December 4, 2005
-
Christmas
Bill O’Reilly from Fox News has been spending a great deal of time talking about an agenda of those who are trying to take the name Christmas out of this holiday. He cites his belief that several major retail companies no longer use the term “Merry Christmas.” He believes this has been an agenda that has been lead by those who are secular. He refers to them as people who have an “anti-Christmas agenda.”
Do you think there is an agenda to take the name Christmas out of this holiday season?
Comments (185)
maybe
sweet 1st again
no. happy holidays is only used for political correctness, not to get rid of christmas.
There better not be!
yes
Sixth!! Freaking A!
Yes I do.
7th!
yes i do…its the secular humanist agenda of taking over every aspect of mind and thought
moral relativism SUCKS
JK. I just wanted to make sure i got in on 6th lol. I don’t think they’re trying to take out christmas…just making sure they note the fact that it’s not the only December by holiday by any means.
so does Political correctness!!
yup
Of course.
I’m sick and tired of hearing that secularists are trying to take the Christ out of Christmas. For one thing, it’s not really very true (a recent interview with a manager of Wal-Mart revealed that they have never heard of a rule against saying “Merry Christmas”).
I’m a devout Christian, but I don’t see how you can suck religion out of Christmas. Why? Because it’s already gone. Commercialism and materialism have taken the focus away from the birth of the Messiah and put it on presents and gifts.
NO
That’s all abunch of horse shit. It’s like anything on a slow newsday. The eighties screwed us all with the onslaught of “political correctedness”. Retailers began to fear offending celebrators of Hannukah & Kwanza by using “Chrostmas” in their direct mail and in store collateral. Political correctedness paved the way for apathy. Now instead of anything sincere, heartfelt or traditional in any sense it has to be watered or dumbed down to the point we can all juts numbly pass along with nobody gatting a wad up in their drawers.
To answer the question. I don’t think there is an agenda, there is simply cowardice.
Anti-Christmas agenda? I doubt it. Major retail companies just want to sell products to as many people as possible, and they can accomplish that by replacing “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays.” As for the people who want to change the name altogether, I really can’t claim to know what they’re thinking, since I’m not one of them, don’t know any of them, don’t have enough information and don’t agree with the prospect.
OH GOOD GRAVY – I didn’t mean to be on the first page! Is it possible to delete one of my comments then post it again later?
I do believe that people are trying to get rid of Christmas. They are not only trying to get rid of Christmas though. I believe they are trying to hide the Christian religion. Eighty percent of the American population is Christian yet they are trying to follow the wants of minority religions.
I don’t agree with calling a Christmas tree a “holiday tree” as would I not believe in calling a manorah a holiday candleabra (sorry if the spelling is wrong). So do I believe that there is some agenda to take away the word Christmas and hide Christianity- YES.
did I just agree with something Bill O’Reilly said? Man I must be sick.
yes and no. there are other holidays that are celebrated during this time of the year like kwanza, isn’t it, and hannakah (sp?). i think they are just generalizing so it doesn’t leave these other holidays out and might attract more shoppers other than just christmas shoppers. i don’t see the big deal.
Yeah, some people out there feel that true equality is possible, and it just isn’t. The world will always be ruled by the majority, no matter who it is.
Troy
21!
22!!! lol, i ‘ve never been this high up! woot! lol.. well… lemme read the ?…i think the more we show christmas as just santa and presents, it takes the real meaning out of it…
Yes, of course. They’ve taken Christ out of everything else.So of course. Most people say’ Happy Holidays’ around here, and we are in the Bible Belt.
Peace and Love:)
I think political correctness has gone overboard in a Lot of Places….. I’m not sure there’s an agenda with saying Happy Holidays… but I’m sure it pleases those who aren’t Christian…… What would be wrong with using both, at the same time Merry Christmas, & Happy Holidays……
Everyone is trying to be politically correct by saying happy holidays, or christmakwanzakah, The holiday is so commercialized that even non-Christians celebrate it. Enter Santa, not that I think that Santa is a bad thing but somehow people forgot that it is Christ’s birthday we are celebrating, not that Hanukkah or Kwanzaa are any less of a holiday but by throwing them all together we take away the specialness of each. They are all their own celebration, not one lump that comes around once a year, and by lumping them all together we are forgetting what they are all about.
Well, there is definetly something, and I hope you won’t mind -and of course you can always delete – but many of your readers may want to go here
https://secure.afa.net/afa/afapetition/signpetition.asp?id=1480
They promise not to spam and you can always remove yourself from their mailing list
It’s simply political correctness gone too far. Christmas is a season, a frame of mind, and a celebration. To me, it has nothing to do with religion. Yeah, it’s nice to say “Happy Holidays” in order to honor all the holidays that occur this time of year, but to call it a “Holiday tree” rather than a “Christmas tree” is just taking away hundreds if not thousands of years of tradition.
This isn’t Christmas. It’s “empty your wallets on uselss crap” season. I’m n o religious, so…It doesn’t matta to me.
Hmmm? Good question,
I think that there be an absence of the word perhaps to include more of the holidays celebrated. As for an agenda, stores are there to make money… big money, so I do think it is possible to see the absence of the word christmas as an adgenda. How are you?
Ok….. I’ve Obviously not been around enough lately….. You Changed your Pic!!! I see now there was voting, & I missed out….. I like the Old One…..
FYI
Focus on The Family is doing a show next week that will be centered on the Christ in Christmas this week. There will be retailers speaking to it.
I think if it is an agenda it is to take the individuality out of each.
This week – next week. Whatever, I’m sleepy. GNSDILY.
It’s for political correctness, I suppose. Though Christmas is hardly religious anymore, anyway.
Me, I prefer Winter Christmahannakwanzastice. Gotta remember those pagans.
x__Stephany
i hope so. holidays are nice, but the religious ties cause so many fights among friends, it’s not worth it.
-ann
probably, but its a holiday cmon losers dont you have something better to do than try and remove a word from a time of year?
Ugh…I’m so sick of hearing this trash every year.
Everyone wants to beleive that society is against them. I worked in a book store during the last presidential election season, and it was a mess. The conservatives got angry because we had too many liberal books…and there was the ridiculous Unfit for Command riot, if anyone remembers that…but the liberals would likewise complain that we had too many conservative books. Even when it wasn’t election season we would sometimes get these complaints from both parties. And there are dozens and dozens of books on the left wing conspiracy, the right wing conspiracy….
I know that seems kind of unrelated, but I’m just talking about the idea that everyone will always be making a fuss over some vague thing that this nation has supposedly done in order to stomp out their beliefs. It doesn’t matter if you are liberal or conservative…if you are strongly incorporated with either side, then you probably believe that the world is overrun by your opposition and that they have formed a conspiracy against you.
So, for the die hard conservatives. Just because the commercials for stores say “Happy holidays” does not mean that the employees have been ordered to never mention the word “Christmas.” Just because one store somewhere last year took down a Christmas tree does not mean that this entire nation is trying to do away with Christmas trees. These scant stories do not represent our entire population! The majority of this country celebrates Christmas. It’s an American tradition, and very few people are actually on a mission to destroy it.
Probably, but it’s been going on for years. Christmas never was really about Jesus anymore anyway. It’s all commercialized, and I hate that. I hate the pressure to find the “perfect” gift, even if the pressure is just from me. I think I’ve finally gotten to the point of not worrying about gifts because they aren’t the important part. Gifts should be from the heart, and I can make my gifts and they will be from the heart. And they are pretty dang nice gifts, too. Nothing too cheesy…..
But anyway, have you heard about some of the colleges teaching classes such as “Creationism and other Relious Myths” (or something like that)?
C-R-A-Z-Y!
it’s no worse than any other year. People celebrate Christmas for different reasons–some are welcoming Jesus, some are welcoming large amounts of gifts. Sure, the stores capitalize on it, but we shouldn’t expect anything else; corporate America observes no religion or morals. If we say, “Merry Christmas”, people will be offended; if we say “Happy Holidays”, people will be offended. The difference is that people who celebrate Christmas are so indoctrinated towards total political correctness and “tolerance” that they feel guilty to say, “Hey! Give me back my Christmas.”
35th!! (well maybe…)
I was going to write about this too, I’ve noticed almost every night he’s on he makes a big deal about it. To answer the question, idk…probably they will someday.
ha i wrote my thoughts on this.
i stand by them
but bill o reilly, is, in fact, a big blubbering vagina.
no i think they’re just trying to respect the fact that not EVERYONE celebrates christmas.
I used to get very irked by this, but with a growing sense of disgust both at how this “chrischun” holiday got started as well as what America and the rest of the modern world has done with it, to be perfectly frank I think Jesus would much prefer his name NOT be associated with December 25th. This is not to say I really think Jesus disapproves so much of us adding a non-scriptural “feast” as what we’ve done with it in His name.
yup
it’s stupid. i’m not going to be offended if i go into a store and someone says to me “happy hannukah” or “happy diwali!” i mean, WHO CARES?! people are just trying to share their joy in teh season, if it happens to be Christmas that they celebrate then LET THEM DO IT!!!
Hey thanks for the comments. I am good, dealing with my bummed out teenager. We just got back, I took the kids out to see christmas lights.
Yes, of course there is. It’s not PC
Yeah I do. I can remember writing a letter to Game Informer magazine where I said I had recieved a game as a Christmas gift. Low and behold when they published my letter, it said “Holiday Gift”. Bastards
yes! booo to political correctness
Possibly but the agenda is coming out of the desire to recognize that we are living in a pluralistic society. We have been for decades, and just now people are realizing you don’t have to travel across the globe to meet a Hindu or a Muslim. This is a wonderful step in the direction of cultural diversity, and companies, I would argue, are respecting other traditions that do not observe Christmas but removing greetings and degreetings that exclude other winter festivals such as Chanukah and Kwanza.
I think taking the name “Christmas” out of the holiday season is a conscious decision. People are becoming more conscious of not offending anybody be excluding his or her religion’s holiday or by seemingly pushing their own religions’ holidays. Although, I don’t think this is motivated by any sort of goodwill towards men, but by the desire to not be sued.
oh, just a thought–how many of the people who mentioned kwanzaa actually even know what the holiday is? to the best of my knowledge, it’s not really a religious holiday. PC indoctrination.
No, I think too many people threaten to sue or are offended when you tell them Merry Christmas, the safest thing to say is Happy Holidays.
I think people are spending to much time focusing on little things, instead of taking the time to work on the serious bigger issues. *shrugs* Happy Holidays is generic, but a christmas tree is a christmas tree.. not a holiday tree… you don’t put up a tree for anything normally but christmas…. so they should leave it be. I really worry about what the future may hold if stuff like this keeps up.
Well, it probably doesn’t matter much, anyway, considering that a lot of people who celebrate the holiday think nothing of God in the process.
yes, most definitely
Look at how our pictures match! ^^
Referring to the first poster…
>>
<<
I think that Christmas and the Christian sense of the holiday disappeared a long time ago. It’s been a money making machine for the part of my life that I can remember (and I am an old bat).
Erika
Yeah, I kind of wonder if there might be. Maybe not to get rid of Christmas, but to make it as secular as possible. We can still have our holidays, but don’t say “Christ”mas. That is what it seems like to me.
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
What Mr O’Reilly seems to fail to realize is that it’s the “Christ” part of christmas that was removed LONG ago. I don’t think anyone has to worry about the term “christmas” going anywhere anytime soon. Retail companies may not be using it as much b/c of all the other cultural holidays around this time of year. But christmas is one of the most popular holidays of our culture, one of the most deeply-embedded traditions. I don;’t think people could take the “christmas” out of christmas if they tried.
I believe that there is. I do believe there should be a separation between the Christmas of the Nativity and the Christmas with Santa. It should be Happy Santa Night and then there is Christmas. Just a thought though.
It’s a fucking republican Xtian Extremist Fundamentalist Underground conspiracy: to make people THINK the big scary rabid Liberal Left members of the Democratic Underground are trying to suck the Christ out of Christmas and the Chistmas out of December–just like the bullshit mailings from some asshole psychotic Bush fan who sent them to the Bible belt saying that Kerry would BAN THE SALE OF BIBLES if he was elected.
Get a fucking clue, you FUCKTARDS who believe this bullshit.
NO BODY IS DOING IT. NOBODY COULD DO IT IF THEY WANTED TO.
IT IS A FUCKING RUSH LIMBAUGH/PAT ROBERTSON COMBO WET DREAM.
So pull off the sack cloth and climb down off your crosses and stop being such crybabies.
You look ridiculous up there and we can see your underpants and they are stained.
Oh, and BTW–Happy Fucking Holidays.
And Merry Christmas too.
man, what is with this country’s need to erase all signs of culture.
I don’t know if anyone else hit on it, but it’s hilarious to me when you consider that saying “happy holidays” means “happy HOLYday”. Idiots.
Ugh, O’Lielly is a hostile, ignorant, pathetic excuse for a human being.
So Christians are peeved because their “privileges of cultural dominance” are being challenged? They should GROW UP already. We all have to get along in this world. How would they like it if every year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the country was awash in religious symbolism, ideology, and propaganda that they didn’t agree with? You can bet they’d do all manner of bitching (“I couldn’t find a SINGLE open restaurant for lunch, because of course it’s RAMADAN and people are supposed to be FASTING! Can you believe it??”) Such hypocrisy! The point is, it shouldn’t MATTER who the dominant group is, they shouldn’t get to bulldoze over everyone else with their beliefs.
If you ask me, I’d like to see the entire holiday become extinct. It’s gotten so commercialized and ridiculous, and I am freaking TIRED of all the STRESS and DEBT I get if I run around finding gifts for family members, and all the GUILT and FLAK I get from said family members if I don’t. Regardless of what religion people are, a holiday should be fun, relaxing, and beneficial for the psyche, not expensive and exhausting and stressful. Why is it that more people commit suicide over Christmas than ANY OTHER HOLIDAY (even Valentine’s Day!)??? The whole holiday has clearly just become a focus for various forms of greed, psychic pain and dysfunction. It’s ceased to remind us of what we have, and instead reminds us of what we don’t have. In my opinion, when a ritual has had its cultural significance so thoroughly corrupted, it should really be jettisoned, so that people can construct new rituals that are actually meaningful to them.
In conclusion, there is NOR some secret “agenda” out there to take Christmas out of December…
But imo, there should be.
Bill O’Reilly is a ignorant hack, is there anyone in the world who actually likes him? On whatever station he works for’s website, they sell an O’Reilly factor ‘Happy Holidays’ coffee mug.
Christian dominance? That is certainly a thing of the past…. considering that prayer and ten commandments are banned in many schools…. why only last year a 4th grader in Mass. was suspended from school because he passed out candy canes to his class that had christian related cards attached to them…. there is by no means “christian dominance” In fact we really try to do anything in the public setting the ACLU is on us like rabid dogs… And it is only minorities that people sit up and listen too because they make the most noise… hence the few secular people who sue schools and stores for exposing them to sumthing that is against their beliefs… this is america… where there is freedom of reliegion and speech… and that goes for the corporations as well not just the people….
yes I do believe there is an agenda… but it doesn’t just scope christmas…
I’m am totally fine with “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holiday(s)” Maybe it’s because I don’t have any specific religion. It’s also usual for people to diverge at some point in history. People change and so do things. However, traditions are also important.
For some people, probably… there was an instance last year in Britain when Santas were taken out of a mall or two because ‘it might offend our Muslim people’ (btw, since when is Santa religious?) And then there was a brilliant letter to a newspaper by a Muslim, saying “Now, this offends me- to assume that we Muslims are so intolerant that we would be offended by things like that!” Turn and turn about…
what the heck? getting rid of the “Christmas” in christmas would defy the whole point of christmas! lame.
i think saying “happy holidays” is a way to pay respects to everyone’s faith that celebrates a holiday in december. i’ll be damned if someone said merry christmas to me, cuz i ain’t christian. bill o’reilly is mad because he doesn’t like that the dominant culture, which he obviously is a part of (read: WASP), is being pushed into the background. give it up, sonny-boy.
Yes. Yes, I do.
and sorry, suckahs, it ain’t a “christmas” tree…that tree has pagan origins.
Yes I do. For many years now they have been trying to remove Christ from Chrismtmas. We tend to forget the real meaning of Christmas.About the birth of Jesus and what it means to us.
This year at Christmas instead of material goods, I would love to see my son before he departs overseas with the Navy. I have a whole new perspective of what is important in life.
Material possessions…gifts and going in debt to get those gifts…mean nothing to me this year. Quality time with my son and letting him know how proud I am of him and how much I love him…that’s priceless and my only concern this holiday season.
Agendas are like assholes…everybody has one.
dude i seriously think your a fuckin pathetic waste of flesh. lmfao, well atleast thats the impression i get from the whole 90 seconds i looked at your xanga. hmmmm, well i think we should stake and burn sadam, or atleast horridly disfigure then chain him too that statue they showed tbose people tearing down. also, while on the subject i think we need too do sum tortureing with those captured terrorists. The middle east is laughin their ass off at us, cuz we treat our prisoner’s so good. anyway, fuck off and die.
steve the pirate out
Dan,
Please say prayers for a Xangan, and the family and friends she left behind. She took her life this weekend. She had problems and was a very dark writer, but she left the sweetest comments. She is sorely missed.
I don’t think there’s an “official” agenda, but there is much pressure to be politically correct and say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” – Wal Mart, is one outstanding example.
“Political” correctness does, however, make one wonder if there is an agenda by some political body or entity to encourage large corporations to make people tolerant and less offensive – even in situations such as this that are, in my opinion, rediculiously offensive to the general public by their removing the name of the holiday from their holiday greetings. In order to be consistent, they should also remove from their store all merchandise that says “Merry Christmas” on it or has any depiction of Jesus or the nativity.
Instead, maybe they should greet all customers with “Bah! Humbug!” Ha!
O’Reill can suck my holiday ass.
Abso-freakin’-lutely! I get soooo many emails from organizations like the American Family Association saying non stop how companies like Target and Best Buy have switched to using the term, “Holiday” instead of Christmas. They don’t want to offend anyone, which everyone knows is impossible. Its so rediculous, I ask myself sometimes, “Why care? I can still say Merry Christmas, so why should it bother me?” It has to be hard for big corporations to try to please everyone at once and by saying “Holiday”, its so vague that its hard to be offended by it. Sometimes it feels though, that Christ is getting pushed back further and further from the country that is known primarily as a “Christian Nation” and we are learning how just much one person can make a difference if they have a big enough mouth.
Worthy of mentioning, I wonder why the ones that don’t like Christmas mentioned - or the ones that are offended at the suggestion that a group might be trying to remove the Christmas message from the public – are the ones that are using all of the bad language, showing arrogant and abusive attitudes and not showing tolerance to someone on that person’s own xanga site?
Even though there is probably no “agenda”, this is the kind of behavior that makes some people consider about the “agenda” issue – such concentrated anger and lack of self control over a time-honored American holiday. Even a narrow-minded O’Reilly doesn’t behave like that.
Yep…
But here’s the good part..even if they do take it out..they can’t make us stop saying it. I will always say Merry Christmas.
Oh and another thing..a HUGE pet peeve of mine. When people write Merry X-mas. Oh that irritates me.
we think that there is an agenda to it…they should just stick to the whole Merry Christmas thing..no need to change it to Happy Holidays.
~Chris & Tika~
I believe in ignorant people who think they want freedom of expression when really banning the “Christmas” out of “Christmas” is getting that expression taken away. If we don’t express our religious beliefs then what “makes” America be America is a masked democracy (which in fact that is all it has been). If Christians are unable to express who they are then what have we got? … nobody is making them engage in the Christmas celebration. Has the govt made any policies on having to have a Christmas tree and presents under the tree??? … people are missing the point. It is not a matter of “trying” to spread religious beliefs is a matter of “freedom of expression” …. Maybe I out to burn a flag tomorrow… it will make me feel better.
Ugh… I want to vomit.
Yeah, I think there is an “agenda” … an “agenda of ignorance and people w/ too much time on their hands”.
Like AdviceGiver used to say: “Thank you, I love you”
Yes they are. I want to see the knowledge of cultural differences for the holidays spread – not covered over…
I wouldnt see why.. it’s a christian holiday.. o.0
There is for a lot of people. It’s sad! I love Christmas. I love everything about it from the story of baby Jesus to the eginning of Santa to all the other little stories in between. I’m sick of people trying to take awa our beliefs. We don’t jack with theirs!
Good morning Dan!
I do remember when I was growing up, I used to hear “Merry Christmas” all the time during the holiday season. Nowadays, I almost never hear “Merry Christmas” but “Happy Holidays” instead. So maybe Bill Oreilly could be onto something…
Yes there is. And it really bothers me. Christmas has been around for 2,000 years. It’s a Christian holiday. You don’t see anyone trying to change the name of Yom Kippur.
James Dobson was just recently discussing the same issue. He specifically mentioned Lord & Taylors and Target. Targets big bro-ha-ha last year was refusing the Salvation Army bell ringers. Although, it is rumored that they made a one million dollar contribution to the Salvation Army instead.
If we’re going to take the message of Christmas out of the holidays, let just treat the season like any other. On paid vacation or time off if it’s really just another day …. tongue in cheek.
I think everything is headed that way… don’t you?
No, but I wouldn’t argue if they did. Each family/person has the right to celebrate it however they wish, be it religious or not. I’m sure the religious can tolerate not being reminded of the religious significance every time they step out the door, but agnostics/atheists would go albsolutely nuts if the focus was on the religious side. If you want to focus on the religion, good for you, but not everyone does.
On another note, how big a deal is ramadan in the states? Here everything goes out of whack for a month every year, i guess as christmas is there. Yet here (a muslim nation), they still have christmas trees up in the department stores, and I was surprised to see some hanukah stuff up and about, although this is much rarer. If they are going to make a deal out of christmas, shouldn’t they make a deal out of every major religious event through the year?
yep. whole-heartedly. maybe not a specific “no-more-’merry christmasing’” club, but people are definitely being bothered by us saying ‘merry christmas’. i recently took a quiz just for the fun of it on the internet. and one of the questions was “list 5 items on your holiday wish list.” i was like, “on my ‘holiday’ wishlist”?! it really bothers me how everyone is allowed to say “happy hanaukah” (i dont know how to spell that, sorry) and merry kitzal or whatever, but noone is allowed to say merry christmas anymore. i work at mcdonald’s, and i’m almost positive i have to say “happy holidays” to the customers. i havent really said anything yet. but i have decided that if i’m not allowed to say “merry christmas” to people, then i’m just going to stick to “have a nice day”. lol taking Christ out of christmas is like taking “we the people” out of the Declaration of Independence–it doesnt work. sadly, it will happen…eventually. and soon.
I totally Posted about this, fucker.
Yes, I said “totally.” Because I can!
I think the real issue is that we have totally forgotten what Christmas symbolizes (whether you are a Christian or not) – the gifts of LOVE and FORGIVENESS that we should all be sharing . Not going out and frantically buying loads of crap that we can’t afford jsut to “keep up.” The use of the term “Happy Holidays” is not to so much take Christ out of Christmas but to market to a larger shopping demographic.
How sad……………
No. It’s absurd. There is an “agenda” to try to be inclusive instead of exclusive during the holday season. (Yes – I did say holiday season!) I believe retailers might be going a bit too far, but they mean well so I don’t see what the big deal is.
It should be pointed out to these yahoos that to be greeted with Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings does not take anything away from you if the holiday you celebrate happens to be Christmas! Nor does it take anything away from folks who celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanza, Yule or don’t celebrate anything at all! Get it? Inclusive not exclusive!
Out of all the things to have an agenda about, would you seriously have an anti-Christmas agenda when you could be doing other things like putting the needs of the country in general over a day in the calendar?
No I don’t think so but if there happens to be one, it wouldn’t suprise me. It would be disappointing for you could be doing something actually worth mentioning but wouldn’t shock me.
Yes, they don’t want to offend anyone, but it seems so pointless in the long run.
come to my xanga to talk about films
and i agree
All the idiots who believe that Jesus of Nazareth was born on December 25, please raise yuour hands.
He WASN’T, you know??
The key word in Christmas is Christ. People do not want to say “Christmas” because then they must acknowledge Jesus Christ, for whom the holiday is named. It’s subtle blasphemy.
maybe not necessarily anti christmas agenda .. but more so a different approach to the promotional profitable gain and media propogandas…
Sort of. A little. Yeah.
We had to make holiday cards in school and they wouldn’t let us do anything that had to do with a holiday. It just had to be “Happy holidays” without us being specific. And this one girl got a picture offline of Rockefeller Center’s Christmas tree and they were really annoyed.
(I hope I spelled Rockefeller right ha)
I agree with milesneedisaymore–Bill O’Reilly is not a credible commentator.
Yeah, basically.
LOVE the new pic, by the way.
You inspired a blog post!
i honestly dont care
i dont know why the big deal
they just dont want to hurt peoples feelings
when they wouldnt have in the first place
the stores are just trying to accomidate to everyone and politics are making a huge deal out of it
like having ‘under god’ in the pledge at schools
i honestly dont care
i dont know why the big deal
they just dont want to hurt peoples feelings
when they wouldnt have in the first place
the stores are just trying to accomidate to everyone and politics are making a huge deal out of it
like having ‘under god’ in the pledge at schools
It’s simply capitalism at its greatest — appeal to as many buyers as possibly to make the most money possible. Which, let’s face it, Walmart must be doing it right if they are able to continue to make so much money.
like as in making it not religious by taking ‘christ’ out of the word? that would not be a bad thing or a good thing.
but i don’t think it’s happening…?
Yes I agreee with O’Reilly
What about Hanukah Harry?
He felt left out.
Without Christ there would be no Christmas, and then no holiday.
There is a reason behind every holiday we have. Without a reason, there would be no need for that holiday. Poor, lazy people don’t like the word labor, and neither do pregnant women, so why don’t they fight against Labor Day? Sounds rediculous doesn’t it?
Its ok to not like something, and it’s ok to believe in a different religion than the majority of a country. But rather than making them suffer by making it hard for them to freely celebrate part of their religion, why don’t you push to have a holidy for your religion. Instead of taking everything away from Christains, why don’t we add things for other religions.
These people are going to the wrong extreme to get their freedom, and by doing it they are taking away the freedoms of others.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to some of you. To everyone else, MERRY (enter your holiday here).
I really don’t see it as trying to remove Christmas, but more like trying to include the other holidays (Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Boxing Day for all you Canadians). I do wonder how many people that go around saying “Happy Holidays” know when the other holidays (beside Christmas) are.
No.
There is more then one holiday around this time.
Happy holidays is fine because there are different religions out there celebrating holidays.
Maybe the stores are trying to open themselves up to different people.
Me
People who are trying to appeal to a large audience might say Happy Holidays because they know that not everybody is Christian, but have you looked at the number of churches around here? (We have an up-and-coming mega church down the street from my school.) Christmas isn’t going anywhere.
Despite what some people think, your religion does not have to be EVERYWHERE. Retailers aim to make money. Money is a secular aspiration. Is it any wonder that they don’t give their utmost regard to religion? Is it any wonder that they try to appeal to the largest possible audience by using the inclusive phrase “Happy Holidays?” In your church, I’m sure they say Merry Christmas and not Happy Holidays. That’s a place just for your beliefs. A store isn’t.
However, some places have taken it a little too far. Such as barring nativity scenes from public display while allowing other religious symbols from other religions. That’s unfair.
Psst… turn on your TVs. Disney channel? Christmas is all over the place. If you don’t want it to be associated with Santa Claus/having to buy a lot of toys then stop lying to your kids and tell them what Christmas is really about. Don’t blame the companies for commercializing Christmas. You’re the ones who are buying into it. Just because they’re selling doesn’t mean you have to buy.
Noooo!
Definitely. The attack on the religious nature of Christmas is very strong this year.
Melissa
my opinion…yes…but I don’t think it’s all about political correctness, though I’m sure that plays a significant role in it.
i think thats people should say what they want and not worry about what other religious groups have to say because this was our country first!
Of course there is an agenda. Where I work it was always Christmas Party, Christmas Tree, Christmas Holidays until one employee who was not a Christian complained about it. So it was changed for this one employee to Holiday Party, Holiday Tree. It is always the Christians who tolerate everyone else. Where I work I can safely say the vast majority are Christians. Yet, management let one employee kick Christmas out and put Holiday in, and no one complained. Yes, they grumbled to their co-workers about it, but no one went to management and said, hey this isn’t right. This is going on everywhere in the US. The liberal courts have kicked nativity scenes out of public places and public grounds unless there is Santa there and every ringading religion that has ever been thought up. Christmas is about Christ. It has been hijacked by secularists, humanists and atheists. Merry Christmas!
No and if there was I wouldn’t care.
People are stupid and horribly paranoid.
Blegh…
I think everyone’s just trying to be politically correct to make money. A lot of people celebrate “the holiday season”, so retailers best bet is to not offend anyone.
Uh, we do know that Christmas is a pagan holiday that used to celebrate the birthday of the sun god. See the commandments if you’re not sure about how God feels about other gods. However, thanks to the Roman Church want to convert the Gentiles they changed it to be the festival of the son of god (not sun god). They can do that you know. Anyway, Jesus may actually have been born in the Fall. Who knew? All that said, I do thoroughly enjoy Christmas, I love trees and rockefeller center, mistletoe, Sinatra’s christmas songs and family and funny christmas movies, Frosty the Snowman, the empire state building in green and red, wreaths, etc. Do I care if they changed the meaning? I think that’s already been done.
with all due respect,
No.
A more pressing question is why do people believe Bill O’Reilly at all?
I seems that it has been around a long time. The term “ Xmas” has been used for years. I am secular in my beliefs how ever I believe that each person my chose what they chose to call their Holiday. I have no right to deem them incorrect. I strongly believe in the seperation of Church and State. History has shown us what happens when a belief come a controling body. It has always been, except for a few cultures. that when they do the people that do not belive as they do are mistreated, even killed. Christmas is Christmas, Easter is Easter, Chanukak is Chanukak and what ever the Muslum call their Holidays is what they call then. However, as a person that is able to say what I think (with in reason) I may chose to say Happy Holidays to include them all even those I do not celabrate. Or I may say Merry Christmas, it depend on who I am talking with. It is my opinion that people have become so wierd that they must have their way with things even if others do not want it that way. Faith is wonderful, however, religon as defined by Christian, Jewish or Mulsum are the reason to commit the worst crimes agaist people: for how can you be wrong if GOD says it. I ask to whom is he saying it. Not Me!!! People are letting slip away the fact that we can celabrate as we like in a free society. Now having said that , I think that the “News” picks items that they know will cause thing to stir up problems with some people and then they play on thase people. Dr Hawk
As once was said; If there is no news make it.
Well stores and businesses say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” in order to include all cultures and their ways of celebrating the holidays (if they do) but with my experience, the everything around here only have Christmas themed things. Red and green wrapping paper, christmas trees, ornaments, red and green candles, I’m looking for things for Haunakah (I KNOW I spelled that wrong
) but yeah, my search has yielded minimal results.
I’ve reached that apathetic point at which the world can do what they please, I’m still celebrating the birth of Christ on Christmas.
christmas letters on xanga, you should write one, check out my site for more on the idea.
yes. people in stores now say “happy holidays” instead. this maybe be for political correctness, but it’s the same thing. Christmas is to celebrate Jesus birth, so it’s CHRISTmas. we cannot be politically correct if it comprimises something of greater value
Yes, but you can’t take the meaning away from Christmas. It’s a celebration of the birth of Christ and if you have a problem with that, then you can take down your Christmas tree, your decorations, and sulk.
why should christmas not b part of christmas…that doesnt even make sense…without jesus there would b no christmas…but even people who do not believe in jesus still celebrate it…what confuses me is why do they do that?…is it because of the presents. we should be celebrating christmas because its jesus’ birthday.
I like Merry Christmas and Happy Hollidays. Best yet Happy New Year, 2005 hasnt been great lets all root for a fabulous 2006
no i just think that it should better represent this country…which is a HUGE melting pot of cultures religions and whatnot…plus i think o’reilly is a dumbass
ive heard that they are trying to take the christ out of christmas which i dont see how they can since the true point is the birth of jesus christ.
whoa.
i dont understand the question but why would you Take Christ outta Christmas.
Christmas is all about the Birth of Jesus.
so now they are trying to take Religion out of a religous holiday.
if you dont believe in Christ Sucks for you.
God is everywhere.
Deal with it.
Christmas is still gonna be about God for Christians and if NON believers dont want it to be about God then they should get over it.
CHRISTmas
duh.
<3
YES!! I can’t believe it is happening….it sux, but Christmas is getting a beating…..I could rant and rant about it, but this is only a comment…..To those who believe in political correctness: Get a friggin’ grip and stop bein’ scared of your own shadow let alone the holidays!!! To those who are seeing this happen, but denying it: Get a friggin’ backbone and stop letting them (liberal yahoos) take our Savior out of Christmas!! There wouldn’t even be a Christmas if it weren’t for Him in the first place!!! So while we go out and max out our credit cards to death buying presents, how about sendin’ some lovin’ to the one responsible for it all?!? Anyway….yeah…..Merry Christmas!! Cheers!
megan
Not necessarily… but even if so, it would never work. Who really gives a crap about Chanukkah? And Kwanzaa? As if… Some crazy holiday invented by a crazy black guy in the 1960s…
No I don’t..
I think that stores such as Target are just trying to get more business by using happy holidays instead. It gets them more business because then people who celebrate hannukah and kwanza (sorry for any mis spelling) will shop there because they don’t feel as if they are being discriminated against because of what they celebrate…
people will celebrate it no matter what. i’m an athiest and christmas is my 2nd favorite holiday.
hhmm.. no bcause merry christmas sounds better thn christmas lol i still like your site lol
From what I’ve seen they’re not just hitting the Christ part of Christmas, but the whole blooming holiday. There are some people that even want the secular parts of the holiday removed in favor of a generic non-specific inoffensive holiday. There’s a minority of people who get their panties in a wad because a majority of people celebrate something they don’t. I’m sick of the apathy and fear that’s causing people to give into this minority. People do, say, and believe things every day that I don’t agree with and that offend me. Never have I ever considered suing those people or taking away their rights to what they believe/say/do. Maybe I should give it a try!
PS: C.S. Lewis is awesome! I’ve read the complete Chronicles of Narnia (including The Magician’s Nephew) and The Screwtape Letters. Do you recomend any others?
One of my thoughts on this issue is that the people who want to take Christ out of Christmas do so because so many Christians have made Christ into a quite offensive figure.
It’s a possibility. The holiday has lost its true meaning, unfortunately. Everyone celebrates it now, even those who don’t believe in Christ.
I don’t think so Dan. But even if they successfully took the word “Christmas” out, it still doesn’t take Christmas out of hearts of those who know that Christ is still the reason for the season. In this particular case, the word Christmas or Hanukkah, or Kwanza… are just sign posts and not that important. The meanings behind these celebrations still remain and they are important.
I think retail companies just wanted to attract all types of customers shoping all kinds of holiday reasons for the season. They want to sell.
I think people are way too sensitive and want to make “issues” out of every little thing.
Yes, we are approaching the begining of the end, these things MUST happen and they are only going to get worse. –
Oh, I know, ppl have been talking of the return of the Messiah since Jesus death and ressurection, however the signs of the time show it is upon us! 
We are moving toward a one world government and a one world religion which will usher in the antiChrist which means no one will be able to buy or sell w/out taking the number of the beast….
…it is quickly approaching…the end of the begining!
<><
Has Bill O’Reilly looked around lately? Newsflash – not everyone in America celebrates Christmas anymore! You can’t blame corporate America from wanting to make a non-discrimatory equal opportunity buck off of anyone and all. Well, you can, but that’s probably another blog question….
I dont think there is an agenda to get rid of Christmas. I do think though that people are just forgetting the true meaning of Christmas or Hanaukkah. People spend lots of time on shopping and baking and whatever and they forget the important stuff like Christ’s birth and family, giving, and peace.
Now there is an agenda to get God out of other places. But we are not talking about that.
not an “agenda” per se, although Christmas was placed here by the early church fathers specifically to coincide with the holidays of other major religions — they should all be allowed to celebrate equally.
if anything, saying something like that would indicate a “pro-Christian agenda!”
What’s wrong with “Happy Holidays” in the first place? And it isn’t like it’s some ploy to distinguish Christianity, considering Christmas began as a Pagan holiday and in truth has nothing to do (and is not) the birthday of Jesus. For those of you who think I’m crazy, just do a little research.
Nope… it’s much more than that, an attempt to take the name “Christ” out of public awareness. I mean, really, folks… “X”-mas?
yes its a conspiracy
I think people just like to complain and whine about what’s politically correct. How about the fact that this country was founded on Christian beliefs? How about the fact that without CHRISTMAS being such a major holiday and the biggest shopping season of the year, those certain RETAIL CHAINS wouldn’t take away as much of a profit at the end of year, not to mention all the extra jobs that are handed out during this season to keep stores fully staffed 24/7. People need to stop their incessant need to find things to criticize and realize, no is forcing you to be a Christian just because someone says, “Merry Christmas!”
Yes. It’s all, “Happy Holidays.” These stores would not be making money if it was not for CHRISTmas.
Please don’t start on Bill, Dan- you know I love him!
((( GRANDMA HUGS )))
Lori
I absolutely agree. People don’t see that the only reason we have Christmas is because it’s CHRISTmas. I don’t know why people are trying to be so politically correct and so unoffensive that they kind of just sweep the reason we have Christmas under the rug.
I mean.. the next thing they’ll do is turn on Saint Patrick’s day and take off the saint (b/c, you know, not all religions believe in saints)
eesh. what is this world coming to.
I’m not truthfully sure what their agenda on Christmas is.
Yes. ACLU would love it to dissapear. Political correctness applies to everyone except Christians for the most part.
yes- the name of God is being removed from public life bit by bit
Yeah…but Im a Christian and I really don’t care. It doesn’t suprise me at the least…its not like these corporations are using Christian ethics anyways, so what’s the big deal? I worship Christ every day and I don’t need a holiday to remind me of him or what he did for me…neither should any other Christian. But if anyone is complaining its usually those who have that common, social view of what Christmas and Christianity is…the secularized versions that worships materialism and culture over Christ, while adding the label Christ to help them ‘feel’ better about what they are really doing.
thats an interesting question. I guess you will never be able to separate the two. ‘holidays’ and ‘christmas’ are so synomynous. Like ‘Easter’ is to ‘spring break’ I think what is truly forgotten what Christmas means to christians. Christmas is great for the kids but i thin it should be equally important to teach what christmas is all about.
Yes, damn communists.
I don’t get it Theo… the retailers are showing on television christmas season sales to the point of puking and chocking the dog… and yet Target won’t allow the Salvation Army “ringers” to ring and ask for donations, and walmart, k-mart and other discounted stores can’t say “merry christmas” to the customers. That’s crazy… we can’t say merry christmas, and care about the poor but yet we have 0 interest until 2008 on some stores… Bullshit…
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
When I worked at walmart I spent a lot of time answering phones. This time of year I always answered them by saying “happy holidays”, not because I was told to, but because there are lots of holidays this time of year that lots of customers celebrate; Christmas, Hannakah, Kwanza, and New Years. I didn’t think just because I’m a Christian I have to ignore the fact that there are other holidays all within a few weeks of each other.
Now, when I send out Christmas cards, they are religious, because I want people to know why I celebrate. And I think calling Christmas trees “holiday trees” is rediculous because no other holiday uses trees like that. But do I think its wrong of stores to say the words “happy holidays”? No.
aren’t there so many other things he can be doing to actually help the world? sheesh. and i think that happy holidays is to be more inclusive. many world religions celebrate major holidays over this period of time. and since we live in an ever increasingly pluralistic society, our language is evolving to match our environment.
yes. and this isn’t the first year, it’s been going on for a while, people just haven’t been paying much attention.
;o) Stephanie
I think that all this political correctness is a buch of garbage. If you get offended by something that somebody else says, then STOP LISTENING TO THEM!!!! Its not hard to not get offended. I hear things all the time that any other person would get offended by. I got harassed constantly during the first year and a half of high school. By the time my senior year came around, only one person harrassed me, and I think that was more pure habit that actually trying to offend me. People stopped harassing me when I stopped getting offended. Same basic principle. So I say, to heck with political correctness, lets just stop taking offense at things others say. If you say Happy Holidays, Happy Haunakah(I KNOW that ain’t spelled right), Merry Christmas, or Happy Kwansaa, I could care less. I say Merry Christmas, cause thats what I celebrate. But I respect others by saying the appropriate greeting to them.
Maybe. Maybe even likely. Likely there are other reasons. Retailers care about selling products, and if they seem to be focusing on one group only, others will avoid the products. Then, there are of course those who will use that for their own agenda.
But they aren’t going to change the fact that Jesus Christ was born, was raised from the dead, and I don’t really see why people make a political firestorm out of it. Christians can continue to maintain a personal relationship with the Risen Lord of Glory regardless of whether the secular sector goes along or not, and we can certainly continue to worship and celebrate His birth. It does not require all the secular trimmings to celebrate Christmas. In fact, I think it would do every Christian a lot of good to spend one year ignoring the materialistic, profit-driven end of Christmas altogether and focus on what Christmas is really all about.
oh, for sure!
I guess people do rather say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas these days…
I think it’s so stupid how people don’t use the word christmas!
There’s even people saying they should call the christmas tree the holiday tree! It pisses me off sooooo much! Because the christmas holiday was built on christianity not presents and shit. and they only reason people want the christmas word gone is cuz it has the word christ in it. It’s like changing a religious holiday just for the non-christians. but if they dont like it-tough! we should not change a religious holiday for non believers because they dont even celebrated the holiday for what it does and always did stand for!
i just think that its not christmas its everything they can make money on, money sucks the life out of any thing be it religious or not. I think if there was a way to market Martin Luther King Day as a way to sell things they would do it
its about the bottom dollar not who gets used in the process, thats why they are being politically correct, its just a way to sell things they dont care
on one side, shouldnt the true meaning of christmas be ok with being separate from the rampant materialism.
Christmas was really never to be the sales booster for the economy. If true christmas is left to celebrate the birth of christ, at home, with family, and friends, and at church, would it be so bad? I dont need Target and Walmart selling Jesus. Happy Holidays is just fine at the store, but let Chritmas be cherished at home and places of worship.
and on another side, Christmas was artificially placed on Dec 25 in the first place, to take away the celebration of a pagan holiday, so it had an agenda to take over something else too. And there are other holidays celebrated, and Happy Holidays wishes good times to all, however one celebrates!
If you take Christ out of the mass or remove Christ then remove mas(s) – what do you have? Pine needles clogging my sweeper.
prob not
It seems that people think it is more important to be politically correct and not offend anyone than for one to express individuality and freedom. We are so worried about offending others that we are diluting everything we stand for. This is the road to destruction. If you cannot express your beliefs, where will the Truth take us? If we are not allowed to speak it, will anyone believe it?
>Ariana
yes and it stinks