Things I Don't Get #3477

[thessalian]

The so-called "War on Christmas"

Last year, around the Christmas holiday season, there were the usual bitches from customers_suck: Entitlement Bitches of both genders, idiots, scam artists and all the rest. Really, December 2004 on customers_suck looked no different than any other month.

This year, however, things are different. Yes, you still get the categories mentioned above, but you also get what I'm going to have to dub the Christmas Nazis. The ones who respond to the phrase "Happy Holidays" with "It's Christmas! Say 'Merry Christmas'!" This normally delivered in horribly patronising tones or tones of extreme aggravation, as if to go without the acknowledgement of Christmas as The Supreme Holiday of December causes them actual physical pain.

Of course, a fair number of the people commenting are American. This probably explains a lot, given the current climate. But I'm going to rant anyway, because none of this is fair.

There seems to be this odd belief that there's some kind of "war on Christmas" going on; a fair number of particularly ... 'devout' (for lack of a better word) Christians seem to be of the belief that the world is actively trying to stamp out Christmas as a holiday, and that the tendency to not say "Merry Christmas" to total strangers is the first step. And I really don't get it. At all.

Okay, yes. Christmas is a holiday that is celebrated on 25th December. I don't care that it's more than likely not celebrated on the day that Jesus was born, and that's with information from the Bible itself. I don't care that Christmas is essentially poaching a pagan holiday. I like Christmas. I know people of many faiths who like Christmas. No one wants to stamp out Christmas as far as I know. The fact is that Christmas is not the only holiday that's celebrated around this time of year. Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Yule ... all December holidays. Plus I'm sure I'm forgetting or am just unaware of others. The middle of winter is a good time to celebrate, as it's cold and dark and miserable and people want a reason to be happy, even if you're basically celebrating the "It's always darkest before the dawn" principle on the shortest day of the year.

"Happy Holidays" seems to be such a nice middle ground. To say that is acknowledging that there are many festivals and holy days going on and wishing the addressee happiness in whichever one they happen to celebrate. I think it's nice, because it shows awareness and does not foist a particular point of view onto people who might not appreciate it while still acknowledging that it is a special occasion.

This, apparently, is not good enough for certain louder Christian types. Apparently, just as their God is supposed to be the only one, so too is their December celebration. So the greeting can't be "Happy Holidays", because that doesn't acknowledge Christmas, which in turn is not acknowledging Christ, which of course is not acceptable. And all I can say to these people is "give it a fucking rest already". I do not demand that people acknowledge Ganesh, Mithras, Ptah, Bast, Anubis, Athena, Cthulu or whichever deity I'm dealing with at any given time, so it seems unfair that people are trying to take away from my chosen method of celebrating (which isn't really so different from Christmas, given that it still involves religious ritual, big dinners and present exchanges) by insisting that only their gods be acknowledged. I'm happy to leave my gods out of it, so long as we're fair and leave them all out in generalised greetings.

At home, of course, is different. You can sacrifice goats to dark evil gods in the privacy of your own home for all I care; just don't force me to wish you a Happy Steaming Goat Entrails day. And if you want to erroneously celebrate Jesus' birthday in the middle of winter, that's fine too, and I wish you a joyous day. However, fair's fair. If you won't tell me to have a Happy Solstice (or a Happy Yule, or a Very Merry Mithras) just because that's what I celebrate, don't expect a "Merry Christmas" out of other people ... particularly if they're customer service reps who have no way of knowing if you're a Christian or not. Accept the good wishes involved in "Happy Holidays" in the spirit in which they were given and shut up about us wanting to stamp out Christmas!

Comments

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

This is pretty much exactly why, while I send out cards at this time of year, I try to find ones which say "Season's Greetings" or something like that, rather than specifically mentioning Christmas. (In the days when I was ordering cards for work, you usually got to choose from several greetings.)

I've never found any which say "Happy Week Off!" which is most of what _I_ get out of it ;)

[caira.livejournal.com]

What gets me is that these people are, basically, saying "Merry Christmas" and meaning "fuck you". That "whoosh" sound you here is the point flying high over the heads of the entire fucking Bible Belt.

[caira.livejournal.com]

Or "hear", even. (You can tell I have a job again, can't you?)

[aberrantangels]

Personally, I think it's all down to the Emperor Constantine. If he hadn't taken Christianity directly from persecuted minority to state religion, the keepers of the Xian faith might've absorbed some lesson other than "You're either the persecutor or the persecuted, and if we're not allowed to be persecutors, that means we must, by mathematical definition, be persecuted." (Meanwhile, real Christians — followers of the teachings of Jesus, i.e. love and forgiveness and doing unto others and all that tree-hugging hippy crap — still are as persecuted as Xians* think they are.)

* Terminological distinction courtesy ginmar.

[cholten99.livejournal.com]

Ah yes the so-called War on Christmas (http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/121005.html).

The one thing I think is interesting is that this, along with issues like public displays of the 10 commandments, says to me that these people are scared. The see that the world around them is becomming more secular (or at least more multi-cultural) and this, pardon the pun, puts the fear of god into them. They lash out with things like this in responce. Also, it doesn't hurt to get their names in the papers - makes them feel important.

Personally I think from now on I'm going to go with Presentmas - works for me...

[caira.livejournal.com]

Giftmas. Better pun.

[nakedblueninja.livejournal.com]

I like the miscellaneous midwinter celebration. It's a good one, especially when there's eggnog and warm toasty rooms involved. I decided one year to be as honest as I could, and so I would tell people either "happy holidays" or "merry miscellaneous midwinter celebration!" People liked happy holidays better, I think. Maybe that's the way to haul the angry Xians up short. Say "Happy Holidays", and when they go all God nazi, then tell them "FINE! Merry miscellaneous winter celebration!!" And then hit them with a fish. Jesus liked fish.

AH The War on Christmas

[navytron89.livejournal.com]

Thanks to Rev Fawell (Foul) and his Religious Reich allies with the "Friend or Foe" Campaign against people who say Season's Greeting or anything but Merry Christmas is part of a scam by the Religious Reich to outlaw other religions other then the word of Jesus Christ.

This has even gotten more out of hand due to the senator (Jo Anne Davis-R) from my state of residence, not state of registry/voting is making a law to have only Merry Christmas and the whole Jesus is the reason for the season propaganda.
She has pissed off America's Jewish contengent as well as every other faith here state side. The worst part is the democratic community has lost its spine in standing up to this group of lunatics running the insane asylum called America.

[lunarwhirl.livejournal.com]

... Those whiners are morons.
Oh, wow, we just insulted Christ. *rolls eyes*

[prunesquallormd.livejournal.com]

Loving the idea of Steaming Goat Entrail Day. Reckon I'm gonna be celebrating that this year :).
Now just gotta find myself a goat and a nice sharp knife ....