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Merry Christmas

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nota bene said:
I don't wish to sloganeer, but there is a reason for the season. And for Hanukkah too. All the commercialism just creates rebellion in me.
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Happy Harvest, Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christ--mass, Happy New Year's; I got away with that Christ--mass my whole career, teaching in towns with a strong Roman Catholic clientele, like my Wife and I, though she's a Holy Faith Farmer's Daughter; I'm in it for the readings and homily.

The reactions from the Teenagers when I said, "My Creator" were pretty cool, seeing how Chem/Physics kids loved the off-topic talk. When they'd say I couldn't say God in the classroom, I'd tell them I didn't and then tell them to Reread the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to see the word 'Creator' in them.

There isn't a person alive that doesn't believe in something, as we all know we're going to meet 'Our Maker' one of these days. Have I been naughty or have I been nice ?
 
I personally celebrate Christmas (the birth of Jesus Christ), and I will only use the words Merry Christmas, because the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is what I celebrate and remember during that time of year.

If someone does not like that, or has their own personal meaning for those words, that is perfectly fine with me. I do not advocate forcing religion onto people who have no interest or belief in it. But at the same time, I will not back down from my own beliefs, nor will I wish anyone "Happy Holidays", or whatever else they suggest that I say instead, because I do not celebrate any of the surrounding holidays. Those words are meaningless to me, unlike Merry Christmas, which has meaning because to me it is the remembrance of Jesus' birth.
 
gfm7175 said:
I personally celebrate Christmas (the birth of Jesus Christ), and I will only use the words Merry Christmas, because the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is what I celebrate and remember during that time of year.

If someone does not like that, or has their own personal meaning for those words, that is perfectly fine with me. I do not advocate forcing religion onto people who have no interest or belief in it. But at the same time, I will not back down from my own beliefs, nor will I wish anyone "Happy Holidays", or whatever else they suggest that I say instead, because I do not celebrate any of the surrounding holidays. Those words are meaningless to me, unlike Merry Christmas, which has meaning because to me it is the remembrance of Jesus' birth.
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For me too, but whether it's Yule or just gathering with far-flung family or just making a little effort to be kind--to do better--it works for me.
 
nota bene said:
I don't wish to sloganeer, but there is a reason for the season. And for Hanukkah too. All the commercialism just creates rebellion in me.
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I was finally able to persuade my husband's family to stop with the crazy level of gift giving. This year, we're only giving gifts to the grandparents and the kids, and maybe each other. I am so relieved. My husband's family used to have this huge orgy of gift-giving that would literally last for 3-4 hours as people went around the room opening presents. I wasn't raised to be materialistic like that (and neither were my kids), so I have found it excruciating. Last time we were with them, I ended up playing a game on my phone to pass the time (I am not exaggerating on the 3-4 hour thing), and one of his aunts called me out on it in front of the group.

TRUE HELL.

This year, no presents, we're just going to do acts of kindness for each other and possibly small items.

I am so glad. It's not just the money, it's also the stress of trying to work full time and get presents bought and shipped to the west coast and hoping that they get there in time.

And the waste.

I'd far rather just spend time with each other baking cookies or snow shoeing or playing cards. To me the holidays are about family.
 
gfm7175 said:
I personally celebrate Christmas (the birth of Jesus Christ), and I will only use the words Merry Christmas, because the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is what I celebrate and remember during that time of year.

If someone does not like that, or has their own personal meaning for those words, that is perfectly fine with me. I do not advocate forcing religion onto people who have no interest or belief in it. But at the same time, I will not back down from my own beliefs, nor will I wish anyone "Happy Holidays", or whatever else they suggest that I say instead, because I do not celebrate any of the surrounding holidays. Those words are meaningless to me, unlike Merry Christmas, which has meaning because to me it is the remembrance of Jesus' birth.
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I can understand someone wishing you Merry Christmas, but if the person you're speaking to is Jewish, isn't it more polite to wish them a happy hannukah? After all, they are hardly unlikely to be celebrating Christmas. The wishes you give to other people are for THEIR happiness and celebration, not yours.
 
pillars said:
I was finally able to persuade my husband's family to stop with the crazy level of gift giving. This year, we're only giving gifts to the grandparents and the kids, and maybe each other. I am so relieved. My husband's family used to have this huge orgy of gift-giving that would literally last for 3-4 hours as people went around the room opening presents. I wasn't raised to be materialistic like that (and neither were my kids), so I have found it excruciating. Last time we were with them, I ended up playing a game on my phone to pass the time (I am not exaggerating on the 3-4 hour thing), and one of his aunts called me out on it in front of the group.

TRUE HELL.

This year, no presents, we're just going to do acts of kindness for each other and possibly small items.

I am so glad. It's not just the money, it's also the stress of trying to work full time and get presents bought and shipped to the west coast and hoping that they get there in time.

And the waste.

I'd far rather just spend time with each other baking cookies or snow shoeing or playing cards. To me the holidays are about family.
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Dilbert+Xmas.gif
 
pillars said:
I can understand someone wishing you Merry Christmas, but if the person you're speaking to is Jewish, isn't it more polite to wish them a happy hannukah? After all, they are hardly unlikely to be celebrating Christmas. The wishes you give to other people are for THEIR happiness and celebration, not yours.
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Other Jews can wish them happy Hanukkah... or whoever else wants to wish them happy Hanukkah... I would feel weird saying that because I don't celebrate it. I celebrate Christmas, so that's what I feel comfortable saying, and something I can actually say it and mean it.
 
Speaking of rebellion - I think there's some sort of "rebellion" happening where I live (a small city near Ottawa). A while way back, there were Happy Holiday signs.
For the last two years I noticed "Merry Christmas" prominently displayed in stores, and I'd been greeted with Merry Christmas, even by cashiers. Of course, I greet people with that, too. I don't think I'd encountered anyone using Happy Holidays.

About 3 or 4 years back, I went with the Santa Clause parade, giving out Christian pamphlets along the way, for a sister who couldn't make it to the parade. Out of all those people lined up on the streets, only one responded Happy Holidays to my greeting (and he refused the pamphlet).
 
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pillars said:
I was finally able to persuade my husband's family to stop with the crazy level of gift giving. This year, we're only giving gifts to the grandparents and the kids, and maybe each other. I am so relieved. My husband's family used to have this huge orgy of gift-giving that would literally last for 3-4 hours as people went around the room opening presents. I wasn't raised to be materialistic like that (and neither were my kids), so I have found it excruciating. Last time we were with them, I ended up playing a game on my phone to pass the time (I am not exaggerating on the 3-4 hour thing), and one of his aunts called me out on it in front of the group.

TRUE HELL.

This year, no presents, we're just going to do acts of kindness for each other and possibly small items.

I am so glad. It's not just the money, it's also the stress of trying to work full time and get presents bought and shipped to the west coast and hoping that they get there in time.

And the waste.

I'd far rather just spend time with each other baking cookies or snow shoeing or playing cards. To me the holidays are about family.
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Yes, so much stress. So many "Gottas" that really aren't. As families inevitably grow, gift-giving sometimes becomes ridiculous. My BFF's husband's family finally went with drawing names, which was a great solution for them.

Praise for all the women who manage to pull the holiday gatherings together. There is so much unseen and unappreciated work--the planning, the decorating, the (endless) grocery shopping, the washing of tablecloths and polishing of silver, all of it.
I pretty much gave up a few years ago. I only thought I understood the work my mom put in...but I didn't, and I can't do what she did.
 
pillars said:
I can understand someone wishing you Merry Christmas, but if the person you're speaking to is Jewish, isn't it more polite to wish them a happy hannukah? After all, they are hardly unlikely to be celebrating Christmas. The wishes you give to other people are for THEIR happiness and celebration, not yours.
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A lot of us Christians already do that, saying Happy Hannukah, etc.
 
gfm7175 said:
Other Jews can wish them happy Hanukkah... or whoever else wants to wish them happy Hanukkah... I would feel weird saying that because I don't celebrate it. I celebrate Christmas, so that's what I feel comfortable saying, and something I can actually say it and mean it.
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Just because you aren't Jewish doesn't mean that you cannot respect their culture and traditions and wish them a Happy Hannukkah. The fact that you feel weird about doing that speaks volumes.
 
disneydude said:
Just because you aren't Jewish doesn't mean that you cannot respect their culture and traditions and wish them a Happy Hannukkah. The fact that you feel weird about doing that speaks volumes.
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I respect their culture, and anyone else's culture. I'm just not going to wish people things which have no meaning to me. It's meaningless words at that point.
 
gfm7175 said:
I respect their culture, and anyone else's culture. I'm just not going to wish people things which have no meaning to me. It's meaningless words at that point.
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Thats your problem.....why don't you stand back and recognize for one moment that when you Wish someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday or a Happy Hannakah...it isn't about YOU...and whether it has meaning to YOU. It should be a statement of goodwill to another. Perhaps if you stopped reflecting on yourself and tried being kind to others...your perspective and your attitude would change for the better.
 
gfm7175 said:
I personally celebrate Christmas (the birth of Jesus Christ), and I will only use the words Merry Christmas, because the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is what I celebrate and remember during that time of year.

If someone does not like that, or has their own personal meaning for those words, that is perfectly fine with me. I do not advocate forcing religion onto people who have no interest or belief in it. But at the same time, I will not back down from my own beliefs, nor will I wish anyone "Happy Holidays", or whatever else they suggest that I say instead, because I do not celebrate any of the surrounding holidays. Those words are meaningless to me, unlike Merry Christmas, which has meaning because to me it is the remembrance of Jesus' birth.
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Thats a very non-christlike attitude to have.
 
disneydude said:
Thats your problem.....why don't you stand back and recognize for one moment that when you Wish someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday or a Happy Hannakah...it isn't about YOU...and whether it has meaning to YOU. It should be a statement of goodwill to another. Perhaps if you stopped reflecting on yourself and tried being kind to others...your perspective and your attitude would change for the better.
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Okay.
 
gfm7175 said:
Not wishing someone Happy Holidays because those words are meaningless to me?
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No....only using the words that are important to YOU without thinking of what may be important to others. Jesus Christ was not about doing things for himself. As is often the case...those who proclaim loudest to be Christians are almost always without fail the ones that know the least about the life of the man they pretend to worship.
 
disneydude said:
No....only using the words that are important to YOU without thinking of what may be important to others. Jesus Christ was not about doing things for himself. As is often the case...those who proclaim loudest to be Christians are almost always without fail the ones that know the least about the life of the man they pretend to worship.
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Okay.
 
gfm7175 said:
Okay.
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So if you are going to pretend to worship him.....you should at least know a little something about him....otherwise your "Merry Christmas" is just hollow words expressed solely to stroke yourself.
 
disneydude said:
Okay....so maybe you want to learn a little something about the teachings of Jesus Christ. Especially if you are going to pretend to worship him.
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I wish the best for you during this life.
 
disneydude said:
So if you are going to pretend to worship him.....you should at least know a little something about him....otherwise your "Merry Christmas" is just hollow words expressed solely to stroke yourself.
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I have read the Bible and I keep learning something new (about him, and in general) from it each day as wisdom is revealed to me through the Holy Spirit. I strive to live my life in a non-sinful way, although I unfortunately fail at that many times every single day, and could possibly be doing so right now. Wishing someone Merry Christmas, to me, is wishing someone a happy celebration of the birth of Christ, and focusing on what Christ did to save all of us sinners, so that is what I say to people because I would love for all people to be eternally saved.
 
disneydude said:
So if you are going to pretend to worship him.....you should at least know a little something about him....otherwise your "Merry Christmas" is just hollow words expressed solely to stroke yourself.
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Like starting with the fact that Dec. 25th is not Christ's birthday...and it's not his birth but his death that gives us the chance for life...
 
gfm7175 said:
I have read the Bible and I keep learning something new (about him, and in general) from it each day as wisdom is revealed to me through the Holy Spirit. I strive to live my life in a non-sinful way, although I unfortunately fail at that many times every single day, and could possibly be doing so right now. Wishing someone Merry Christmas, to me, is wishing someone a happy celebration of the birth of Christ, and focusing on what Christ did to save all of us sinners, so that is what I say to people because I would love for all people to be eternally saved.
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You are missing the most important parts of Christ's teaching and especially how Christ lead his life by example. Perhaps you need to spend a little more time on that...because Christ was not about focusing on himself and how things affected him. You seem to be preoccupied with that. Christ was all about serving others and taking on their needs.
 
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