wishes them a Merry Christmas?
I'm not Christian and at my job we were told to wish everyone Happy Holidays! I don't get it. I mean I understand we're trying to be all secular and all but really why would it bother anyone to be "merry" ?
2007-12-25 16:41:53 · 45 answers · asked by Purple 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Doesn't bother me at all, in fact, I wish other people merry christmas.
2007-12-25 16:44:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 17⤊ 0⤋
It's not the "merry" part of the phrase. It is the "Christmas" part. You see, even though a third of the world is Christian, approximately 2 billion people, there are still the other two-thirds that are committed to other religions such as Judaism, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, and others. Therefore, when a person blurts out a merry Christmas in an economic location such as the company you work for, the receivers could get offended because Christmas is a Christian holiday (hence the "Christ" in Christmas). Those offended might ask "well, what makes Christmas more important than Hanukkah, Ramadan, or Kwanzaa?" They would like to live through their "happy holidays" with their own set of beliefs in mind and not feel that they have to have their set of beliefs intermixed with the Christian enviornment and Christian set of beliefs.
Personally, I am Christian and down here in Coppell, Texas, I don't get denounced for saying Merry Christmas. The reason the workplace prefers the environment to be secular is to not offend their customers, the key source of financial revenue for the businesses.
2007-12-25 16:55:05 · answer #2 · answered by Jeff C 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because we "must" be politically correct in this country. We must not offend. If one person complains, and happens to be part of a small demographic, then you have a problem and may get sewed. Take the pagan community. Most pagans I know, and I know quite a few, have no problem getting told Merry Christmas. However if one takes offence he/she can sew for religious harassment. It’s neither right nor fair, but it's there. And it's there because some Christian made it his/her job to harass that person. And I have seen Christians get mad at being told Marry Christmas; it has nothing to do with Christ or as a retailer I am what is wrong with the holiday and part of what makes it secular. I have meet Atheist that don't want my Religious holy day. I have not had any Jew get on to me, but have had just about everybody else.
2007-12-25 16:58:38 · answer #3 · answered by Lady Death 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The number of people I've seen get offended at "Merry Christmas" is almost non-existent compared to the number of Christians I've seen go ballistic over being wished a "Happy Holidays"
Say whatever you want--the spirit in which it's said is more important than the actual words used.
2007-12-26 00:56:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As strange as it might seem, coming from a non believer such as myself, I see nothing wrong with wishing those of you that are Christians a Merry Christmas. To me it's all about respect.
Though I will wish you a Merry Christmas, I'll also argue against the validity of your beliefs, but not during your holiday celebrations.
2007-12-25 17:04:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think as always with anything, there is a minority group of people who complain about something so silly.
I'm Pagan and don't celebrate "Christmas" per se, though I do see friends and family on Christmas who celebrate and I eat and drink with them and share in the laughter. Since Winter Solstice is so close....deck the halls with boughs of holly...tis the season to be jolly! I don't really care how someone wishes me a happy holiday season. I return "Merry Christmas" sentiments. I return "Happy Holidays" sentiments. I'm all for being inclusive. But I don't think anyone should get overly offended by being wished happiness from another. There are bigger things in this world to worry about!
2007-12-25 16:57:12 · answer #6 · answered by Crystal clear 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Being merry isn't bad. It's promoting one religion over others that's insulting...annoying, mostly since most don't bother to learn/hear that 'Christmas' was celebrated as Yule and Saturnalia for decades before JC was supposedly born.
Why are you offended that the office wants to be more PC in saying 'Happy Holidays'?
Edit: BTW, pjames13 has it wrong, 'Christ' is being taken out of our government b/c it, according to the founding fathers, it never should have been there in the first place (Treaty of Tripoli, sec 11) (many were deists and several were Freemasons-deists but not Xians; Plus, they (the founding fathers) had a fairly recent history of murder and/or torture b/c of religion and govt being mixed-they definitely didn't want their new country to go through that...remember, the revolution started b/c of 'taxation w/o representation', not b/c people were splitting hairs about whether Xianity was being treated fairly by removing it from places it wasn't supposed to be in the first place)
2007-12-25 16:58:11 · answer #7 · answered by strpenta 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's pretty stupid. Hanukkah usually doesn't fall on Christmas, so if you say Happy Hanukkah you'll look like an *** cuz it's been over for days. Personally, I don't know any African-Americans, mostly Trinidadi and Guineaese (I totally butchered the spelling of that word) Americans, so I'll look like a racist prick for saying Happy Kwanzaa. Therefore, by process of elimination, Merry Christmas is the only thing left that you can say during this small time window that actually has a high chance of being applicable. People who get offended by the words 'Merry Christmas' are just Scrooges.
2007-12-25 16:56:15 · answer #8 · answered by Mr. D aka David 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It's all a matter of the weight people give to religion. Some companies go the secular route, others go polysectarian/inclusive. Where I work, we have a sizable proportion of Pagans, and we tend to go toward common themes in decor and wish one another the appropriate holiday when we know which the person prefers.
From personal experience, working with the public, I've seen Christians get twitchy when I wish them a Joyous Yule or Happy Solstice, too. Kind of swings both ways, I've noticed.
2007-12-25 16:54:32 · answer #9 · answered by Babs 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't offend every non-Christian, but it does bother some. Personally, if I were wishing it to a stranger, I'd wonder whether they liked it or not. Much simpler to say Happy Holidays.
I'm not even Christian myself, but since most of my family is, I celebrate Christmas anyway. I mean, the tree, the family gatherings, etc. Saying Merry Christmas does feel a little weird, but not too bad. But I can understand why some people wouldn't like it. So, why be irritating when you don't have to?
2007-12-25 16:45:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
I'm not sure why our society feels as if we need to cater to the 2 out of 10 people rather than the 8 out of 10 people. There is no way to make everyone happy. Kwanza is not even a holy day which is what holiday means, so do we change everything for that teeny group that may cross our path? People need to get over it and move on. Wiggins said it best, it is the far right and the far left that a problematic for us as a people. Merry Christmas!
2007-12-25 16:51:54 · answer #11 · answered by Loosid 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋