'Holiday' Out, 'Winter Celebration' In at U of M (Minnesota)

kstp ^ | 12-9-11 | joe mazan

[WOBBLY BOB]

The University of Minnesota sent employees its seasonal celebration guidelines for office activities. The school recommends using "winter celebration" as terminology instead of "holiday party." Also they say to keep decorations, music, and food general, not specific to any religion. The University says the policy mirrors federal guidelines.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Please accept without obligation, explicit or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, politically correct, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practice of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions.

Please also accept, under aforesaid waiver of obligation on your part, our best wishes for a financially successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of this calendar year of the Common Era, but with due respect for the calendars of all cultures or sects, and for the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform or dietary preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting you acknowledge that:

This greeting is subject to further clarification or withdrawal at the wishor's discretion.

This greeting is freely transferable provided that no alteration shall be made to the original greeting and that the proprietary rights of the wishor are acknowledged.

This greeting implies no warranty on the part of the wishors to fulfill these wishes, nor any ability of the wishors to do so, merely a beneficent hope on the part of the wishors that they in fact occur.

This greeting may not be enforceable in certain jurisdictions and/or the restrictions herein may not be binding upon certain wishees in certain jurisdictions and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wishors.

This greeting is warranted to perform as reasonably may be expected within the usual application of good tidings, for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first.

The wishor warrants this greeting only for the limited replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wishor.

Any references in this greeting to "the Lord", "Father Christmas", "Our Saviour", or any other festive figures, whether actual or fictitious, dead or alive, shall not imply any endorsement by or from them in respect of this greeting, and all proprietary rights in any referenced third party names and images are hereby acknowledged.

Sincerely,

WB

[Da Coyote]

Shove it, feds.

Up your smelly Obamas.

[Jack Hydrazine]

‘The school recommends using “winter celebration” as terminology instead of “holiday party.”’

Because the word ‘holiday’ comes from the Middle or Old English words ‘holy’ and ‘day’ which points right to religion. We can’t have that now, can we?

[WOBBLY BOB]

feliz naviblah!

[cld51860]

Any time I hear secularist garbage like this, I can’t help but think they are trying to get us back to some kind of paganism. “Winter festival??” For God’s sake, what is wrong with them? And these are the people that are constantly accusing conservatives for being “backwards.” Seems to me like it is the other way around.

[WOBBLY BOB]

71% of Americans celebrate Christmas as a holy day
More Americans than ever say they celebrate the upcoming holiday of Christmas as a religious one.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 88% of American Adults say they celebrate Christmas, and 81% of this group celebrate it as a religious holiday. Just 16% of those celebrants regard it as a secular holiday.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/holidays/december_2011/81_who_celebrate_christmas_celebrate_as_a_religious_holiday

North Korea and the U of M are deeply saddened.

[CrappieLuck]

well now, wouldn’t “winter celebration” be partial to Pagans?

If it mirrors federal guidelines, it would be called “Christmas”, as the Federal Holiday is recognized.

[Cato in PA]

Step by step, the secularists march on. First “Christmas” is too offensive, so we have to replace it with “holiday.” Over time, that too becomes offensive, so we have to replace it with “winter.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if they started going after Santa in a few years. I can see the talking points now: “Oh, Santa isn’t real anyway. No sense in misleading the poor children.”

I wish I were joking. Who could ever be offended by Santa, right? Well, I imagine people used to say the same thing about nativity scenes.

[boop]

Winter Celebration? Who the hell celebrates Winter? I can't imagine even ancient religions celebrating a time of year where everything is dead, and you're cold and starving. Fall and spring celebrations make some sense. Nobody thinks "winter" is a great time of year worthy of celebration.

And what EXACTLY would be secular food and drinks? Um here's your cookie. I know it's in the shape of a pine tree, but that's all it is, ya know, because who doesn't love pine trees for no apparent reason?

[MplsSteve]

WELCOME TO FREE REPUBLIC’S MINNESOTA PING LIST!

148 MEMBERS AND GROWING...!

FREEPMAIL ME IF YOU WANT ON OR OFF THIS LIST!

[WOBBLY BOB]

Cancer center’s Santa gets boot

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2808592/posts

[rcrngroup]

I respond to the Happy Holidays greetings or some bland greeting with a cheery “Yes, Happy Jesus Birthday to you”! Especially if I know the recipient is demoRAT, unbelieving, socialist RAT pig. Kind of like 0dumb0!

[scrabblehack]

Here’s some federal guidelines for you. 5 U.S.C. 6103:

(a) The following are legal public holidays:
New Year’s Day, January 1.
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January.
Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February.
Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.
Independence Day, July 4.
Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
Columbus Day, the second Monday in October.
Veterans Day, November 11.
Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.
Christmas Day, December 25.

[Cato in PA]

Why, all we have to do is make the cookies amorphous, shapeless blobs - kind of like modern art, no?

[Cato in PA]

I put a “Happy Birthday Jesus” bumper sticker on my car this year just to piss liberals off.

[narses]

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[massmike]

[rcrngroup]

I put a “Happy Birthday Jesus” bumper sticker on my car this year just to piss liberals off.

Good for you. There's nothing that brings a smile to my face any faster than an unhinged liberal! They are truly of their father, Satan, who is the great deceiver & father of all lies. That's why 0dumb0 & the demoRATs & liberals are pathological liars. They are of their father, the Devil.

[boop]

I used to work with a group that had several Jewish members. They had no problems working Christmas or Easter, and I had no problems working on their holy days. Why? Because they appreciated it and so did I. Everyone was happy.

I don't get the bitching from athiests. If Christmas is something you don't believe in, why not work on that day and make time and a half? Or double time? I knew a nurse who was a Christian, but they needed staffing badly for Christmas day at the hospital. She finally gave in when she requested triple pay, and they "agreed" to double time and a half. And she was still home by 7pm.

[MNnice]

I like to ask my secular humanist friends, “Name another religious figure who’s birthday is a national holiday.”