"Merry Christmas"

[Bob the Leprechaun]

Personally, I'm not offended by Happy Holidays. I celebrate Christmas, and I love doing so. But if someone tells me Happy Holidays, more often than not, I reply with the same.

I guess it comes down to picking your battles, and in my opinion, I don't see this one as necessary.

[HurriCat]

My beef with the "War on Christmas" is the hypocrisy of the whole thing. I mean, these retailers live and die by what happens when the CHRISTMAS shopping season hits, period. It's not the HOLIDAY season that what - over eighty-something percent of Americans celebrate. It's Christmas.

I'd like to see the sales if all of the Christians stayed home. All of the other religious holidays at the same time of year wouldn't amount to a drop in that sales bucket. No disrespect, but that's how it is. We were founded by Christian men, and remain a super-majority.

Here's my favorite so far this year - from the 20NOV sales ads: Page 14 of the Target department store ad - Across the middle of the page is the line "Bring out the beauty of holiday". They probably meant "the holiday", but it makes for a glaring omission. It would read easily - and correctly - if they had been brave enough to use "Christmas" instead of "holiday".

I'm waiting, though, for after Thanksgiving. With Halloween and "turkey day", they can claim "Holidays" applies. After those first two, though, well, we will see. Unless a lot of "Merry Christmas" signs pop up, I am going to give just cash and a sincere "Merry Christmas" of my own. If the retailers are going to make billions off of my religious holiday - but at the same time treat its' very name as unmentionable - then I cannot see spending what little I have in those places.

[LAwxrgal]

Bunch o' Scrooges, the whole lot of 'em. Maybe we should subject the naysayers to a whole spate of Christmas themed movies. "It's a Wonderful Life," "A Christmas Carol," etc. Who's with me?

[j]

Not only does WallYMart forbid it's employess to say "Merry Christmas", but at least one store located in Taylors, SC has forbid Salvation Army bell ringers outside their store, from saying Merry Christmas as well.

This is not corporate store policy, but this particular store manager must be another of those Christain hating atheists. I mean I can see having a policy that governs one's employees. They pay you, therefore they have a right to dictate policy, but the SA volunteers don't work for WalMart!

I suppose you could argue the SA can go ring there bells elsewhere if they don't like the policy, but for GODSAKE...this is taking things too far!

[streetsoldier]

Funny...when I was in the third grade, my class was taken downtown to STL to see the mechanically-animated store window displays. While walking from one window to another, I saw a young Salvation Army officer freezing as she stood near her tripod and its pot, ringing her bell; and it infuriated me that so many people walked by ignoring her.

So, I took my lunch money...all 30 cents of it...and put it in the kettle, smiling up at her as I did so.

Ever since then, I have never passed by a Salvation Army pot during this season without donating, if I see one.

And, BTW, in my experience during disasters/SAR work, I'd rather have the Salvationists on-site than any other aid group; they are reliable, almost always first in, and last to leave.

[CentralFlGal]

I love the Salvation Army and Toys for Tots programs.

I give the money to our 5 year old to put in the SA pot. We give to the Marine's Toys for Tots program every year and donate a new, unwrapped toy from each member in our family.

Christmas is the time for giving, not for commercialism.

[Terrell]

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays doesn't really make a difference for me one way or the other. I think anyone who is offended by either should probably look more at themselves than the person giving a greeting meant in the spirit of this time of the year.

[southerngale]

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays doesn't really make a difference for me one way or the other. I think anyone who is offended by either should probably look more at themselves than the person giving a greeting meant in the spirit of this time of the year.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm not offended by Happy Holidays at all. In fact, I sometimes say it myself, usually between Christmas and New Year's Day, since Christmas is over but it's still the holiday season. I'm offended that stores won't ALLOW their employees to say Merry Christmas and are making them say Happy Holidays instead. That's ridiculous.

I always say Merry Christmas no matter what is said to me though, because that's what I'm celebrating and I hope that everyone has a merry one.

[Terrell]

I figure that it's most likely that those business that have their employees say "Happy Holidays" in lieu of "Merry Christmas" are doing what they think is best for business and trying not to offend anyone.

[streetsoldier]

I usually respond with "Gledileg Jul" (GLAY-dee-lee YOOL), or "Merry Christmas" in Danish...keep's 'em guessing!

[Terrell]

I usually respond with "Gledileg Jul" (GLAY-dee-lee YOOL), or "Merry Christmas" in Danish...keep's 'em guessing!

Nothing wrong with that.

[Dr. Jonah Rainwater]

Actually, I'm Jewish. So my mother always had to fight the school board every time we sang songs praising Jesus during the Winter Concert, and always pushed for more generic holiday decorations like snowflakes, or just an equal representation - christmas trees AND menorahs, for instance. It's not that we don't like Christmas - when my dad lived with us, we celebrated a traditional Swedish version of the holiday called Yule Afton alongside Hannukah, which was basically more of a Swedish national holiday than anything with a religious theme. I don't really like it when people wish me a Merry Christmas, because I either have to awkwardly let them know that I'm Jewish, or I just let it slide by, which really isn't a problem - except, if Christians think that their religion's dignity is being attacked when a store fails to wish them a Merry Christmas, imagine how I feel when a store fails to wish me a Happy Hannukah. Trust me, it's alot more offensive to tell a Jew or Muslim or a pagan or an atheist to have a merry holiday that they don't even celebrate, as opposed to telling a Christian to have a happy Christmas and New Year. Everyone knows what "the holidays" are, and you can just apply it to whatever it is that you celebrate. Although I'm not offended by it - for me, any display of holiday cheer, be it Christmas-oriented, Hannukah-oriented, or just Winter-oriented, usually brightens my day.

Personally, I don't think it's a big deal. If someone doesn't wish me a Happy Hannukah, I don't go out and boycott them because they must be Neo-Nazi grinches or something. In fact, even if people don't wish me any sort of happy holiday, any holiday...I'll still shop there. Since when is a lack of Christmas cheer grounds for boycotting? I'm lucky if the store clerk says "Have a nice day" after I'm done checking out.

Being a minority sucks, guys. I think y'all (and by y'all, you know who I mean) are getting way too worked up over something as trivial as Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. There's some really important issues out there that John Gibson and Bill O'Reiley ought to be focusing their time on right now.

Merry Christmahannukwanzikah guys.

[MiamiensisWx]

Actually, I'm Jewish. So my mother always had to fight the school board every time we sang songs praising Jesus during the Winter Concert, and always pushed for more generic holiday decorations like snowflakes, or just an equal representation - christmas trees AND menorahs, for instance. It's not that we don't like Christmas - when my dad lived with us, we celebrated a traditional Swedish version of the holiday called Yule Afton alongside Hannukah, which was basically more of a Swedish national holiday than anything with a religious theme. I don't really like it when people wish me a Merry Christmas, because I either have to awkwardly let them know that I'm Jewish, or I just let it slide by, which really isn't a problem - except, if Christians think that their religion's dignity is being attacked when a store fails to wish them a Merry Christmas, imagine how I feel when a store fails to wish me a Happy Hannukah. Trust me, it's alot more offensive to tell a Jew or Muslim or a pagan or an atheist to have a merry holiday that they don't even celebrate, as opposed to telling a Christian to have a happy Christmas and New Year. Everyone knows what "the holidays" are, and you can just apply it to whatever it is that you celebrate. Although I'm not offended by it - for me, any display of holiday cheer, be it Christmas-oriented, Hannukah-oriented, or just Winter-oriented, usually brightens my day.

Personally, I don't think it's a big deal. If someone doesn't wish me a Happy Hannukah, I don't go out and boycott them because they must be Neo-Nazi grinches or something. In fact, even if people don't wish me any sort of happy holiday, any holiday...I'll still shop there. Since when is a lack of Christmas cheer grounds for boycotting? I'm lucky if the store clerk says "Have a nice day" after I'm done checking out.

Being a minority sucks, guys. I think y'all (and by y'all, you know who I mean) are getting way too worked up over something as trivial as Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. There's some really important issues out there that John Gibson and Bill O'Reiley ought to be focusing their time on right now.

Merry Christmahannukwanzikah guys.

Excellent post!