Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Happy Day!

To all my Christian friends, a sincere Merry Christmas! And to everyone else, have a happy eat-Chinese-food day!

I'm coming home tomorrow. Though things leveled out over the past few days, I still can't wait for this trip to end. Get me out of here!

3 comments:

Jack said...

It's worth noting that there are many non-Christians that celebrate Christmas as a non-religious cultural holiday.

:-)

Anonymous said...

I remember when saying "Merry Christmas" was ok to say, not this "Happy Holidays" crap. It is what it is.... and I have gone back to saying "Merry Chritmas" I do not believe we should be afraid to wish glad tidings to others whether they are christian or not. I would not hesitate to say "Happy Hannuka" back to a jewish friend if he wished me that. We have become a nation very cautious not to offend others and it is this that divides us as a nation. This nation was founded on christian values and traditions but built to respect all other religions. But when we cannot wish each other a simple Merry Christmas because it offends other religions it tears down those values this country was built on. It is the same values that allows other religions to thrive in this country that is being under attack ... how ironic.

PG said...

anonymous,

What's your problem with "happy holidays"? Why does the phrase strike you as "crap"? Certainly it is non-specific, but I find it improbable that you or any of the others who loathe the phrase are so absolutely devoted to precision in speaking otherwise.
I quite like "happy holidays" -- it covers the whole range from Eid to Twelfth Night, and is typical of the United States of America, an inclusive nation that does not stress itself out over specifics. If you want to go back to the founding Christian values of this nation, you'd better tear down your Christmas decorations and burn them as the Puritans would have done had they found you with them. Talk about irony -- the Christians who make the most noise today are the ones most removed from the Biblical precept not to pray in public as the hypocrites do, as well as the literal knowledge of Christ's birth, which did not occur in winter.

It is not a Christian value to let other religions thrive. Christianity (unlike, say, Hinduism) is not inherently ecumenical. It is a fundamental tenet of the religion that those who do not accept Jesus Christ as savior are doomed to hell. You're terribly ignorant of the real history of America if you think Christianity is all about tolerance for other religions. Puritans came here to escape persecution in England, as did Quakers and Catholics. That's Mass., Penn and Maryland. The Puritans then took up persecuting others, which is how we got Rhode Island established as a haven from Mass. If this is your idea of a history of religious tolerance, no wonder you think that wishing others a "Merry Christmas" is somehow disallowed. Wish people all the Merry Christmases you want, just don't expect them to mimic your words back to you as you would like.