Merry Christmas

[Ex-COG]

Yep, that's what the sign says at a local Southern Baptist Church. "Merry Christmas. Are you offended?" I can just imagine the smug smile on the pastor's face as he put the letters up. "Let me rub this in those sinners/atheists/pagans/backsliders faces." It would be kind of fun to stick a sign in front of it that said "Fuck You...oh, are you offended?" Of course I'm too nice to do it, but it would be fun.

[Kelli]

I would do it.

[GraphicsGuy]

I'm not offended...find the churches e-mail and send them this:

 

[Piprus]

Not offended at all by a greeting of "Merry Christmas". Why should I be? After all, we know christmas is an overlay by the Roman church of the xian theology upon what was a long-celebrated pagan holiday based on the winter solstice. With that in mind, I say, go ahead and celebrate the season!! Enjoy the feasting, the family get-togethers, the fun of it all...! Enjoy!! Those of us who know the real and true pagan traditions of this season, and why it was a true holiday don't tend to xianise the holiday anyway. "Merry Christmas" means about the same as "Joy of the season to you and your family". "May the new year bring your house peace and prosperity!!" Personally, I like the latter style of greeting.

[Naughtyhamster]

I don't mind people saying Merry Christmas as the 25th is my b-day, but I always say "Happy Holidays" to people though my supervisor gave me some dirty looks for saying it. Sheesh! I'm just trying to keep the school atmosphere secular as we have students from all cultural and religious backgrounds coming to school.

[Astreja]

I've tried going generic, but "Happy Holidays" is just too bland for my tastes. I either respond with a simple "Yeah, you too" or wish them a Happy Yule.

[RIPw4]

Christmas...sheesh.. Everyone knows its really Festivus..

I always say Happy festivus!

[Fweethawt]

I usually say, "Fuck off, and eat your mom!"

 

 

 

Nah. Seriously, I couldn't care less what people say.

[Unknowing1]

Someone wishing me a merry christmas doesn't offend me. Unless someone is snarling when they say it they can wish me a happy or merry whatever. I just take it to mean they are wishing me well.

 

I wonder however what would happen if there were a billboard/sign across the street from them saying Happy Hannukah, Happy Festivus or Happy Saturnalia. Are you offended? I don't believe that Christians are the most diverse creatures around when it comes to other religions. While they expect to be allowed to practice their religion they don't necessarily think others should have that same right. They tend to forget about the acceptance part of diversity.

[SWIM]

Don't offend me at all, in fact I say it. If it were "hanaka" (sic) I would say that too. If it were satan day, I would say happy satan day, makes no difference to me. In fact, "Happy Great Pumkin Day" is fine too. It's just a method of communicating what day it is.

[Amethyst]

It doesn't "offend" me. Annoy would be a more appropriate word for when you know they're trying to rub it in your face, depending on how much they're trying to escalate things. But the average person saying Merry Christmas? No, they honestly mean it.

 

I think Christians think everyone else is chronically offended by these kinds of things because they act chronically offended themselves.

[white_raven23]

Slip a note under the church door, quoting the sign with the following.

 

"To be offended, I would actually have to care on some level. Happy Holidays."

[Ex-COG]

"Merry Christmas" itself doesn't bother me; as others have said before it goes with the season, just like saying "Happy Holidays" or other greetings. I just find the whole "War on Christmas" to be ridiculous, like they are trying to goad people into doing something stupid. "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" have always been proper phrases to say; only in the last few years have people complained about them so much. I think Amethyst got it right;

I think Christians think everyone else is chronically offended by these kinds of things because they act chronically offended themselves.

After all, I can say "Merry Christmas" and sing "Away in a Manger" or "Silent Night", just like I can sing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer." It doesn't mean that I believe in the Jesus story any more than I believe in Santa or Rudolf. Are Christians offended by Santa and Rudolf? Oh, yeah, they're competition with the real reason for the season.

[I Broke Free]

I want a billboard put up across the street from the church that says, "Christmas traditions are derived from pagan sources. Are you offended?"

 

I like the idea of purchasing a billboard across the street from a chruch billboard.

 

Mine would read: "STOP THE WAR AGAINST HALLOWEEN!"

[hereticzero]

I never reject anyone's well wishes no matter what their religion. People pray for me and I do not mind, while people pray for me, they cannot do me ill. There is a folklore that goes something like: when someone prays for someone or wishes them good fortune, if the other person ignores the good wishes and prayers, they return to the sender seven-fold. So, why would I reject someone's good will towards me? While the world wishes each other good will or merry christmas, the world is at peace. Then they go back to fighting.

 

I don't like xmas and my family and I do little during xmas holidays. We do not celebrate the day, we give presents to each other throughout the year, not just on one day. Our kids are old enough that they do not feel left out on xmas day. If they want something for xmas, they ask and we give them something to open on xmas day. It's no skin off my teeth. I used to get really upset over Santa Claus on xmas because I believed at the time that Santa promoted commercialization of the holiday and then one day 'DUH!' I figured out that that was what Santa was suppose to do! Duh! again. I am not always smart, I exist with brief bouts of stupidity. I am a lot like Forest Gump--'I am not a smart man ...' I think it was Edgar Allen Poe that claimed he suffered from prolonged bouts of insanity with brief interruptions of sanity. I'm a lot like that, or so it seems.

 

I have the idea that Santa is more of a satirical element in Xmas to balance the religiousness imposed by the Christinazi church during this time of year. I don't have a problem with Santa anymore. The real threats are the Christinazis demanding the country cave into their weirdo demands.

[R. S. Martin]

This may not be culturally correct but I'm quite confident that it's politically correct. My mother taught me to say cheerfully, "Same to you!" when someone said, "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons' Greetings," or the likes.

 

Come to think of it, the question was not how to respond but how to feel. Hmmm. My feelings are very private and do not easily conform to anyone's dictates. They just are what they are. I try to learn how to do the merest social obligations I can get away with without feeling guilty then I'll work through my feelings when I've got time to think. My main strategy for life is to find ways not to feel offended because offended feelings are such a hassle to deal with. I find it a lot simpler to just assume everybody means it well to begin with.

 

And if someone is offended that I'm not offended...

[R. S. Martin]

I have this idealistic idea that since I learned about not being offended by seeing people who didn't play the martyr game, maybe someone will learn from me.

 

Whatever, it can't hurt actually living the "merry" or "happy" or "good" that prefaces whatever day is coming up whether Christmas or Labor Day or just the weekend. Fact of the matter is, around here people are always wishing each other something--if nothing else they will say, "Have a good rest of the week!" The attitude I see of people in public is generally quite positive.

[Aqua Kitty]

Nope, i'm not offended by the phrase "Merry Christmas" --- Even though that greeting is missing a very important word

 

Merry Effing Xmas.

[Wally]

I'm offended by "Happy Holidays" as it's just more political correctness. Besides it's meaningless. Why can't people just name the holidays they are implying. The fact is in America, Canada, and most western nations, most people celebrate Christmas (for religious, secular or social reasons). Those who don't will have to deal with it. What's really absurd is all the commercials that use Christmas themes (trees, elves, red and green decorations, etc.) with no hint of any other holidays that still say "Happy Holidays". Do the corporate people really think Christians and non-Christians alike are really so stupid that they don't notice? Evidently so.

[Tabula Rasa]

Yep, that's what the sign says at a local Southern Baptist Church. "Merry Christmas. Are you offended?" I can just imagine the smug smile on the pastor's face as he put the letters up. "Let me rub this in those sinners/atheists/pagans/backsliders faces." It would be kind of fun to stick a sign in front of it that said "Fuck You...oh, are you offended?" Of course I'm too nice to do it, but it would be fun.

 

 

Well, it's a bit rough for me. This is my first Christmas without believing in Christianity and working in retail as I do, the songs are starting to bug me. The reason being, all the strictly christian songs such "Away in a Manger" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" remind me of the most horrific part of Christianity: The idea that God is such an unforgiving tyrant, that the only way humanity can be "saved" is by the brutal bloody death of his so-called son. And Christmas is celebrating the birth of someone who's doomed to suffer a horrible death.

 

Any suggestions on getting through Christmas?

[Unknowing1]

For me it was easier because I never really just used the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus. When I looked back on previous Christmas', I found it really was geared more toward "good will toward my fellow humans". Yeah I went to services on Christmas eve but it was after having dinner with a group of friends. The dinners meant more to me than the service. So did spending time with my family and my friends. Christmas nights I would spend at the the animal shelter caring for the animals instead of at home celebrating Jesus birth. Throughout the whole time I had been involved with Christianity, Jesus was never my total focus at Christmas. I've realized I still have much the same reasons to celebrate the season. My friends and family and caring for others. While I may have lost a few friends (but were they really friends?) since my deconversion, I have other friends and still have some family.

 

Since I love the sights and sounds of the holidays, I still decorate but I put more of a winter spin on it. I do put up a tree and decorate with lots of lights, evergreens and snowflakes but it isn't to pay homage to christ (no angels or manger scenes nor stars of Bethlehem). Lights to warm cold winter bleak days and hope for a prosperous new year. My decorating runs more along the lines of festivus/saturnalia/winter solstice.

 

When the really religious songs come on I try changing the words. Listening to the radio the other day I too heard away in the manger. I changed the word and came up with a fairly comical song about a puppy in a stable...Something like away in a manger no room for a bed the little bitty puppy lay down his sweet head....Have to say that brought a smile to my face. Instead of the usual christmas cards I give cards that are non religious. They mainly give well wishes for the coming new year.

 

At the office most folks are Christian. The religious icons are everywhere. I usually just go along with everyone else and don't say a word or do anything because I don't want to offend anyone. But we had a speaker at our annual meeting talking about diversity. His message wasn't about being politically correct but instead about accepting someone's differences. So I changed my screen saver to a marquee that says...The reason for the season.....Happy Saturnalia and Festivus. A little bold for me but since I celebrate based more on Saturnalia/Festivus/winter Solstice and not on Jesus, well folks just have to accept it. One guy who saw it laughed his head off.

[Neon Genesis]

Yesterday when I went Christmas shopping, I saw a bill board that said "Help Keep The Christ In Christmas by celebrating him all year." You mean Christ left Christmas to begin with? Why didn't I get the memo? What about keeping the X in Xmas? Everyone forgets about the poor X. I went by BestBuy and they had these banners in the store, one for wishing Merry Christmas, another for Happy Hannukah, and a third one for Happy Kwanza. Where's the banner for Happy Saturnalia? What if some Roman guy comes in the store and gets offended because they aren't reconginziing Saturnalia?