Happy Holidays is NOT anti-Christian

Every year someone starts claiming that there's a "war on Christmas" because people are saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

First of all, in case you didn't know, the word "Holidays" means "holy days." It refers to days that are holy. It is wishing someone a joyful set of sacred days. It encompasses not just Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah, and any other religion's holy feast days, but Advent, St. Nickolous Day, and Epiphany, and any other Christian holy days that fall in the time frame.

Personally, as a Christian, it rubs me the wrong way when someone wishes me a "Merry Christmas" in November or early December. It is not Christmas yet. Christmas doesn't come until December 24.

And no, putting lights on an evergreen does not make it a Christmas Tree. This is not mentioned in the Bible anywhere. It is a Pagan tradition that Christians stole a thousand years later. I am not saying Christians should not celebrate with trees and lights; rather, I'm saying that if someone wants to put lights and decorations on a tree and call it a holiday tree instead of a Christmas tree, no Christian should be upset that they are celebrating a holiday that Pagans had thousands of years before Christians stole it in the first place.

Santa and snowmen and reindeer and all that .... it's perfectly fine, but that is HOLIDAY stuff, not Christmas. It has nothing to do with Christmas. Yes, I know we don't really know what day Jesus was born, but the Church set aside December 25 to celebrate as Jesus' birthday, so that's what we do. Christmas is about remembering that God gave us this precious gift, not as a mighty King but as a baby, not with a trumpet fanfare but with shepherds and angels. He was laid in a feeding trough, in the city called Bethlehem (House of Bread), telling us that he was the Bread of Life. He lived not as a warrior, but as a simple teacher.

Is there a war on Christmas? Perhaps. If there is, it is by businesses and consumerism telling me I'm not a good American if I don't put myself in debt buying things I can't afford for people I don't even like that much while ignoring the plight of the poor and hungry.

It is a war on Christmas when my Lord's name is associated with opulence and excess, with public drunkenness and debauchery, to the point of so-called Christians saying that we have to use His name when referring to such things. THAT is the war on Christmas.

I wholeheartedly agree.

To elaborate: "1500s, earlier haliday (c.1200), from O.E. haligdæg "holy day; Sabbath," from halig "holy" (see holy) + dæg "day" (see day); in 14c. meaning both "religious festival" and "day of recreation," but pronunciation and sense diverged 16c. As a verb meaning "to pass the holidays" by 1869."

This is the only area I feel you are "associated with opulence and excess" in.

Well said. *high five*

Couldn't have put it better "GD"!
You can tell when it's Christmas coz Easter eggs are in the shops!

Nollaig Shona Duit & Athbhliain faoi Mahise Duit!

J.

I agree for the mostpart, but where I am in the US, last year Wal-Mart employees weren't allowed to say "Merry Christmas" even just a little bit before Christmas. I don't know if it's because it has the word "Christ" in it or what, but that's how it went last year at my local Wal-Mart "superstore." Doesn't sound so super to me :/

When I worked at Target, we were instructed to not say "merry Christmas" at all. Instead, it was "happy holidays".

Which - as previously pointed out - is ironic, considering the etymology of the word holiday. Ignorance is bliss, aye?

"Christmas" is not a pagan holiday, technically. Christmas is the day the Early Church chose (somewhere around 400-500 C.E.) to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Since the Bible doesn't tell us exactly which day it was (and we can only guess at the year), the day was picked primarily to compete with (replace) the pagan holiday of Winter Solstice (Sol Invictus? don't quote me on that), and many of today's Christmas traditions are rooted in this pagan holiday, as well as other pagan holidays around this time. The lighted tree, decorations, etc. are all pagan. The exchange of gifts is said to be based on the Magi's gifts to the Christ child, but if that were so, why do we exchange gifts at Christmas and not at Epiphany? Gift-giving is also a pagan tradition ... not that there's anything wrong with it.

Again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with any of these non-Christian holiday traditions. I am just tired of people insisting on calling them "Christmas" when they have nothing to do with Christmas. They say we're taking Christ out of Christmas by saying "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." What does Christ have to do with buying so much stuff you can't afford to pay your December electric bill? Does Jesus say that if we're good, we'll be rewarded with lots of material things, but if we're bad we'll be punished with a lump of coal? Is it Christian to over-indulge in every imaginable way?

I don't think Christ WANTS to be included in the kinds of things most people associate with "Christmas." I think Jesus would just as soon be left out of most of those celebrations entirely.

haha yeah =P

I wonder ... would your employers have allowed you to say, "May your days be holy" ? It's the exact same meaning as "Happy Holidays," and it allows the meaning to sink in. You're wishing the person happy holidays, very literally....

Personally, I would love it if everyone tried to make every day holy. Imagine what a world that would be....

As you can see from my profile, I have a few years on most of you guys, and I must respectfully disagree with your premise. There is a war on Christmas, and everything else Christian, going on; and it goes by the name of "political correctness". It has reached the point where the president of the United States (not capitalized deliberately) can say in public, "America isn't a Christian nation any more.".

The progressives, liberals, secularists, whatever you choose to call them, want to stamp out all vestiges of Christianity in this country, and everywhere in the world. Why? Because as long as that "creator" exists, who endowed us all with "certain unalienable rights", they will not be able to fully accomplish their agenda.

True history, the kind you find in original documents in the Library of Congress, tells us that America was founded as a Christian nation; that our founding fathers believed that the form of government they envisioned could not function without a strong, underlying moral compass that came from belief in God.

When one atheist can change the course of public school policy by being "offended"; when a judge is ordered to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom; how can you deny that there is not a war on Christianity? If you don't believe me, I challenge you to try this experiment. This season, everyone put up a large sign on your lawn saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season!". I'm willing to bet that somebody, somewhere, who frequents this site will get some kind of official flack over their sign.

Try it and see.

God bless.

I think my point was that there was a war on Christmas, and that it was associating things like over-indulgence, commercialism, and consumerism with my Lord and Savior.

I don't remember our current president saying that, though it wouldn't surprise me. When was the US ever a Christian nation?

If by "Christian nation" you mean a majority of its citizens are Christian, then well, yes, it is technically Christian. (Though that depends on what you consider "Christian." If you think Catholics aren't Christian, for example, or Mormons, then your "true" (TM) Christians are probably a minority.) But if you mean that Christianity is the required and/or favored religion, then sorry, no, the US in fact states very clearly that no religion, no, not even Christianity, should ever receive any kind of favored government status.

It is true that our founding fathers assumed that all government leaders would at least believe in God. That doesn't mean they were all Christian. Many of the founding fathers were in fact Deists, which would not qualify as "Christian" (they would deny the deity of Christ, for example). One could almost make an argument against atheism, but you really can't make an argument that the US is supposed to be Christian, sorry, the facts just don't support that assertion.

Now, see, this is just plain false. You've probably been listening to that hate radio too much. Granted, you said "whatever you want to call them," so I'm not really sure who you're talking about, but when you put "progressives" and "liberals" into the mix ... surely you realize that there are millions of Americans who are liberal, even progressive, and devoutly Christian. Our current president is one example (though he's hardly liberal ... maybe slightly left of center, he has alienated most of those who voted for him by being too conservative). Perhaps you've heard of Jimmy Carter? or Jim Wallis? Both of these figures are progressive Christians, devoutly religious, and hold very progressive political believes not despite but BECAUSE of their religious views.

I'd be curious to know what you think this "agenda" is.

I can tell you what MY agenda is, as a progressive Christian:
My agenda is to see to it that no one goes hungry, no one goes without medical care, no one goes without the opportunity for an education, and that everyone has the opportunity to work for their living. My agenda is to see that goods are distributed equitably, according to need rather than according to what color someone's skin is, or who someone may be related to, or where someone happens to live.

My agenda is that laws are to protect people and property, not to limit rights and freedoms. In other words, individual rights should not be limited unless and until they effect or affect another person.

Now, from what I've read in the Bible, that is completely congruent with God's agenda. So I'd like to know what you think is so wrong about this agenda, and why you have a problem with it.

Actually, I agree with you here. I think everyone -- atheists, Christians, everyone -- needs to get thicker skin, and learn not to be so offended. Or, if they are offended, tough, them's the breaks. Schools need to teach truth, and if that offends someone, tough.

The Ten Commandments is a Jewish document, and as such, has no more business in a public court room than the listing of Sharia Law would. I don't think you'd much appreciate stepping into a court that had Sharia Law listed, would you? Likewise, don't expect non-Jews to appreciate the 10 commandments.

I actually have lots of signs identifying myself as a devout Christian, and have never gotten flack for it. And this, in one of the most un-churched regions in the US (Oregon). So much for your assertion.

I don't say'' Merry Christmas'' until Christmas is around the corner, happy holidays or merry christmas both would sound weird to me when Christmas is still a month away; but I definitely rather say ''Merry Christmas'' and not ''Happy Holidays''.
I was watching the news yesterday about how ''offensive'' for non-christians was to hear ''Merry Christmas'' and I seriously wanted to punch somebody in the face.

I don't know any non-Christians who are offended when you say "Merry Christmas" to them.

My point is that I'm ... well, not offended, per se, but a little miffed that non-Christians celebrate a holiday by buying lots of stuff and getting drunk, and they call that holiday "Christmas." I'm not really thrilled that the name of my Lord and Savior is associated with snowmen, reindeer, and a fat man in a red suit who doesn't at all resemble St. Nicklaus.

I don't know anyone who is offended personally either, but here in CA, at least where I live,they changed the name of the big ''Christmas Tree'' in one plaza to the ''Holiday Tree'' because they said (on the news) that it was offensive to non-christians. So im guessing that someone complained or something.Not that the tree is a christian symbol,or as you said, that people actually celebrate Christmas they way they are supposed to, but the thing is that at least, it is a day for Christ to be remembered somehow.

I lived in mexico for 18 years, a catholic country, Jesus was always part of Christmas( and it should be, CHRISTmas) , as well of Santa . Even though I didn't know a lot back then, at least I knew that that day was related to Christ. Even though I was more excited with the idea of Santa bringing me presents, I knew that the root of all was that Jesus was being born. Was that ok? No. But what happens when you take the name of Christ COMPLETELY out of the picture? Although I know that this is a natural consecuence of a multicultural and fallen world, it still bothers me. I know that this world, or country is not christian and i dont pretend that it is, but it still bothers me how the name of my Saviour can be ''offensive''. Jesus promised that by his name we would be hated, and i accept it, but it still bothers.

Bottom line, while I agree that many already ignore the true meaning of Christmas, i won't say that it makes me happy that saying Merry Christmas is illegal or offensive. And I think that saying ''Merry Christmas'' will give you more chances to witness to somebody than saying ''Happy Holidays''. At least that way you can start a conversation related to Christ.

In response to someone asking how God could let the events of Hurricane Katrina happen, Anne Graham said: "For years, we have been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government, and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I think he's bowed out gracefully. How can we ask for his love and protection after that?"

That wasn't verbatim, but it was close enough. This whole transition of deviating from using the word "Christmas" is one more example of what Anne Graham is pointing out. For shame! People seldom see their hypocrisy.

There has been a war on Christianity for the last some thousand years, although it would be more fair to say a war on the saints/righteous.

Don't worry, just keep fighting with righteousness

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State ... " -Thomas Jefferson 1802

"No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened (sic) in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief ..." -"The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom," Thomas Jefferson (revised by James Madison) 1786

"As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, -- as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen (Muslims) ..."
-John Adams 1797

At least two over used quotes when it comes to this matter, but that doesn't make them any less valid. The US is not and never has been a Christian nation. If it was, there would be no freedom of religion. It is true the founding fathers warned of the dangers of turning your back on biblical morals and strongly encouraged following the Christian faith/values, but it was made clear from the beginning that this country was not founded on Christianity.

Two thousand some, but who's counting?

Sometimes I think some people who claim to be Christian are the worst soldiers against Christianity in that war. But then, that's when I'm in my more cynical moods, and cynicism is certainly not something of God, so I should ask forgiveness for that.