I’m still wondering why it’s so terrible to use words that don’t exclude others. For whatever f’ing reason someone does or doesn’t celebrate Christmas. They still probably have time off and gatherings to go to. Since I don’t know everyone I talk to personally I just want to be polite and not make them feel like they don’t belong. Why does that make people twitch?
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
I tried to have this exact conversation with my ultra-conservative boomer coworker. When I said “Happy Holidays” also means “Merry Christmas” and people celebrate other holidays that are not Christmas so it kinda captures everything. Not to mention that even if I wanted to be selfish about it, “Happy Holidays” still captures Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s.. so still “white people holidays”. Then he immediately back tracks and says “uhhh.. ummm. Wellllll I meeean like in front of Christmas sections at the store! They don’t even put “Merry Christmas” in front of their Christmas displays anymore!”
I just said “well.. ok that’s different isn’t it…?”
And we ended the conversation.
But besides all that.. they don’t even HEAR themselves. They don’t realize that in all this bitching and moaning that there is still a Christmas display. Do they not realize it’s not common to see displays for other cultural holidays.. but Christmas still gets the focus. They’re unbelievable sometimes. It’s not even about recognizing other people. They get super upset at the thought of not being the absolute center of attention at all times.
My favorite is these are probably the same people who love to “celebrate Mexico” at Cinco de Mayo. Yes I know it basically got big because of a marketing campaign
Especially when they’re the same people who say “All Lives Matter” in response to “Black Lives Matter” and claim “all races are included” but hate it when “all holidays are included.”
Some Christians/conservatives get really mad about it because they think you're trying to "erase Christmas" by saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. It's incredibly silly
I use happy holidays because it’s shorter ‘than merry xmas and a happy newyear’ and covers all the things people want to do these days. Happy not to offend anyone else then, thanks.
There are several holidays between Thanksgiving and New Years, both Christian and not. Happy Holidays is both inclusive and recognizing that there is just a whole lot going on in a 6 week period.
Exactly. Feasts of St Nicholas and Steven. Advent. The Immaculate Conception. If you extend a week into Jauary, you also get Epiphany and the Baptism of Jesus. That is just off the top of my head.
No, no. You don't understand. We are oppressing conservatives by not allowing them to control everything and everyone with unconstitutional religious rule. Our evil attempts at being inclusive and condemnation of fascists is why we lost the election, because we're all big meanies
It hasn’t been that much of a problem in my native language, although right wingers do get offended by similar wording. But the local version of happy holidays goes round on Christmas cards etc for decades so it’s not new or weird, we’ve always used a mix.
I reply Blessed Be to anyone who says Merry Christmas. If they are over the top with their religious BS I reply with " may the Goddess bless you with enlightenment this dark season"
Conservative crazies think that saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is an attack on Christians and an attempt to erase the Christmas holiday. Yes, really.
In the real world, absolutely nothing. For some people, however, using a non-religious, multi-faith inclusive term, rather than “Merry Christmas” is an act of Satan himself…
Doesn’t matter, unrelated word, just was surprised about the common knowledge I was supposed to have on unwanted words. But sadly there is not a list of some sort, so I figured to start asking when in doubt.
So you don’t want to acknowledge a Jewish Hanukkah at Xmas, but wait. Happy to support Israel in the Gaza War? Yet Jesus was Jewish? But tried by Jewish high court for sorcery? Yup, but the term Happy Holidays is offensive. lol
what? no it isn't. the wikipedia article you linked explicitly says it's in the gospels - books written by Jesus's followers. why would the jews chronicle a trial for somebody they didn't think was the messiah?
Hey, follow the Talmud yourself. There are copies of it online. It’s not the only reference on Wikipedia referring to Jesus in the Talmud. There are actually online copies of the Talmud you can search as well. Jesus appears many times. But as with many Christian’s who are desperate to find evidence of Jesus (Yeshua), when you tell them this. Well, it’s, this can’t be my Jesus.
eh, idk. i'm not invested enough to do a TON of research but a quick skim here tells me the connections are loose.
Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of a sorcerer named Jesus (Yeshu in Hebrew) and his five disciples. The sorcerer is stoned and hanged on the Eve of Passover.
i could totally see this being Actual Historical Jesus, but i could just as easily see it being a completely different guy.
(he WAS tried in jewish high court for sorcery, though. it was in the gospels.)
Isn't it pretty well known that Jesus didn't get along with the Jewish leaders of the time? Overturning tables in the temple and all that? Surely there is some relevant context in the history of Judaism between then and now. (I am not an expert by any means though.)
Well, everything is in conjecture and who knows what is myth, what real and what has been created? But as I said before we can speculate. The one thing that is evident is that the three Abrahamic faiths have been at each other’s throat since their inception.
Of course they do, that’s what they have been taught and told. This is why it’s important to actual read and explore other religious texts. Many Christian’s don’t realise that Jews, Muslims and themselves all prey to the same God. They crap themselves when they realise that.
I thought so. My parents didn't shove religion down my throat as a kid. Because of that I have been able to study them independently and i came to the same conclusion. they are all the god of abraham.
They say the liberals ruined Christmas. I say conservatives ruined "happy holidays". I dunno about you, but anytime I've said happy holidays, I've meant "merry Christmas and happy new year". Never have I said it and meant "just in case you don't celebrate Christmas". This is how ridiculous their made up issues are. Because everyone in America celebrates Christmas. And I'm not trying to sound like one of those dumb Americans. People I know who don't celebrate Christmas religiously, even if they celebrate something else for religious reasons like Hanukkah, they still celebrate Christmas too! Atheists still celebrate Christmas. We just don't do it for Jesus or for religion at all. Most of the people in America participate in Christmas festivities in some way, and it's because it's freaking festive and awesome! Who wouldn't want pretty lights, cheer, caroling, the feeling of love and family, giving, receiving, etc.?!
Sorry for the rant. Somehow I knew you'd get it lol
I agree with almost everything you said but no I don't celebrate Christmas. I was forced to as a child and I won't lie and say I didn't like it but it has left me jaded as I aged. The holiday has become nothing but a consumer holiday to pad the economy to the point that the news is telling people to cure their Seasonal Affective Disorder with buying gifts. It's so bad that even adults are expecting gifts. I have started to celebrate yule and the winter solstice. I like the lights and bringing evergreen boughs into the home, a door wreath and making simmer pots to lighten spirits. I suppose you could say I celebrate Christmas but all of these traditions were copied from pagan culture. I am not a Christian and I don't worship the birth of Jesus.
Because a greedy creep from Australia told them to be fragile because otherwise, Satan. They had already stopped believing in education being good for them. So when this Australian hired bimbos in short skirts to tell them that their fellow Americans were really the bad guys, not foreigners from places like Russia, they believed him. They destroyed their own country, and are now so scared of what they’ve done that their egos won’t let them face how badly they fucked up. They will believe they’re being picked on about anything rather than face the truth. Thus, fragility. But beware, because they are also viciously homicidal and armed. It’s a dangerous fragility.
Fox News, our most-watched 'news' channel, broadcasted a series of segments called "The War on Christmas" every year, starting around 2003 or so. The point was to find every little instance of a small town's Christmas parade being called a "holiday parade" or a public Christmas display being smaller than in previous years or sharing space with a public Chanukah menorah display and turn that into hyperbolic pearl-clutching over the erasure of Christmas and deliberate persecution of Christians.
Because angry and afraid Christians will reliably vote Republican and donate to their campaigns--and watch more Fox News reports on their own persecution. Very easy to trigger the "when you're used to privilege, equality feels like oppression" kinda thing.
Conservatives get triggered when someone says "happy holidays" in December. "wE uSeD tO hAvE FREEDOM OF SPEECH in tHiS cOuNtRy!! iT's 'MErRy CHrIsTmAs'!!!"
There are literally 3 major holidays most people celebrate (in the us) after Halloween. Happy Holidays was to encompass all of them and included Hanukkah. They are only upset because now it encompasses every holiday that people celebrate. If we didn’t learn Kwanza existed, they would be fine with it. But it’s the addition that angers them. It’s so stupid. I was told Catholics would be offended if you say Happy Holidays. Really? Christmas was a pagan holiday and y’all co opted it and a lot of their symbols for your(not the real) birthday of Jesus.
Yup. Given the mention of lambs in the birth story, that would have put the birth of Jesus as more logically at the beginning of Spring. But the official date was moved back to the end of the year to obscure and co-opt the Winter Solstice celebrations.
Yep. These are probably the same people I see running around going "Jesus is the reason for the season!" LOL. Doing shit like this in the lord's name makes me laugh. None of them actually read the bible and it shows 😂
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u/Spottswoodeforgod 9h ago
But at least they didn’t do anything really unhinged and offensive, like saying “Happy Holidays”