Are you offended by 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry Christmas'? (Freep this poll)

South Florida Sun-Sentinel ^

[ConservativeStatement]

What do you think?

Are you offended by 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry Christmas'?

[The_Reader_David]

You may want to rethink considering Xmas as secular and Christmas as Christian.

That “X” isn’t an ex, it’a a chi, the first letter of Xristos, the original Greek word for Christ from which the English Christ, the Latin Christus, and so forth are derived.

As to “Happy Holidays”, notice it’s plural: Christmas and New Years if you’re a Christian (or, when said early or when Hanukkah falls late Hanukkah and New Years if you’re Jewish).

It’s not a replacement for “Merry Christmas”, it’s a replacement for “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”, which is rather long.

[Tanniker Smith]

Btw, I still fondly recall the last day in the office before the Christmas break, and everyone wishing everyone else a Merry Christmas, but when they past Claire's office on the way out, they were all "sensitive" enough to wish her a "Happy Holiday", and she graciously said "Thank you" and "And you, too." with a smile.

And when I passed by, I said, "Have a good weekend." And she laughed and said, "you, too."
Because Channukah had been two weeks earlier. When I had wished her a "Happy Channukah".

[Joe Boucher]

I remember doing just that once at the Hollywood Bowl.
WOW.

[libertarian27]

People started saying ‘Have a Happy Holiday’ right before Thanksgiving - it’s Thanksgiving not ‘Happy Holiday’

Are all these days going to end up being just ‘Bankers Holidays’?

I used to say “Happy Day Off” to a Jehovah Witness co-worker because she was offended by any religious celebration term- but this ‘Holiday’ generalization is getting a bit much...

[ari-freedom]

The computer people know that X stands for cross. For example, XPCOM (in Mozilla) stands for Cross Platform Component Object Model

[allmendream]

I refer to X-mas as the secular version because of an episode of “Futurama” where when Frye said “Christmas” they said “He must be using an archaic form of the word”.

My point, no matter what you want to call it, is that most secular Americans, and certainly our retail outlets, celebrate YULE, not Christ-Mass.

And New Years is not exactly a Holy-day = Holiday. At least not for those who don't blow the ram's horn.

[stuartcr]

Not in the least offended. I greet the way I want to, others the way they want to.

[Salvation]

[Salvation]

When I was shopping before Thanksgiving, a clerk voiced, “Happy Holidays” to me.

My response was to say, “No, I dodn’t do holidays — I do Thanksgiving and Christmas, SO Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to you, too.”

She was speechless! LOL!

We need to speak up all the time to these people who are trying to be politically correct. If it happens again in the same store, I will tell them that until the can greet me with “Merry Christmas” I will no longer shop in their store.

[Salvation]

Oops

dodn’t = don’t

[reagan_fanatic]

I work in a customer-service related field, and I can tell you that I have spoken with MANY people who are disgusted with ‘Happy Holidays’. Not a single one has voiced their approval of it.

I also do my company’s website, and one year I made the mistake of putting a Happy Holidays banner on the main page. Boy, did I catch holy hell for that one.

[The_Reader_David]

Oh? January 1 is the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, and the Feast of St. Basil the Great. We Orthodox tend to have Liturgies to celebrate it. Of course, there’s also Theophany (a.k.a. Epiphany) on January 6 to round out the Holidays.

Actually Yule and Yuletide are good names for the secular festival since secular, despite its pretenses to “reason” is really re-paganized.

[Starstruck]

Agree

[allmendream]

And do most secular Americans, while getting drunk amid the revelry of the New Year, spare even a THOUGHT for the circumcision of the Christ, or even know who St. Basil the Great is?

Yes, modern day X-mas celebrations are re-paganized secular Yule celebrations, by in large.

As such I could care less for the false piety of commerce, and even less for those who seek to DEMAND that their particular religious observances be acknowledged before they spend their money on Yule gifts like video games where you can kill electronic “people” on the day of the birth of our Lord.

[allmendream]

+1. Couldn’t agree more.

[mrmeyer]

I had to do the same this weekend after putting some money into a Salvation Army kettle. The girl said, “Happy Holidays.” I replied, “And Merry Christmas to you too.”

[murron]

Here’s the absurdity of Happy Holidays. I only hear it used for a Christmas greeting. I still hear Happy Hannukah and Happy Kwanza. Also, many times, Hannukah is over before Christmas and Kwanzaa doesn’t begin until after Christmas, so the only holiday remaining is Christmas. And, yes, I am offended when I hear Happy Holidays.

[murron]

I just heard that Hannukah begins this Wednesday, so it will be over way before Christmas. What other holiday is left?

[SandRat]

Are you offended by ‘happy holidays’ instead of ‘merry Christmas’?

Yes. The name of the holiday is “Christmas,” not “holiday.” We need to put Christ back in Christmas, despite all the people and media who want to take it away. (2153 responses)

78%

No. We are a multi-cultural society which celebrates many different holidays at that time of the year. There is no offense intended when you tell someone “Happy Holidays.” (304 responses)

11%

People who are very offended by “Happy Holidays” really need to chill. (312 responses)

11%

2769 total responses

(Results not scientific)

[surfer]

pretty much at this point everything offends me...