But it's annoying, it wears you down. Not so much the Merry Xmas, a week or so before. It's the decorations and music starting 4-6 weeks before. I have enough Xtian friends who are tired of that as well.
Politically Incorrect Poem - Merry Christmas!
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Brother John
Senior Master
Gordon Nore
Senior Master
Reading Shelusa's post, as well as others, I'm slowly beginning to recognize other concerns arising from this thread. When I read the poem in the original post, what I took away was so-called PC-driven 'war on Christmas,' which I dismissed out of hand. After all phrases like "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings" have been around a long time -- they predate any reference to PC by many, many years. There's the old Irving Berlin song...
What I was missing out on was the absence of Christ (or Christianity) from Christmas, reflected in the way the holiday is abused through marketing, advertising, bad behaviour, etc. This is a concern broadly held by people who practise Christianity to varying degrees.
I think the problem I have with the poem is that it makes (in my mind) a faulty connection between tacky Christmas, exploitative Christmas, and PC Christmas. My point is simply that Christmas was been exploited and tacky long before anyone consciously decided to say, "Happy Holidays" when they really meant, "Merry Christmas."
celtic_crippler
Senior Master
Yup...
It's important... as with many things... not to get distracted by the garbage but to keep focus on the the essence...
It doesn't matter what religion you subscribe to or even if you're a Christian or not...
What matters is the ethic of "giving" and the advantages of doing so.
Christmas is a great reminder of the importance of selflessness... of giving of oneself... of sacrificing for another .... that's what we should remember and take away from the holiday.
Nothing else matters, really.
It doesn't matter if I give to a Jew, or a Muslim.... what matters is that I GIVE.
When we give... it's going to come back to you. But that shouldn't be your motivation.... you should do it because it's right.
It's important... as with many things... not to get distracted by the garbage but to keep focus on the the essence...
It doesn't matter what religion you subscribe to or even if you're a Christian or not...
What matters is the ethic of "giving" and the advantages of doing so.
Christmas is a great reminder of the importance of selflessness... of giving of oneself... of sacrificing for another .... that's what we should remember and take away from the holiday.
Nothing else matters, really.
It doesn't matter if I give to a Jew, or a Muslim.... what matters is that I GIVE.
When we give... it's going to come back to you. But that shouldn't be your motivation.... you should do it because it's right.
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Not in a spirit of taking one side or the other in this conversation, but here's a longer perspective from the History Channel:
[yt]A5T5ibb2E9I&feature[/yt]
It's a fantastic documentary, and I'd encourage anyone to watch the whole thing.
[yt]A5T5ibb2E9I&feature[/yt]
It's a fantastic documentary, and I'd encourage anyone to watch the whole thing.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
I'm not at all surprised that you have it completely wrong, but as usual, you say it with authority and in as offensive a manner as possible. How you can twist every situation such that you are the victim astounds me.
Few people, if any, have a problem with the mention of christmas. Some christians (I'd like to think that it's a minority) have a problem with people saying, "Happy Holidays." If it sounds pretty ridiculous, I agree, but that's the War on Christmas for you.
Archangel M
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No..it's not "being offended with people saying Happy Holidays"...It's about the PC police/corporate/media/gvt entities who intentionally use "Happy Holidays" out of fear of "offending" anybody or who are bowing to pressures of vocal minority groups with an axe to grind against Christians (but seldom have issues with any other faith).
Same thing with the little "democrat/rep" joke. It's not about Democrats "being heathen" and I think that everybody knows it...it's about the silly semantic games people use.
Same thing with the little "democrat/rep" joke. It's not about Democrats "being heathen" and I think that everybody knows it...it's about the silly semantic games people use.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
If you guys don't like the silly semantics games then why do you play them? For most, whether someone says happy holidays or merry Christmas is a complete nonissue. But for a few people, it's a problem. The irony is that you're the very essence of PC. You're inventing offense out of thin air. Just stop and the war on Christmas becomes a bad memory of hyper sensitivity on the part of a select few christian conservatives. Stop being so PC and we can go back to enjoying the season without worrying about offending you with our unPC grettings of good tidings and a happy holiday.
Really, and that is why so many school districts have Christmas break and Easter break?
http://www.fresno.k12.ca.us/tradcalendar0910.html
So, if starting next year we started calling Memorial Day something like First holiday of summer, that wouldn't be offensive? Or, maybe we could call Martin Luther King Jr day "some guy who died day" not offensive? It is interesting to me that in your little world Christians are never allowed to be offended, only offensive?
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Archangel M
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Steve
Mostly Harmless
Oh for Pete's sake. Christmas is only one day. If the kids only got Christmas off, the calendar would likely say Christmas. But it's not just the day. It is, for most kids in the country, a two or three week break from school that encompasses both Christmas and New Years day... both Federal Holidays. Are you suggesting that we expand Christmas so that it's two weeks long? Would you be so completely butthurt if it were called New Year's Break?
If you look at every other Federal holiday on the calendar that you posted, where it involves an extended period of time off from school it's called a "break" that corresponds with the season. Spring Break is a term that has been around for a long time.
Regarding Christians being offended, I've never said any such thing. Once again, you're trying to paint yourself as a member of a victimized demographic. Quick aside, every time you do that, I picture Steve Martin in the Jerk saying, "It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child."
In this particular case, I'm not even attributing the ridiculous "war on Christmas" on Christians at all. Rather, I understand that it's a very small but vocal subset of Christians who also meet the following criteria: are conservative, watch Bill O'Reilly, think he makes sense, are easily offended and are filled with generalized, righteous indignation looking for an outlet. Since the census doesn't track this particular category, I can only hope that it's a small group. This entire war on Christmas is politically correct clap trap promulgated by Bill O Reilly.
As for Christmas, it's mentioned prominantly at my kids' school, along with all of the other religions. I think that's a pretty good approach.
Forgive us, Oh Lord, for we know not what we say.
:deadhorse Indeed.
:deadhorse Indeed.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
I know I shouldn't respond. It's a character flaw, but sometimes I just can't let something go. I'm much more laid back than I was 10 years ago. Maybe in another 10 years I'll have the wisdom and the willpower to ignore all the bait.
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For what it's worth, this is another illustration of why I reject the holiday wholesale. Just like it's been perverted into a capitalist glut, it's also been perverted into a useless soap box to squabble over ... what exactly? If Christmas really is too sacred to dilute with other events, why not respect the family values of a peaceable day spent at home with loved ones? It's all very hypocritical.
Steve, I sympathize with bait-taking. Everyone in the world has a vulnerable spot for something. Don't blame yourself. Just have another eggnog, you'll feel better.
Steve, I sympathize with bait-taking. Everyone in the world has a vulnerable spot for something. Don't blame yourself. Just have another eggnog, you'll feel better.
Ehhhh....a "federal holiday" is often given more significance than it truly has, usually out of confusion.
A "federal holiday" is a holiday for employees of the U.S. Federal Government. That is all. Unless a person works for the Feds, what a "federal holiday" is, or isn't, has no bearing on their employment.
Can we go back to talking about Lutefisk? MMmmmmm
Brother John
Senior Master
For me, my wife and our 2 young children... we strive to keep our celebration of Christ and family at the center of our Christmas season NO MATTER what commercials and whatnot goes on in our society around us. The "Capitalist glut" doesn't make it past my doorstep.
Your Brother
John
Your Brother
John
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