Okay, I'll bite! As suggested in a Y!Answer to my previous question:
Non-Christians, are you offended when comeone wishes you "Merry Christmas"? How do you respond?
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2006-11-14 13:56:11 · 34 answers · asked by Chickyn in a Handbasket 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
heck no--I've worked in retail--I say merry christmas right back with a smile! they're JUST WORDS!
2006-11-14 14:02:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
I am not offended I say Merry Christmas back. I will have a Merry Christmas. This is the way I look at it.
Aren't we all around on Christmas.
I mean what if I Jewish person went to the store and bought a scratch ticket and won big time on Christmas day. Aren't they gonna have a Merry Christmas, or even if they are off from work and most days off are Merry right. :)
Maybe dumb thinking but oh well I just stick to what I want to say and what comes to mind first.
2006-11-14 14:02:47 · answer #2 · answered by Evey 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
On a personal level, I don't mind if folks wish me a Merry Christmas if they don't realize that I am not Christian. I am more than happy to wish them the same. If they are purposely saying it to be rude, then I treat them the same as any other rude person, and I turn my back and walk away. But when a commercial business does it out of policy, I don't care for it. I won't support those stores, but I really don't shop any more in December than I do any other month anyway.
2006-11-14 16:41:39 · answer #3 · answered by Witchy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm an atheist and it does not bother me since I celebrate the traditions of Christmas (gift giving, good food, and family get togethers). Now when someone says "bless you" or something totally religious I'll be teh first to give them a mean look. Christmas is an event and wishing someone a merry event nonreligiously does not offend me at all.
2006-11-14 14:01:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, I'm not offened. I respond by wishing them a Merry Christmas back.
Why.
(It's rhetorical so it doesn't need a question mark. The grammar on this site is appalling, so don't even think of correcting that one.)
Because Christmas no longer has anything much to do with Christ. Are you offended by the mass corporate takeover of your holy festival to make loads of cash?
2006-11-14 14:03:05 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not if they're pagans.
M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia says: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N[ew] T[estament], or, indeed, from any other source.”—(New York, 1871), Vol. II, p. 276.
Luke 2:8-11 shows that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”—(New York, 1962), Henri Daniel-Rops, p. 228.
The Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.”—(1977), Vol. 6, p. 666.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges: “The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month . . . According to the hypothesis suggested by H. Usener . . . and accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.”—(1967), Vol. III, p. 656.
2006-11-14 13:58:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, I am not offended by Merry Christmas, it is an expression of wishing well. Most people just asume you are christian. Often when I am told Merry Christmas, I respond with Happy Hoildays.
Also most of my husband's family is very Christian, so I often here it when we visit them for christmas, we just celebrate Yule with my family beforehand.
2006-11-14 14:10:20 · answer #7 · answered by paganrosemama 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not offended, as I celebrate Christmas as a cultural tradition (my family is primarily Christian). It's a bit frustrating that people assume everyone is Christian, but I don't think it's offensive.
I typically respond with "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays," although if someone is being particularly aggressive about it I'll occasionally shoot back a "Happy Yule" or "Happy Hannukah!"
2006-11-14 14:00:20 · answer #8 · answered by N 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I am a Christian and when I see a Christian I say Merry Christmas.
A Pagan: happy Yule or Winter Solstice.
A Satanist: is also Merry Christmas.
The Jew: Happy Honika
The Atheist: Merry Nothingness
May GOD richly bless you.
2006-11-14 14:04:58 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you shamed by the fact you worship a god/human hybrid? Considering that gods to not exist, the even more ridiculous notion that a god/human hybrid could exist is totally laughable. Am I offended when a superstitionist says "Merry Christmas" to me? No, but I feel pity for the person saying it.
2006-11-14 14:26:49 · answer #10 · answered by iknowtruthismine 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my country, everybody wishes christians and non-christians a Merry Christmas and we celebrate as 'One' on a public holiday.
2006-11-14 14:00:12 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋