Is it OK to say Merry Christmas to you?

SeptemberBlue said:
As a Christian I feel you should respect EVERYONE - regardless of their religion. You cannot fault others based on their religion, race, nationality, etc, based on the actions of a few.

Personally, I celebrate Christmas, but I would never disrespect someone else because they don't.
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September -- your interpretation is also how I thought it was supposed to work. Unfortunately, there are also those (some of them claiming to be Christian) who prefer the way of bigotry and intolerance.
 
I fear Baptist Fundamentalists almost as much as I fear Islamic Fundamentalists.
The difference being that one group has more automatic weapons than the other. Both are intolerant and run on hatred more than on love.
 
LiveSquid said:
Silly 'ol snibble, I dont think that something made up and celebrated by three people counts. Four people, maybe. Two friends and I made up National Crustacean Day on April 12th, 1988 but we never exchanged gifts...

I'm referring to this, wondering which ones she's talking about. Im pretty well versed in religions (I even know what the X in Xmas means) and I dont know of any that celebrate in place of Christmas.
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I'm fond of lobster. If I join in, is that enough to make Crustacean Day official?

I think you're correct, that there aren't holidays celebrated in place of Christmas. But my understanding is that Christmas itself is celebrated in place of Geol, a Germanic pagan solstice observance, and Saturnalia, a Roman pagan observance.
 
DanC said:
I fear Baptist Fundamentalists almost as much as I fear Islamic Fundamentalists.
The difference being that one group has more automatic weapons than the other. Both are intolerant and run on hatred more than on love.
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Which one has the weapons?:convinced:
 
monkfish said:
But my understanding is that Christmas itself is celebrated in place of Geol, a Germanic pagan solstice observance, and Saturnalia, a Roman pagan observance.
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Exactly. Biblical historians seem to agree that Christ was not likely to have been born on Dec. 25th. Also, since he was middle-eastern, shouldn't we be celebrating during Dec. 25th middle eastern (rather than North American) time anyway? We're usually off by several hours! :tongue:

Christmas itself replaces/absorbs pre-Christian rituals, including the use of Evergreens from the Egyptians, from the Romans and then the Druids; so in fact "holiday" trees, silly as it sounds, might in fact be more accurate than "Christmas" trees. The same goes for Easter, which incorporates pre-Christian symbolism such as bunnies and eggs.

As for Christmas sales that everyone benefits from, etc., it is true that there is a spate of consumerism around the holiday. However, this is likely to be more American than Christian in its character! In many other countries where Christianity is the major religion, children get maybe some candy, a pair of pants and some socks for Christmas, not this extravaganza of gifts that we unleash on our children. We Americans have religious holidays which are celebrated in a strictly consumerist way (like St. Valentine's Day) and non-religious holidays (Presidents' Day, for example) which are also celebrated in a consumerist way.

In other words, I think that if Xmas did not exist for some reason, American retailers would still have massive end-of-year-sales or cabin-fever-sales or what have you to satisfy that *other* great God, Capitalism.

P.S. No, I'm not anti-Christmas trees, anti-Christianity, anti-sales (God forbid!!!) or even anti-Capitalist (I mean, who on a site devoted to shopping/saving would be!)!!!!!!!!! LOL
 
Drifa said:
Exactly. Biblical historians seem to agree that Christ was not likely to have been born on Dec. 25th. Also, since he was middle-eastern, shouldn't we be celebrating during Dec. 25th middle eastern (rather than North American) time anyway? We're usually off by several hours! :tongue:

Christmas itself replaces/absorbs pre-Christian rituals, including the use of Evergreens from the Egyptians, from the Romans and then the Druids; so in fact "holiday" trees, silly as it sounds, might in fact be more accurate than "Christmas" trees. The same goes for Easter, which incorporates pre-Christian symbolism such as bunnies and eggs.
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Well said.

This is why our family choses not to celebrate. We follow the Bible and believe in Jesus, btw.
 
ULTIMATEgrafx said:
Hannukah, Ramadan (and there are others but it's late, I'm tired and my head hurts(again)) are holidays celebrated in december, within these Christmas is not celebrated by those participating, which I consider being celebrated in place of Christmas.
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Since you state you don't respect any brand of religion besides your own, it may not bother you. Nevertheless, you're way off on Ramadan. Celebrated according to a lunar calendar, the corresponding date on our western calendar will vary from year to year. But, generally, it falls in summer or early autumn. This year it was from mid-September to mid-October.
 
And Hannukah -It is celebrated in late November or early December. The exact date is determined according to the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah falls on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Jewish people over King Antiochus Epiphanes, a pagan tyrant from Greece, who tried to destroy Judaism in 165 BC. It also celebrates the rededication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
 
Wowzers!

:eek: Why are you all so serious???? :doh:

Here I thought I would start a little Yes - No thread (also expecting a few goof ball answer - thank you DanC), but geez most of you all went all philosophical on me.

Ho - ho - ho everyone
 
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This is before Christ was even born, and therefore way before Christmas.

Ramadan is a holy month. Not an actual celebration/festival. How anyone can consider daily fasting a celebration is beyond me, lol. Eid al-adha is one of the Islamic festivals/celebrations in December, and it commemorates when Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son, which happened in the book of Genesis, which is Old Testament, which is well before Christianity.

A festival/celebration that was instituted centuries after other celebrations cannot be replaced by the ones instituted earlier. If anything, Christmas is being celebrated in place of these older ones.
 
I think the seriousness stems from people not wanting to realize that other holidays are not celebrated to replace Christmas. Instead they are celebrated as a celebration of the religion from which they derive.
 
Griz? Umm, your avatar.... are you half the man or umm woman that you used to be? umm which are you? LOL
 
I would like a shiny new Jeep for Christmas....oh wait....can you do that in here? :clown:

Sorry folks...just trying to lighten things up a tad.
 
diGriz said:
:eek: Why are you all so serious???? :doh:

Here I thought I would start a little Yes - No thread (also expecting a few goof ball answer - thank you DanC), but geez most of you all went all philosophical on me.

Ho - ho - ho everyone
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Sorry, diGriz. I think I catch your drift (and the Yes - No answer for me is Yes). But it's hard to stay in the ho - ho - ho when some people are posting hate - hate - hate.
 
Actually according to the roman calendar Jesus was born on April 17th, I know this because that is my birthday, and the reason it is celebrated in december is escaping me, when I have a migraine my brain is mush, I should really go lay down, and I would if I could sleep, at least the throwing up hasn't set in, wooo wooo, lol
 
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