Why is the phrase "Happy Holidays" considered offensive by some Christians?

Question

As Christmas *is* a holiday, would you not consider it to be included in the greeting "Happy Holidays"?

(Once again, my previous question has been removed, but your opinions were of great value so I am giving you the chance to respond again -- or for the first time.)

Thank you!


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edit -- they removed it the last time I asked for "chatting and personal communication."

Answer 1

I don't know why anyone would be offended. I am about as "fundamentalist" a Christian as you can get (just not a right-wing one) , but I see nothing wrong with happy holidays. I suppose some people are afraid society is doing everything it can to take Christianity out of those holidays. but it isn't up to society to promote Christ. It's up to Christians to promote Christ. If we can live Christianly (I just invented that word, write it into the dictionary) enough, perhaps society will want to honour Christianity. If it doesn't, it's the Christians' fault.

Answer 2

I don't really understand. I mean, the phrase "Happy Holidays" has been around for a long time. That phrase is only taking Christ out of the festivities if you want it to. Besides, a lot of people say Happy Holidays because they are wishing people a happy holiday season (which consists of Christmas and New Year). It's just a shorter way of saying "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."

These people just get off complaining about how everyone is declaring holy war on their faith. I don't know why. I have never understood it, even when I went to a church that was like that.

***Oh, and why did your last question get removed? What rule did you violate?

Answer 3

Yes Christmas would be considered in the ''Happy Holidays'' statement. But not all people celebrate Christmas, so saying happy holidays is good to use when greeting someone that you're not sure of their beliefs and religion. Although ''Merry Christmas'' I believe is the base for all the other holidays in the first place and was always the used greeting until recently. So along with other events in our country (example - debate to take out "under God" in the pledge thru out American schools) I think Christians, which I am one, are saddened mostly and wish more would recognize the Lord and the things the USA was originally based on. etc.

Answer 4

I am a Christian and I find nothing offensive about the phrase, Happy Holidays.

The only ones who do are unfortunately totally deceived into thinking that there is some kind of war on Christmas or Christianity. Those individuals need to study their history and discover that if there was a war on Christianity, it is over and they (the people who wanted to dismiss the threat to business and money-making that true Christianity causes and create an out in the Christians' mind so that they don't see a contradiction between materialism and Christianity. They won. Its over, yet there are some young hopefuls like the Simple Way and other gruops that are beginning to reject such materialism.

Its just another trick of the extreme right wing, get them worked up over silly phrases, so that they won't notice the terrible treatment of the poor, and other such important issues that we should as Christians be acting against.

Answer 5

It is ofensive because people are afraid to say "Merry Christmas." I NEVER hear Merry Christmas anymore. If I heard Happy Holidays as well as Merry Christmas, it would not be offensive, but HH has replaced MC.

Also, Christmas is not meant to be a holiday, but a celebration and a Church feast. It is the second most important in the Church calendar (Easter is most important.) I just don't like that religious feasts have been made into secular holidays.

e.g.

All Hallows Eve (praying for all the deceased) = Halloween
Christmas (celebrating the birth of Christ our Savior) = Winter Holidays.
Easter (celebrating Christ's resurrection) = Springtime and the Easter Bunny.
I think you get the point.

Thank you for asking.

Answer 6

I am a Christian, and I don't find that offensive, but like the other person said, I forget his/her name, it's the idea that it replaces something else. I think it's unconstitutional to replace Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays. Our Constitution advocates freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. I'm not the least bit offended if any person committed to any other religion celebrates what he/she believes. I just don't see why people make such a big deal about something so small and insignificant. I think it's more of a jealousy toward Christians. Many atheists are so inclined to rid Christians of their rights. They're changing what America is founded on. What are we now if not free? I don't want to be corrected, and told I am "politically incorrect" when I say "Merry Christmas." This kindof correlates with the gay marriage issue. I don't care if gay people want to live together, and have the same legal benefits as a married couple, but I do -not- think that it should be called marriage. Marriage is of Biblical origin, and it is a sanction between a man and a woman, nothing else. It takes away what's special about marriage. If I ever marry, and if by that time anybody of any sex can marry, what is special about it then? It does take away from it for me. It's like..people will soon want to marry animals..I mean, who does it hurt!? That's a little extreme, but it's not too farfetched. They might as well anyway. But I am tired of atheists wanting things as ridiculous as a cheerful phrase to be changed. When they complain about that, and then argue that gay marriage is completely unharmful, and affects no one other than the people being married, it's upsetting. I do have at least a decent reason for not allowing gay marriage, and at least a decent reason for not allowing abortions. What do they have? An ignorant protest claiming that it invades their rights to hear a phrase that's really not the least bit offending or invading. It's bothersome. I mean, that's just my opinion, sorry if I sounded a little riled up. Leave feedback! :)

Answer 7

Christians are offended because they are of the opinion that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus...when in fact it is not. However, to hang onto that fantasy, they get upset when this holiday does not reflect the birthday of Jesus by putting "Christ" in Christmas.

It is just a holiday and if they want it to have religious significance, they should keep their religion at home and at church the same as they wish homosexuals would keep their's. If everyone would just keep their philosophies and beliefs at their home and live them without so much talk when in public, we would have a much more congeniel society.

There is nothing wrong with "Happy Holidays" as it is inclusive of all people. I like the phrase myself and dislike "Merry Christmas" as it leaves out so many people and makes Christians seem like isolationists who shove their beliefs down everyone else's throat.

I'm not offended if people say 'Merry Christmas" to me and I will say it back to them out of politeness but to insist that "Happy Holidays" is inappropriate is silly to me. What is it with people who just look for ways to be offended? Why must people take themselves so seriously?

Answer 8

Its not so much "Happy Holidays," but replacing "Merry Christmas," with it. There has been a concerted effort to remove all Christian symbols and refrences from the public arena. There are many court cases that will occur once again over discrimination against Christianity. These cases often include students "not being allowed to pass out candy canes," "not being allowed to display Christmas symbols like manger scenes and even stars." Watch the news and you will see no banning of any other public displays except manger scenes and the like.

Why is the phrase "Merry Christmas," considered offensive?

Answer 9

"Happy Holidays" is deeply offensive.

Christmas, an official federal holiday in which the majority of Americans celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, is the ONLY holiday that we are afraid (or too sensitive) to call by name.

Consider any other holiday...
On the 4th of July we say "Happy Independence Day"
On Halloween we say "Happy Halloween"
On Thanksgiving we say "Happy Thanksgiving"
On Hanukah we say "Happy Hanukah"
On New Years Eve we say "Happy New Year"
On no other holiday do we say "Happy Holidays"

It is only on Christmas we are intimidated into omitting the name of the specific holiday in our greetings. It is blatantly anti-Christian and deeply offensive. Can anyone imagine telling their Jewish friends, "Oh, you shouldn t say Happy Hanukah because not everyone is Jewish and somebody might take offense." Of course not! Just about everybody would smile and say, "Happy Hanukah to you too." But we are saying exactly that to Christians around their most sacred holiday. It is exclusively Christmas that the PC crowd is trying to edit out of the American tradition and it is wrong.

Answer 10

The phrase Happy Holidays is not offensive. It's the fact that we are supposed to use it to replace Merry Christmas, because Christ seems to offend so many. Well, too bad. It's Merry Christmas from me, and if you don't like it... don't listen. But Happy Holidays works, just not as a replacement for Christ!