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Saying "Christmas" Instead of "Happy Holidays"

I never got why people get offended by Happy Holidays. How is that offensive?

It's not and it's all encompassing. I like it then I don't have to go rattling off on all of the different holidays plus it includes New Year celebrations as well, it was perfect.

It's irritating, now I have to try to figure out what is and is not going to be offensive to someone when all I want to do is express my goodwill towards them and the season.
 
I think most "militant atheists" have a better sense of religious practices and religious origins than the vast majority of True Believers. holiday = holy day

No. Christians just vastly out number your 'militant atheists' so it might be easier to find a christian who doesn't know what the **** they're talking about although I've still met a plethora of atheists who match them in that so... :shrug:

(militant if you mean the anti-christian, anti-religion variety)
 
If Christmas is under siege, it is not by the Jews

Yes it is, by their own admission:

"Jews have been the vanguard of an effort to “transform Christmastime into a holiday season belonging to all Americans,” without religious exclusivity. The most important Jewish mechanisms of secularization are comedy and parody, for laughter undermines religious awe. Take, for example, Hanukkah Harry from “Saturday Night Live”, who heroically steps in for a bedridden Santa by delivering presents from a cart pulled by donkeys named Moishe, Hershel, and Shlomo. Remarkably, Hanukkah Harry has emerged as a real Santa-alternative for many American Jews. Plaut sees such things not as attempts at assimilation but as an intentional subversion of Christmas traditions. “Through these parodies,” he writes, “Jews could envision not having to be captivated by the allure of ubiquitous Christmas symbols.” And it isn’t just Jews: for Americans in general, Jewish parody helps ensure that Christmas “not be taken too seriously” and that the celebrations of other traditions “be accorded equal respect and opportunity.”

Note the ridicule. Donkeys with Jewish names? And how they feel they have to de-emphasize the religious aspect of this traditional holiday, the "intentional subversion". And what about that Americans should not take Christmas "too seriously"?

How would the organized Jewish community react if non-Jews ridiculed religious Judaism? Or said that a particular traditional Jewish holiday should “not be taken too seriously”?


Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features »
 
I don't get offended by Happy Holidays. I don't get offended by Merry Christmas, either.

If I take offense to anything, it is those who would demand one or the other.

yep pretty much this, i say both, and both have been said to me, neither are required or offend me.

The only part im not the same on is if somebody "demanded" one of the other i would just laugh right at them and continue doing as i wish :shrug:
 
Yes it is, by their own admission:

"Jews have been the vanguard of an effort to “transform Christmastime into a holiday season belonging to all Americans,” without religious exclusivity. The most important Jewish mechanisms of secularization are comedy and parody, for laughter undermines religious awe. Take, for example, Hanukkah Harry from “Saturday Night Live”, who heroically steps in for a bedridden Santa by delivering presents from a cart pulled by donkeys named Moishe, Hershel, and Shlomo. Remarkably, Hanukkah Harry has emerged as a real Santa-alternative for many American Jews. Plaut sees such things not as attempts at assimilation but as an intentional subversion of Christmas traditions. “Through these parodies,” he writes, “Jews could envision not having to be captivated by the allure of ubiquitous Christmas symbols.” And it isn’t just Jews: for Americans in general, Jewish parody helps ensure that Christmas “not be taken too seriously” and that the celebrations of other traditions “be accorded equal respect and opportunity.”

Note the ridicule. Donkeys with Jewish names? And how they feel they have to de-emphasize the religious aspect of this traditional holiday, the "intentional subversion". And what about that Americans should not take Christmas "too seriously"?

How would the organized Jewish community react if non-Jews ridiculed religious Judaism? Or said that a particular traditional Jewish holiday should “not be taken too seriously”?


Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features »

so, your opinion is based on an SNL skit?

Oh, well, Christmas is over for another year, half of the toys are already broken or lost, decorations have been taken down, and we're off and running on other issues of the day. Come December, though, it will once again be the Christians vs. the lions, lions being mostly atheists, perhaps some Jews on Saturday Night Live.
 
so, your opinion is based on an SNL skit?

Oh, well, Christmas is over for another year, half of the toys are already broken or lost, decorations have been taken down, and we're off and running on other issues of the day. Come December, though, it will once again be the Christians vs. the lions, lions being mostly atheists, perhaps some Jews on Saturday Night Live.

Try reading the article.
 
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