Why are non Christians so offended?

Question

Ha! I asked a question the other day, resolved it and today it got "removed" citing that it wasn't a question....

The question was... Why are athiests and non christians so offended or threatened when you say Merry Christmas to them?

As in all retail stores and such saying Happy Holidays, Merry X-Mas etc..

I think it is hillarious that it got removed because that just shows not only the question viewer was "offended" in some way, but that the yahoo person reading it was "offended" by Merry Christmas too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

Your thoughts?

Answer 1

Oh my word that is too funny! It is the most harmless thing in the world to wish someone a Merry Christmas. It has 0 calories, it is free, it means something very pleasant. And heck even if you don't believe in Jesus, it is something said in good will.
It can be so easily dismissed by those who hear it by merely saying, thanks.

Some, not all, but some atheists and non christians just their scrooge undies in a bunch.

That is funny though, you got your question removed for being SO offensive as to even ask the question :)).
LOL

Answer 2

No one's "offended" by "Merry Christmas"...well, some people may be, but it's silly to be "offended" by it. However, it's also silly to wish a "Merry Christmas" to people who don't celebrate Christmas. Would you like it if Jews went around proclaiming "Happy Hanuka" to EVERYBODY, whether they were Jewish or not? What about Muslims? If you lived in a predominantly Muslim country (let's say some place like Saudi Arabia, where a lot of Americans work and live) and, as an American and Christian, you were bombard with "Happy Ramadan" (or whatever they say) Would you be offended? Maybe not, but it would be meaningless to you, and you might even wonder "Can't they SEE I'm American, and therefore probably Christian?" Either way you would probably think "Okay, whatever..." And that's what people of other religions think when you tell them "Merry Christmas." It's pointless and meaningless, so why do it? As far as retail chains go, I worked in retail all through high school and college and for a few years after that, and I can tell you this "Happy Holidays" thing is NOTHING NEW. As long as I worked in retail, (starting about ten years ago) we were told to say "Happy Holidays" to our customers instead of "Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka" etc. This was because you deal with a lot of people YOU DON'T KNOW, from lots of different communities, and it IS offensive to make assumptions about people you don't really know. Plus, I never wanted to say "Merry Christmas" (as a sales person) to people it didn't apply to, because I didn't want to look like an IDIOT when I said it to the wrong person. And the retail industry has every reason (and right) to want to be more inclusive, it just makes sense economically to include a larger group in their greetings, since Jews DO shop for their Holiday around the same time Christians do. This whole hype about "The War on Christmas" is nothing but a way to have an ongoing story during the holidays, and get ratings, and look how well it worked...people can be so gullible. Oh, yeah...and "Merry Christmas!"
Oh, and "Undir" makes an excellent point about it being CHRISTIANS who are the ones getting offended. No one even heard anything about it until "Walmart" decided to use "Happy Holidays" banners instead of "Merry Christmas." THEN you heard nothing else from OFFENDED CHRISTIANS! "Fox News" just wanted a "rallying cry" for the Holiday Season. I think it's the Christians that need to get over it.

Answer 3

I'm an atheist and I don't get offended when people wish me a merry Christmas, happy Yule, happy Ramadan or whatever they are celebrating at the time. But there is one thing that I don't get, and that is why Christians are so offended by stores using "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". Many religions celebrate something at the same time, so why should one of them be taken over the rest when there can be a nice greeting that fits for all of the religions that are celebrating? Can't the stores wish all their customers happy holidays rather than only wishing the Christians a merry Christmas?

This is like saying you are discriminated against for not getting special treatment over others. It makes no sense.

But anyway, getting offended by "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" seems silly to me and sounds like people are just searching for something to complain about.

Answer 4

This never used to bother me until all this war on Christmas stuff started getting promoted. I don't care what people are celebrating this time of year, there are many possibilities. I thought saying Happy Holidays was nice because it covers us all in situations where you don't know the person. Then Christians or the media started making out that it was wrong to say Happy Holidays since this was offensive to Christians. I think the idea has backfired because now the phrase "Merry Christmas" almost seems like an aggressive challenge to those of us who celebrate something else. There was a Christian on here the other day saying nonreligious people who celebrate the solstice and still use the term Christmas are hypocrits. So I feel its impossible to please everyone. Merry Solstice, Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas.

Answer 5

Not everybody celebrate x-mas, there has to be an understanding of that. Where as a merry Xmas in passing, as a friendly greeting or salutation is fine.

The only time it gets offensive is when it is taken to far, as a child we did not celebrate x-mas, I would often get questioned as to what Santa was bringing me. When I would respond we don't celebrate Christmas, Santa doesn't come to my house my parents were often met with a lot of rude comments. The same is becoming true with my own children now.

it is fine to say merry Christmas, just as it is fine to wish somebody a Happy Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. Just leave it at that.

Answer 6

You can say whatever you like. Who cares? You're obviously Christian, since you don't seem to care whom you offend. This country is made up of many different religious groups, many of whom have their holidays around this time of year. YOU people are the ones who started making a huge deal out of stores having their greeters and signage saying Happy Holidays. Maybe you all just need to get over the fact that your religion is not the only one, and just understand that some of us want to include all people of faith (or no faith) in this season. By the way, I've personally never seen any sign that says merry x-mas hanging in a store.

Answer 7

I'm not Christian and I never get offended if someone wishes me a Merry Christmas. I'm not Jewish either and don't get offended if someone wishes me a Happy Hanukkah. Regardless of whether I celebrate this holiday or that, it's the spirit behind the sentiment that I recognize. That's what's really important.

Answer 8

Well I'm an atheist myself but if somebody was just innocently saying Merry Christmas to me I wouldn't get upset because they don't know that I don't believe in Christmas and the whole religion.

Answer 9

I'm not offended. Not at all. I'm worried that so many discussions on here are based on false premises like yours. If you had said, "Why are SOME athiests and non christians so offended or threatened..." then there would be no problem. As it stood you built a straw man with which to attack all atheists and non-christians.
Merry christmas

Answer 10

Well gee...there are other holidays in the month of December...would you like someone coming up and saying "Happy Solstice" or "Happy Hanukkah" to you?

Christians are offended by the implication that they should be respectful of other people and religions. Saying "Happy Holidays" is respectful of all the different holidays that go on in December. Its not ment to take anything away from your holiday. Its just a nice greeting.

So why are you so offended that people don't want to have your holiday pushed down their throat?