Christmas!

[soph]

[this is a public post]

Merry Christmas!

mortuus47 has set an interesting poll: The issue of political correctness aside, would you rather hear "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"?

It's an interesting question. The latest post in jayisgames says:Just a quick update to wish everyone and their loved ones a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, or

Comments

[mollyemo]

>But the trouble with a broad statement like the above is that it seems to lose its intent through over-political correctness. It doesn't really mean anything.

Wait, what? I don't understand what you're saying here at all... I don't understand how saying something like that would lower the meaning for *anyone*, much less everyone.

Oh and Season's Greetings, by the way. ;-)

[180milehug]

word

[mollyemo]

Also, that post goes on to say

>Have a safe, warm, and soulful holiday season. Peace. =)

which seems like about the nicest holiday greeting that you could ask for. Wonderfully worded, unlikely to offend much of anybody, and just generally nice. And it certainly seems to "mean" something, doesn't it?

Oh, and for the record, I think *both* sides on this issue are just insane. I mean, on one hand it seems to me that there's nothing wrong with trying to accommodate for people and greeting them with a statement befitting their religion or just being neutral. But on the other hand, I don't see why there's a problem with saying "Merry Christmas" or even the less common "Happy Hanukkah" or whatever. I mean, if somebody said "Happy Hanukkah" to me, I might be slightly confused (since I don't celebrate it *and* it's not the predominant one around here), but I would be glad that they wanted me to enjoy the season. Anyway, I just don't get it. Either side.

[cowgirlheather]

I think *both* sides on this issue are just insane.

Same here, and yet I think they both make some sort of sense. In the Christian community (the only one of which I can speak with personal experience, though I would assume other religions are similar), there are always present the spiritual equivalents of hypochodriacs. These people perceive attacks against the faith when none exist.* I'm not saying the whole greeting issue is totally bunk; but I think it's more a case of political correctness run wild than any particular animosity against Christianity. If the traditional greeting were "Happy Kwanzaa," and people started using "Happy Holidays" instead, African-Americans (a title also demonstrating rampant PC-ness) would probably be up in arms instead of Christians.

At the same time, I prefer the sound of "Merry Christmas" because it is traditional and it means more to me. "Happy Holidays" always sounds like some corporation's way of endearing itself to a huge audience of people with varied backgrounds--impersonal, in other

Whatever...

[neilturner]

You know, I always thought we used 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry christmas and a happy new year'.

Most Brits tend to use 'Merry Christmas' still, as far as I can tell, even in areas with high non-Christian populations like in Bradford - we still had Christmas Lights this year, for example, as opposed to 'Winter Lights' or whatever.

[the_surfacer]

I will never buy the argument that inclusivity is insulting, and anyone who takes a sentiment starting with a wish of happiness as insulting is obviously determined to feel persecuted and miserable

[kaz]

Personally, I try to emphasize everyone's belief structure and acknowledge them; hence, why I would use such a large grouping of holiday wishes when posting to LJ. It's not doing it out of political correctness. Rather, I am just trying to include groups specifically, taking into account the multitude of different beliefs this holiday has for them