Taking Back Christmas: Has it Really Been Stolen?
Recently, much press has been made about whether people who work in retail stores should be wishing people a Merry Christmas. The issue, that some FINALLY realize is that not everyone in America celebrates Christmas. Some celebrate, Chanakuah, Kwanza, or other holidays, and others do not celebrate at all. Bill O'Riley even has a question on his website, whether a person would continue to shop at a store where its workers no longer say, Merry Christmas.
This morning, on Good Morning America, The Reverand Jerry Faldwell was on pontificating on how he believes that the name of a Christmas tree should not be changed to a holiday bush. I agree with him. A Christmas tress is a Christmas tree. It is not a Chanakuah bush. But then, Mr. Faldwell went on to say that Christmas is not a Jewish holiday. He did not say that it was not a Muslim holiday, or Hindu holiday, or one for others, but singled out the Jews, making it sound as if his remark was one of Jew hatred. He said Christmas is the birthday of Christ our saviour, but he did not mention that Christ himself was a Jew!
Personally, I am used to hearing Merry Christmas all of the time. Sometimes I ignore the salutation, and other times, I say, I do not celebrate Christmas at all. I recognize that this country is predominately made up of people who do celebrate such a holiday, and as such it is commercially and verbally geared in that direction. On a personal note, I would feel more comfortable if people said Happy Holidays, as I think it is general enough to take into account the celebations of many in our country, or lack thereof, for that matter.
Nevertheless, to make a statement, singling out the Jews, as Mr. Faldwell did, hit a nerve inside of me.
Do you think that Christmas has really been stolen? How do you feel about people saying Merry Christmas?
By the way, I sent an email to Mr. Faldwell expressing my displeasure of his remarks along with a copy to the ADL.
Thank you for your minds.
This morning, on Good Morning America, The Reverand Jerry Faldwell was on pontificating on how he believes that the name of a Christmas tree should not be changed to a holiday bush. I agree with him. A Christmas tress is a Christmas tree. It is not a Chanakuah bush. But then, Mr. Faldwell went on to say that Christmas is not a Jewish holiday. He did not say that it was not a Muslim holiday, or Hindu holiday, or one for others, but singled out the Jews, making it sound as if his remark was one of Jew hatred. He said Christmas is the birthday of Christ our saviour, but he did not mention that Christ himself was a Jew!
Personally, I am used to hearing Merry Christmas all of the time. Sometimes I ignore the salutation, and other times, I say, I do not celebrate Christmas at all. I recognize that this country is predominately made up of people who do celebrate such a holiday, and as such it is commercially and verbally geared in that direction. On a personal note, I would feel more comfortable if people said Happy Holidays, as I think it is general enough to take into account the celebations of many in our country, or lack thereof, for that matter.
Nevertheless, to make a statement, singling out the Jews, as Mr. Faldwell did, hit a nerve inside of me.
Do you think that Christmas has really been stolen? How do you feel about people saying Merry Christmas?
By the way, I sent an email to Mr. Faldwell expressing my displeasure of his remarks along with a copy to the ADL.
Thank you for your minds.
24 Comments:
Good for you! That Jerry faldwell is the stuff of nightmares. Christmas to me as an agnostic, is kinda weird. It is an opprotunity to spoil my grandchildren (who are being raised 7th Day adventist, by the way) the grandchildren talk about heaven & the baby Jesus, I try to get into what the emotion is about. My own children need things like radiatores(SP) for their car & A pair of Doc Martians shoes, for instance. It is an opprotunity to make the house beautiful. & carry on traditions. I enjoy the chaos in an otherwise dull rainy winter.
Of course, I struggle to not spend too much money. It is the time of year I feel expansive toward my family.
& I must admit I love the idea of unconditional love & baby Jesus.
Santa? I was raised very religiuos & Santa was not a part of my Christmas reality.
My oldest daughter is angry that she did not experience Santa Clause, as some of her peers did. So, she does the 'Santa' thing w/her kids.
I always put money in the Salvation Army buckets & give money to the bums on the street this time of the year. Think about it, it's winter and it's cold.
what he said makes no sense
what does christmas not being i jewish holiday have to do with how the tree is called?
I some times (make that LOTS of times) think that we take the whole political correctness thing to extremes. I was raised in the Christian traditions but am not a strong follower of it any more. Am I offended by being wished "Merry Christmas"? No more than being offended by "Happy New Year" I take it in the spirit of fellowship in which it is given. It is not an invasion of my beliefs for some one to wish me well within the context of theirs. Unfortunately, I fear that the intolerance among us for the beliefs of others is responsible for many of the worlds woes.
As for Jerry Falwell? (and his buddy Pat R) he is proof that even knuckleheads can get a following
I don't have a problem with it, although, being Jewish, I wish people, lulei demistafina, a Happy Holiday.
I posted here on why I don't participate in gift giving.
Christmas has been stolen by capitalist pigs. What could be a day of peace and persynal reflection has turned into a corportation's wet dream. And most bothersome to me is how other religons are jumping on the gift bandwagon. Chanakuah is for celebrating a time when the Jews were held hostage for eight days (...right?) not a time when gifts were given for eight days.
For me, the "holiday season" is bullshit, fake, and completly devoid of anything but money. And I will not participate in it in any way, shape, or form.
Nana, my Irish-Catholic paternal grandmother, and I had a conversation about Jesus being Jewish. She didn't believe me. She also thinks he had red-hair, blue eyes, and was as fair skinned as she.
I have no feeling for it, but I don't mind when a person wishes me merry x, most people don't even realize it’s a religious holiday, it's unthinkable to them that some people don't celebrate it.
I don't know if the guy on GMA was being anti semitic, most or rather lots of ignorant(dear I say stupid) people think Chanukah and xmas are one and the same, and that confusion he wanted to tear apart, of course it may very well have been anti semitic.I haven’t watched GMA.
Great post. Yes, everyone seems to forget that Jesus was a Jew... If someone said "Merry Christmas" to him (in Aramaic?), he wouldn't have known what that was!
I think everyone has cause for concern.
Christmas has become not only a secular event, but also a disgusting one. It brings out the worst of capitalism and greed. So Christians have reason to be upset about people in malls saying "Merry Christmas" because you're buying things for people who don't need them!
On the other hand, for folks who don't celebrate Christmas, it must be awfully annoying.
And "Happy Holidays" is a bit of a joke, since we all know that that's REALLY just a more PC way of saying, "Merry Christmas -- unless, of course, you don't celebrate Christmas".
i find the ignorance of people really amazing ... how does one as well-known for being christian like jerry falwell not know that jesus was a jew and followed jewish traditions ??? maybe he hasn't read his bible ??? as for christmas not being a jewish holiday, it's not a holiday for a whole lot of other religions -- people should be a little respectful of that -- in fact, i don't think jesus celebrated christmas (sarcasm) and i'm not sure what he'd think about all the capitalism involved in it. i for one like to celebrate "winter" -- snowmen -- if i give gifts it's because i want to show appreciation and i will do it this time of year out of tradition -- although this year i won't be doing much.
Well, I don't see much of Christianity in the current capitalist celebration of Christmas, but then, I work in catalog sales.
I like Happy Holidays because to me it is a sign of respect to anyone who is celebrating any thing during this time of year. I think that it is ridiculous to boycott a business because they don't say Merry Christmas. Would Faldwell boycott a store because the owners and employees wished their patrons Happy Chanakuah? Sounds like him might.
I love your answers!
AP3, you are correct in reminding everyone that not only was Jesus a Jew, but he spoke Aramaic (maybe unknown to many.)
dddragon, I might send off another letter to Dr. Faldwell and ask him how he would feel about shopping in a story that said Happy Chanuaka, or May you have a meaningful Kwanza. Brillant idea, by the way.
Personally I do not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. I really just see it as some days off and the marking of the end of the year (along with the designated New Years holiday).
How about Merry Kwanzukkah?
Then there is Happy Festivus, for all those Seinfeld lovers. Its nondenominational.
I like Merry Christmas, but I am a Christain. Yes, Jesus was "King of the Jews". He came to earth as the Son of God, and he practiced jewish traditions, but Jesus taught new ways that were not jewish. The Jewish people do not believe he is the Son of God. The old testiment was for the Jews and the New testiment started at the birth of Christ.
I don't care that much for Jerry Farwell but I think what he was trying to say was that the jews did not believe in Christ. The muslims do acknowleded Jesus Christ as a prophet. I don't know that much about Kwanza so I can not speculate there.
When I say, "Merry Christmas", I am not trying to offend anyone. As a young person, growing up, this is what I was taught. I am acknowledging the birth of Christ. Please know, that I do not want to offend anyone when I say this. Thanks for the post Barbara.
Lucy Stern
Too funny,, people,,are obsessed!! and Mr.(I will not say Rev.) he is a pompous ass....
Well since I hail from Charlotte NC which is in Mecklenburg County, which was named for good Queen Charlotte(who actually had some African ancestory!! little known tidbit),,, and she was married to GeorgeIII and brought the Yule Tree Tradition from her Rhineland area Homeland of Germany.
So we can thank the Germans who thought it a way to break up the dreary winter...
There is a twist here Barbara, because Jerry FaultUWell normally is telling the horrors of How those so smart Christians are being hoodwinked by us Pagans,,, It really is MithrasDay you know???,, check your Popes out people Christians took OUR HOLIDAY and Turned it into a Sideshow for Big Business. I believe that Happy Holidays is proper because we ARE A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY HERE PEOPLE!!!
So, don't feel too singled out Barbara, if it wasn't for us Pagans and you Jews ,, so called Christians would have little to bitch about,,, we are in the same bag(or seventh hell maybe) in their eyes which are WIDE SHUT!! When someone says Merry Christmas I say Merry Mithras!!! They usually do not notice,, and I have a good silent or loud laugh afterwards...
At least we can verify the date as his birth,,,, Dec 25th!!, can't do that with baby Jesus,,,, sorry folks,, tis true,,, more likely in March/April for him,,, you know shepards out and all..... Christians (not all of them,,) just need to do a bit more research on Whose holiday this really is..............
PS to Eshet Chayil,,have a Blessed Channuaka,,, Happy Yule!! and Merry Mithras,,, us pagans are a bit more friendly!!! Peace to ALL!!
Holidays, especially Christmas has always reminded me of my lacks, and the lacks of many families like me. As for Kwanza, it's a holiday for a people trying to find there place in America, and it’s not all bad --- like Christmas it a day where we talk about peace and goodwill towards everyone.
I don't care for Jerry Farwell, because he's a joke, as is Pat Robertson and that bunch. This includes a lot of colored ministers on television too! They are money and power hungry, and they don’t care what they say or how they say it … it's sad that they mess with folks' mind with their bullshit. But there are some good folks out here who do call themselves Christians. You won’t find too many on television, or in the White House, but I know quite a few.
That said --- any day where everyone think well of all of humanity, collectively, is a good day for me. It brings a lot of positive energy to our negative world where everyone have problems co-existing and respecting each other’s rights to believe, love, or hate whom they please.
Regardless of holidays, and who believe in them, Christmas, nor the Christmas Tree has nothing to do with the day Jesus was born, just like Easter doesn't have anything to do with Jesus raising from the dead. These are commercial days for the Merchants and all Culture make money on days like this one.
As a so-called black woman, person, race, culture or whatever you desire to call it --- I am singled out daily, by all cultures and/or societies that live in this country or come to this country. According to them I am ignorant, stupid, ugly, and primitive, lack understanding and the worst human being on the face of the earth -- and all this because my skin color is brown. I am told that my suffering (slavery that is) wasn’t as bad as the Jewish holocaust or Hiroshima. In other words, what happened to my ancestors, and is still happening to us today is not worth mentioning. I live with it daily, but I don’t let it control my actions anymore. Nor do I allow it to cause me to hate my fellow human beings. I have learn to accepts others behavior as long as they don’t cross over into my world and cause chaos and mayhem.
I don’t know if I stayed on the topic, Barbara, but your questions are always so multifaceted --- and there’s always the in-between. However, I wanted to make it clear, that one can not control what people feel, believe, or say. But what one can do is make sure people who single you out to spew there hatred is not a part of your world.
Oh .. I don't celebrate holidays, but I take advantage of them to share quality time with my family.
Here in Norway we say "god jul" which is almost the same as Happy Christmas - but with an important difference. Jul is the name of the holiday - but the word has actually nothing to do with Christianity as it is the word used for the midwinter feast in pre-Christian times. (I think you say Yule-feast or something?) So even if the clerks mean the Christian holiday, it can just as well mean the pagan holiday.
It's still not good enough for Jews or Muslims for example since they do not celebrate Yule either... ;)
In Buddhism we have something called Bodhi-day which is the day Buddha reached enlightenment and is generally celebrated Dec 8th. I don't really celebrate this day - I do the traditional Christmas celebration because of the rest of my family, but we have stripped the celebration of anything connected with Christianity - we have more a celebration of the turning of winter - more of a pagan approach in a way.
I don't really mind people wishing me "god jul" - the connotation of the wish is a good one, and I don't mind them wishing I have a nice time even if I don't really celebrate the Christian holiday.
In my post "Thank you" I explained how we celebrate since we're godless heathens. We start with Thanksgiving and choose one thing a day until December 25th that we've been grateful for during the year. WHen we make or buy gifts for our family, they must be significant in some way and the card must contain at least one sentence explaining the gift and one sentence explaining why we are grateful for having that person as a part of our lives. It's like a Thank You note for someone's life. We enkoy it, and since we don't believe in God, it gives us a way to participate with our family without feeling overwhelmed by something we don't agree with or beleive in. When people say Merry Christmas, they're praising God, but when we say Merry Christmas, we're praising the person in front of us.
With all that said before me...
Barbara, Happy Holidays.
Jerry Falwell is a giant ass, pay no attention to what comes out of his noise hole. He talks just to hear the sound of his own voice. He speaks for a small percentage of people anyway.
People will shop at stores regardless if the employees say merry christmas or not. Nobody really cares, except a very few hyper-sensitive super-christian jerry falwell listening people.
Someone should remind Mr. Falwell that the date for christmas was picked because of the pagen celebration of winter solstice.
In fact, I am going to blog about this right now!
Christmas was stolen many years ago. In the 80s I started telling people "Happy Holidays". And what's wrong with that?
I have Jewish Christian friends who celebrate BOTH holidays. I have a Jehovah's Witness friend that celebrates NONE. Why cause needless offense?
Personally I celebrate (and believe in) Christmas, but to each his own! Why make mountains out of molehills when there are real issues out there???
P.S. If you want to hear a funny Falwell story (it's TRUE) then go to my post in the Lazy Iguana's blog today.
Jerry Falwell is an incredible idiot. Just looking at his face makes me sick to my stomach.
I celebrate Christmas because that's how I was raised, but I am bothered when people I don't know wish me a merry Christmas. I always say "Happy holidays."
I don't buy into the argument. I blogged about it and received a ton of comments via email about how nasty I am. Oh well.
I say happy holidays because I don't know what people believe and extend to them the courtesy of understanding that they may not be part of the majority and may have different beliefs.
But I have to agree, the tree is not a holiday tree, that is just silly.
Seth,
If you read the post, I am questioning Jerry Faldwell's statements, not his beliefs.
First of all, where do you get your statistics that 90 percent of Americans celebrate Chirstmas? There are Jews, Buddists, Muslims, Hindus, Indians and Asians who do not celebrate this holdiay, let alone the athesists. You seem to have not taken this population into account.
And for the future, if you are going to impersonate a Jew, at least spell the last name correctly!
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