Happy Holidays

[once a runner]

Here I am in Walmart looking at Christmas CD's and there is a CD by 2 rather famous singers (Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby) and the title is "Happy Holidays". I guess these 2 commie pinkos were way ahead of their time by trying to take Christmas away from us!

Seriously, what is the big deal with saying "Happy Holidays"? I've been saying it for years. It's usually used as a quick way of saying "Merry Christmas and Happy New Years". Since the holidays are so close together, it's often used to lump them together.

Now, let's say that storeowners do it to attract more business. I fail to see what is wrong with that. I doubt I would worry about that in this part of the country as most everyone is a Christian. However, if I'm in NYC I want to include the Jewish and black customers. If I can increase business by saying "Happy Holidays" instead of just "Merry Christmas", I'm going to do it. It's not disrespectful to Christianity to include those celebrating Hanukkah and Kwanza. They legitimately have holidays that coincide with Christmas.

[LionPride]

I don't have a problem with the phrase "Happy Holidays". And to think that this is what all that is about, you're mistaken.

It's about organizations purposely eliminating the phrase "Merry Christmas", and taking disciplinary action against employees for using it.

Although, I was surprised, and pleased, that I stopped in the Altoona Target the other day and the cashier greeted me with Merry Christmas.

Read an interesting opinion in the Gazette last night. Can't remember the fellow's name, but the origin of the word Holiday is "Holy Day". So, as he said in his opinion, Happy HOLY Day to all!

[CITYBOY]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!!!!

[LionPride]

Here are some examples of what the far left liberals are attempting. Read them and come to your own conclusions:

A recent event at the Lakehoma Elementary School in Mustang, Oklahoma, which made national headlines, illustrates the problem. The School Superintendent censored the children’s play by removing all references, including secular ones. The children were not even allowed to say “Merry Christmas.” However, references to Hanukah and Kwanzaa were left in the play.
• A fourth-grader in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, was prohibited from handing out religious Christmas cards to classmates.

• Two middle school students in Rochester, Minnesota, were disciplined for wearing red and green scarves in a Christmas skit and for ending the skit by saying, "We hope you all have a merry Christmas."

• A Frederick County school employee was told by an administrator that employees would be prohibited from handing out Christmas cards in the school because cards with a Christian message "may not be a legally protected right on a public school campus."

• Two ninth-graders in Plymouth, Massachusetts, were told they could not create Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas" or depict a nativity scene.

• A teacher in Plymouth, Illinois, was warned by her principal not to read a book about Christmas to her second-grade students. The book was in the school's library.

• The superintendent of the Silverton, Oregon, school district had students remove all "religious" holiday decorations from their lockers but allowed secular decorations.

• The county school board in Covington, Georgia, deleted the word "Christmas" from the school calendar after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened legal action.

• New York public schools allow the display of the Jewish menorah and the Muslim star and crescent, but not the Christian nativity.

• Fran Levy, principal of the Thomas Jefferson Magnet School in Flushing, New York, issued a memo on Nov. 30 in which she urged teachers to "bring in Muslim, Kwanzaa, and Jewish secular symbols. I would like to display these religious symbols equally," she said. Apparently this “educator” doesn’t know that Kwanzaa is a not a religious holiday.
http://www.conservativetruth.org/article.php?id=2673

[hr]
When a local school multicultural committee in PENNSYLVANIA set up a holiday display that included a crèche (http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/c1/creche.asp), a menorah, and a Kwanzaa scene, the principal demanded that the crèche be removed, although the other items could stay.
http://www.christianlaw.org/christmas2004.html

[hr]
And some other websites for reference that took about 30 seconds to find.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.a ... 1128c.html
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/zeiger/021223

[once a runner]

If Christians aren't offended by saying "happy holidays", then what is this war on Christmas all about? Doesn't it make sense for a retailer to want to include as many people as possible? I wish Merry Christmas to people I know celebrate the day, but I would not wish it someone I know is Jewish. Frankly, wouldn't we, as Christians, find it odd to go into a store and have the clerk wish us a Happy Hannukah?

[LionPride]

[quote="once a runner";p="114277"]If Christians aren't offended by saying "happy holidays", then what is this war on Christmas all about? Doesn't it make sense for a retailer to want to include as many people as possible? I wish Merry Christmas to people I know celebrate the day, but I would not wish it someone I know is Jewish. Frankly, wouldn't we, as Christians, find it odd to go into a store and have the clerk wish us a Happy Hannukah?[/quote]

I too wish a Happy Holiday to my Jewish friends during this time of year.

That's the part you don't understand. Read some of the examples I gave. Organizations like the ACLU have people so scared, they eliminate all reference to Christmas, but allow other secular religious symbols. That's the problem. This is the Christmas season, and the government even recognizes that, making that day a FEDERAL holiday.

And I actually don't find it odd to be wished a Happy Hannukah. A co-worker of mine (before she retired) who was Jewish used to always celebrate Christmas with us at work, complete with decorations. In turn, we always made it a point to wish her a Happy Hannukah. And I have been wished that by clerks in stores before, albeit very few times. I just assumed that person was Jewish and wished them one back.

What gets me is places eliminating the word Christmas and symbols associated with that day, but allowing Menorahs and other such symbols. Surely, even you have to agree that is wrong.

[once a runner]

[quote="LionPride";p="114282"]What gets me is places eliminating the word Christmas and symbols associated with that day, but allowing Menorahs and other such symbols. Surely, even you have to agree that is wrong.[/quote]

Yes, I fully agree that is wrong. Most of the examples you gave take place in schools and most of those examples are not allowing any religous overtones in their school. Yes, it's wrong to allow Jewish symbols and not Christian symbols in public schools. I'm sure those cases will end up in court as well.

Keep in mind that more often than not school values are the same as the community standards. Being in an area where the very large majority is Christian, is there a problem with celebrating Christmas in schools? Maybe, but I haven't heard of any. Larger, more diverse areas, certainly have people who celebrate a holiday other than Christmas and if they include one holiday, they should include them all.

Even so, that article points out a handful of schools that have reacted. How many schools out there have no problem with Christmas? Kids don't need schools to teach them the meaning of Christmas. Personally, I don't think I want the schools teaching the meaning of Christmas. That should be done at home and at church.

[LionPride]

Just to expand on this a little further to show how off the ACLU really is.

Most of us know that the intention of separation of church and state was to keep the government from telling everyone which religion to practice. You can argue the point all you want, but I guarantee you our founding fathers weren't thinking that a kid praying in a school house was a problem, or singing a Christmas carol in school was a problem.

The idea of separation of church and state should not be to completely remove religious symbols or speech from schools. However, it should guarantee that everyone has an equal right to their religious expressions in that school. But the ACLU doesn't see it that way, and with their unlimited legal resources, all they have to do is say "boo", and they get their wish. I'm not suggesting that the Bible should be required reading in a public school. But you know what, religion has driven this world, whether it's Christianity, Islam, Jewish, Hindu or whatever. There's a heckuva lot more people with a religious affiliation than there are atheists out there. Therefore, there ought to be a Social Studies type class explaining it all. Not just one, all of them. But the ACLU would never let that happen.

Besides, I'm all for the government making Hannukah and whatever federal holidays. Maybe I'll get an extra day or two off work then.

[Pale Rider]

I don't get MLK day off next month; some folks do. I would prefer that Anti-Christian Lawyers' Union stay out of my life and jackasses like Michael Newdow stay to themselves. It's NEVER about the majority opinion dictating to the minority- its always the other way around! Happy Ramahannukwanzmas!

[once a runner]

[quote="LionPride";p="114421"]The idea of separation of church and state should not be to completely remove religious symbols or speech from schools. However, it should guarantee that everyone has an equal right to their religious expressions in that school. [/quote]
That's getting into a dangerous area. Unfortunately, religion is one of the most divisive subjects in the history of the world. More people have been killed in the name of religion than for any other reason. I can envision problems in schools that are multi-cultural.

Also, where do we draw a line on what religions are allowed and not allowed in the school? What if those who worships trees want to display their religious symbols? How about witchcraft, satanists, pagans? I think it's wise to keep the separation of church and state, otherwise we're asking for lots of problems.