I'm a Christian, I see Christmas as a secular holiday and have no problem with it. I think Christians want to celebrate the event of the incarnation just like we all want to be acknowledged on our birthdays. For some reason if one of us didn't know which day he/she was born, I'm sure a day would get assigned to him just so he'd have a birthday. Even if it's secular, that doesn't make it bad any more than the 4th of July is bad.

I see it as a chance to tighten up relationships with family and friends. Many people only contact each other at Christmas and if that's what it takes, then it is a good thing. If you want Christ in Christmas then put Him there, but since there's no Biblical precedent or early church examples of it then we all have the freedom to apply to it whatever meaning we like.

And if someone wants to use 'Xmas" that's o.k. too.

 

[Nick Charles]

Merry Christmas to all and to all good night. And don't forget Santa isn't PC, he has elves (not little people) and smokes a pipe.

 

[BellyTank]

In Denmark, there seems to be a trend of businesses dropping their Christmas parties, so's to not exclude anyone on religious/cultural grounds-
But, like the banning of religious/cultural headdress in French schools and so many other seemingly silly moves, it all seems like a very painful attempt to make Muslims lose their religious and cultural trappings - whilst affecting so many others at the same time. Denmark adopted a new policy on marrying foreigners a few years back;
a Danish resident can't marry and import a foreign spouse under the age of 24 yrs, which affects Muslims greatly, due to their marrying young. But now, a Danish girl, for instance, who maybe travels to the USA and works, falls in love and is wed to an American (under 24 yrs) can't bring him back to Denmark to live... there is also a rule about living overseas for extended periods- seems you become LESS Danish if you choose to live abroad and then come back... silly.

B
T

 

[Steve]

I recently blogged about Christmas and what it's become here:

http://www.xanga.com/MalletKAT_Gomer/399605933/whats-the-point.html

 

[jamespowers]

I see it as a chance to tighten up relationships with family and friends. Many people only contact each other at Christmas and if that's what it takes, then it is a good thing. If you want Christ in Christmas then put Him there, but since there's no Biblical precedent or early church examples of it then we all have the freedom to apply to it whatever meaning we like.

That is pretty much how I see it as well. If it takes Christmas to bring families together to celebrate and enjoy each other's company then it is worth it.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Quigley Brown]

I don't have kids so Christmas is no big deal to me. I usually make my own original cards to send to my mom, brothers and sister...that's it...no financial drain on me. I don't live even close to any of my family. My mom will ask me what I want and I just tell to send some of her homemade cookies. I shake my head as I thumb through all the newspaper inserts knowing someone will be receiving one of those tacky gifts being advertised. I can't wait to get through Christmas to move on to NEW YEARS EVE night!

 

[makll]

Hi folks, mind if I join in here, I get a kick out of this kinda stuff

What is the X in XMAS?

Short Hand: The idea of using ?¢‚ǨÀúX?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ in place of Christ is not a modern idea. In the Modern Roman Alphabet, the first letter of the word ?¢‚ǨÀúChrist?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ is ?¢‚ǨÀúchi?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ which is represented by a symbol similar to the letter ?¢‚ǨÀúX?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢.

photo: http://www.classbrain.com/artholiday/publish/Xmas.shtml

You will frequently see people write Xmas as well as Xian, which means Christian, using the same principle. [Cross and Chi -- Two chi's superimposed upon one another. The chi in its normal position represents Christ. The chi in the position of the cross represents Christ's crucifixion.]
Source: Paul G. Donelson