This seems like a random question but it is a legitiamate one. Every year "Christ" is taken out of Christmas more and more. I work at the mall and I am not even allowed to say "Merry Christmas" I have to say "Happy Holidays" or something. They are calling Christmas trees "Holiday Trees". It is even getting to the point where some people want to change the name of the holiday all together.
My question is this:
1. To the millions of people who do not celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense (Jesus' Birthday), why celebrate it at all?
2. Why do you then get so offended by the word "Christmas"?
How comes I don't hear anyone complaining about Ramadan or Yom Kippur?
3. What difference does it make if it is called a "Christmas tree"
As you can see all these questions have the same theme, so answer in your own way!
2006-07-30 17:26:06 · 9 answers · asked by Answer Queen 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
OK, the actual "date of Jesus' birth" is pretty much understood to not be 12/24, but that is the day that it is "observed". That is not the question here.
2006-07-30 17:50:18 · update #1
1. Because everyone loves Christmas! It's the one day that everyone is supposed to get presents!
2. I don't get offended. I love Christmas! I dated a Muslim during Ramadan. I would not recommend it.
3. I should be called a Christmas tree. It's a Christmas tree!
2006-08-01 03:00:38 · answer #1 · answered by Mark 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
1. As a time to get together with family and friends. Sure, people can get together anytime they like, but Christmas is an ideal time for it because people get the day off, have time off from work/school to travel and visit, things like that. Also, it's a nice excuse for mass gift-giving, if you like to shop and give presents.
2. I don't get offended by the word "Christmas." And why would anyone be offended by Ramadan and Yom Kippur unless they're anti Muslim or anti-Semetic? All three arewell-known religious holiday, with the difference being that Christmas, unlike the other two, has also become a secular celebration. More often than not, the people I hear getting offended aren't the non-Christians, but the Christians who don't like all the non-religious elements that have become attached to the occasion.
3. Actually, the "Christmas tree," along with things like mistletoe and Santa Claus, isn't a Christian symbol. It has it's origins in pre-Christian pagan traditions and was still considered pagan as late as the 1840s in the US and weren't accepted as part of the Chisstmas holiday. Considering it's pagan origins, it doesn't seem it should matter whether people call them "Holiday trees" or "Christmas trees." So to each his own on that score.
A more interesting question might be why is the birth of Christ celebrated at a time of year when he wasn't born? Check http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn43/bornchristmas.htm
2006-07-31 01:00:50 · answer #2 · answered by ccmonty 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This time of year is not only a time to celebrate Christian traditions.
You have to remember that many religious holidays are being celebrated at that time, so to mention only one of them is to discount all the others. Saying Happy Holidays covers them all, so it's a good alternative to accidentally insinuating someone is celebrating the Christian holiday when they actually do not even believe in the Christian holiday. It's simply common courtesy.
Though some people's families no longer observe the Christian holiday (or never did), it is still a great time to celebrate your family. That is what the December holiday season has come to mean for many - a time to celebrate your family, a common time to get together in a world where we are stretched to our limits time-wise and financially. The idea may have begun with the Christian traditions, but those who do not follow Christianity saw merit in some of the ideas of the holiday and have made it their own. Now it is more than a Christian tradition. It is an American tradition (as well as many other countries). Just like the celebration evolved for Christianity, it has likewise evolved for non-Christianity. Because of this, there are many people who celebrate a holiday at that time of year, but do not celebrate the Christian Christmas. For this reason, we must remember to include them in our greetings by saying something like, "Happy Holidays" or calling them "Holiday Trees". It simply is no longer just a time for Christians and those trees are no longer only used for Christmas.
People get offended when you mention only Christmas because that necessarily leaves out their own religion, which is just as important. As Christianity is, if not the majority in America's religious realm, then the most widely known to associate a holiday with that time of year, we are most likely to hear someone speak of Christmas, not Yom Kippur or Ramadan. No one assumes everyone else is celebrating Yom Kippur. No one ever only mentions one of the non-Christian holidays. That is why "Christmas" is so often found offensive. Because to only mention Christmas is to forget all the other religions and that happens all too often anyway.
So, remember that there really ARE "holidays" going on at that time of year and try not to only think of your own holiday. It is a very special and important time for many, so you should be glad to be able to help them celebrate. "Happy Holidays" will keep you covered.
2006-07-31 01:30:16 · answer #3 · answered by Phoenix, Wise Guru 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The whole thing is wrong. i will never stop saying "merry christmas" or calling christmas trees "christmas trees" if you say it really wasnt jesus's birthday, ask yourself, "do i really care whether or not it was jesus's birthday?" the point is, jesus had a birthday and no matter when it was, it is celebrated on christmas. deal with it. if someone gets offended from hearing merry christmas, they are too sensitive and obviously immature if they get worked up over something someone said with good intentions. im so tired of everyone being politically correct, because it will never happen. and if it does, what is the point of even having your own beliefs if you cannot openly express your opinion about it?
2006-07-31 04:32:26 · answer #4 · answered by danielle 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. It's fun and it's a family tradition. And just try telling kids there will be no Christmas......
2. I really don't. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Glad Yule, whatever.
3. It's a Christmas tree. This one's just silly to debate.
I'm not really a non-believer. Just not a really strong believer. I question a lot and keep an open mind. I was raised Catholic.
2006-07-31 00:32:45 · answer #5 · answered by Terisu 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because, December 21 - 25th is an ancient holiday, not the birthday of Jesus. When the first missionaries began converting the Germanic peoples to Christianity, they found it easier to simply provide a Christian reinterpretation for popular feasts such as Yule and allow the celebrations themselves to go on largely unchanged, rather than trying to suppress them. The "Christmas" tree was originally a YULE tree. Christians stole the holiday and it is time they gave it back!
2006-07-31 00:40:42 · answer #6 · answered by Kyanne 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
ok firstly Christmas is NOT Jesus birthday (proven to be March 17 - by astronomers)
the Christians tried to cover up a Pagan holiday known as Saturnalia which took place at this time and pretty much all the traditions (including the tree) go back to this holiday - only the name was changed -
2006-07-31 00:32:47 · answer #7 · answered by CF_ 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You just asked questions that I have been asking for years.
I personally see nothing wrong Whit Merry Christmas. If I get a card with Merry X-mas written in it, it goes back to the sender. This really one of my big pet peeves. Something about taking Christ out of Christmas totally infuriates me.
2006-07-31 16:10:28 · answer #8 · answered by msjudy58 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. People celebrated Winter Soltice festivals before Jesus was born. Why shouldn't that continue? We don't need Jesus in it. What a question!
2. Many people don't want to have any religion thrust upon them. I don't hear 1/10 as much about Moslem and Jewish stuff as I do Christian. If these religions forced anything upon me, I'd fight.
3. Why should it be? I've had lovers who were atheist, Shintoist, Moslem, etc. They don't want other beliefs forced upon them. Let us call it a Buddha Fest Tree! Would you like that?
2006-08-01 01:10:01 · answer #9 · answered by miyuki & kyojin 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋