Karaoke Forums

Something I've noticed over the last few years is the stripping of the word Christmas from the Christmas season. Lawsuits have been filed and won to remove Mainger displays from public places, but the thing that's getting to me is the stores. The word Christmas is just completely gone!!!. We have a talk show here in Phoenix and then went through the weekend ad flyers one by one for major department stores and the word Christmas is not anywhere. Its not even a Christmas Tree, its a Holiday tree, or a LED tree, or a "you put it together" tree, but they just don't want to call it what it is, its a CHRISTMAS TREE darnit!!!!...companies are even calling it Holiday parties. In one of the flyers Santa waz actually mentioned (must have been a misprint), but not the word Christmas. When I grew up the word Christmas was everywhere...what the heck is going on??  Im not a religious person even, but to me this is too much! To tell you the truth, I see the word Christmas on this site and pretty much no where else...at least we the people still know what it  is....everyone I know still uses the word thankfully....MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!!....Russ

Well the boondangle here is that every year we (the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada) send a Christmas Tree to Boston as thanks for their aid in the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion which occured Dec 6, 1917.  This year some twit of a bureaucrat for the City of Boston called it a "Holiday Tree".  Well that got things going.  The gentleman who donated the tree stated had he known they were going to call it a "Holiday Tree" he would have put it in a wood chipper.  It didn't take long for the Mayor of Boston to say it was a Christmas Tree and it will always will be a Christmas Tree and he apologized for the bureaucrat.

Shortly thereafter the Town of Oxford, Nova Scotia, passed a By-Law or some such thing and stated they celebrate the Christmas Season not a "Holiday Season" and that caused a ruckus.  Those for it and those who said it was discriminatory against
Chanukah and Kwanzaa etc.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

A wise old indian elder was asked "What can we do to fix this world"  She calmly stated

"Heal Thyself My Children"

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

Granted I think that it is overdone when you don't mention Christmas at all, but I think the way people have to view this is to put yourself in someone else's shoes.  There was a time when it was ALL "Merry Christmas" and I'm sure many people who didn't celebrate christmas felt left out.  I mean think about it, if you were a Jewish child at "christmas" time, and never heard Happy Hanukkah then you'd feel left out.  I can imagine people were hurt and felt that their religious holidays seemed to not be recognized.  And I really believe that America and Canada and many other countries are full of wonderful diversity that makes them special and that is something to cherish and be proud of.  HOWEVER!!!! Things have gone WAYYYYYY to PC though.  I can understand wishing the general population "Happy Holidays" but a "holiday tree"?????  So is a Menorah a holiday candle????  I think that a christmas tree isn't used in any other religious holiday so call it what it is.  I'm gonna keep doing things my own way and try to be considerate to other people and that's all there is to it.  So Happy Holiday's and Merry Christmas

I live in a Muslim country and being not one of them we fight to get those right. We have CHINES New Year, XMAS, Deepavale, Gawai Dayak. as PUBLIC holidays. Last year the King and ALL the govt ministers (most muslim and non christian) joint in the GRAND XMAS open house.

Now I hear this, its so sad, that  xmas become a dirty word. and should not be said in public.

Live in my part of the world maybe one can see how much freedom had been abused in the west

Sorry about this but I just have to say it out  :shock:

_________________
I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Considering how the PC is and how commercialistic the holidays all seem nowadays.  The Santa Claus character was invented by Coca-Cola, after Black Friday it's 24/7 Holiday Shopping.  Yep I gotta agree.

Well I just had to reply to this cause am a Christian and am sad and mad that Christianity has being used for political gain and those in the White House are not Christians they are actually antiChrist. First of all Holiday is a commemoration of an event right and in this case we celebrate the birth of Christ (Jesus) that is why we call it Christmas like Christ mass. Now we do live in Free Nation so far right. So  for those who want to take Christmas out of the Holiday they should just go to work and ignore the Holiday and let those who want to celebrate Jesus Christ birthday celebrete Christmas. For those here who are into the Christmas Spirit I want to say Merry Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

_________________

I just think people get too offended too quickly about NOTHING.

Take the wish for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to be exactly that. A WISH FOR A HAPPY HOLIDY SEASON!

Nobody's cramming down Christianity, for Christmas isn't REALLY about the birth of Christ per se... In fact, the original meaning behind the season was something about the government wanted a winter holiday season preceding the New Year.

Christ was born sometime in the summer according to rumors of those that have studied it quite seriously. Something about the alignment of the stars and other such info.

I know I take it as a time to yes give gifts in the spirt of the Wise men attending the birth of Christ. But for my Jewish friends, and those that truly follow their native beliefs (American Indians, followers of Zen and Buddha), I just give out my best wishes, thoughts and prayers that they enjoy themselves during a spiritual time.

And that's my two cents. You don't like it, I'll come beat you up! !

If a day can stop the fighting between troops shelling and shooting each other during one of the worst wars ever and they sit there singing Christmas carols to each other then it is a very special day indeed....

I feel sorry for those that will never hear the carols because their selfish beliefs put plugs in their ears.

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

Thanks, Matt... I was going to mention that. Also, 'Christmas' was yet another christian adaptation of an ancient pagan celebration for the winter solstice... and that's where the whole 'tree' thing comes in.

However, I don't get offended by the Christmas stuff, aside from the mass commercialism of it all of course. People don't celebrate most president's birthdays on the correct day either. *shrugs* No skin off my nose.

"Merry Holiday!!!" just doesn't have the right ring to it. And if someone wants to give me a Hanuka or Kwanzaa present, I'll gladly accept them. heheheh

It doesn't matter one iota the day Christ was actually born, whether it was Dec, May, Aug, or whatever, even if we had absolute proof of the exact date, there would be people out there who would want to be politically correct and the same arguments would continue.

Now here's a new one around here.  One of the local television stations has a telethon the first Sunday in December to raise money for the underprivlige.  It is called "Christmas Daddies", here is the site    http://www.christmasdaddies.org/
It is completely supported by all here expect one so called journalist who calls it sexist because of the term "Daddies".  Here is her column    

http://www.thecoast.ca/1editorialbody.l ... en.subpub=

And here are some letters to the editor

http://www.thecoast.ca/1editorlettersbo ... acking=171

I tell you it takes all kinds.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

I don't mind saying happy holidays or a clerk saying it instead of merry christmas if we don't know the persons affiliation. When I get mad is when we have to take down x-mas trees or any x-mas symbol because it's supposibly offensive.

The white house has a tree they had for years called the x-mas tree then changed it to the holiday tree and then back again to the x-mas tree. Crazy

Stores are always afraid of being sued, so if one person complains policy is changed. It isn't always the popular consenses. But I noticed this is a big topic this year. People are getting fed up with the whole pc era.

My moslim friends told me some believe it is the sign of the devil a x-mas tree. That we are worshopping the devil. Come on - do we really have to take down our trees because other religions are uneducated in what x-mas is.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

your friends are right... to a point, Babs. As Syber pointed out, the whole Christmas Tree thing is originally from the Druids of Ireland... a pagan celebration. Now I for one don't equate PAGAN with the DEVIL, but some do.

There's a lot of Pagan beliefs that form the basis of many things that are celebrated in the "christian" world... kinda cracks me up if you do some research!

Pagan or not... I like the trees. I actually kind of like them *more* because it's a more 'ancient' tradition.

I have known people who would not allow a 'christmas' tree to be put up in their home, because they found out it was a 'pagan' tradition and they found it blasphemous. whatever...

Allstar, you said it better than I ever could have .......

Russ

OMG Pagan or not, devil or not IT"S A TREE!!!  I think what matter is how you view it.  It doesn't matter what other people think it is, if it's a Christmas tree to you then you aren't "devil - worshiping"

Auctionmusic--It's called sensitivity....there are many people in this country who are not Christian and so they are offended by Christian sutff (notice the word Christmas has "Christ" in it?).  

Stores and other places call it "holiday" because they don't want to offend their customers and because this is not only Christmas season but also Hannukah and Kwanzaa season.  State-owned places should not put up manger scenes or any other Christian-related symbols because of separation of church and state.  Having a manger scene up is like putting a cross up.  People who are not Christians do not want their tax dollars to pay for that kind of thing or see the public land used for it; it's unconsitutional.  

No one is saying you can't celebrate Christmas or put a manger scene in your own yard.  Christmas music still plays everywhere.  I agree that it's silly to pretend a Christmas tree is anything else, but if it makes some people feel better, what difference does it make what it's called? It's supposed to be the season to be nicer to your fellow man, right? So why not be more sensitive to other people's feelings and beliefs?  Or is that only reserved for Christians?

There is no "war on Christmas" or "death of Christmas".  Don't believe FOX news because they are just trying to be anti-semitic and distract from real news like the awful war that never ends.

FYI, I am an atheist, but I do celebrate Xmas as a secular holiday and as a tradition of my family and country.  But that is my choice and my right. I don't force that choice on others.

_________________
~Suzanne Lanoue~

_________________

Sorry you do not celebrate Christmas if you are an atheist because an atheist doesn't believe, you just have a gift exchange day, a big difference.  And you are wrong that it is the immigrants causing it. For the most part it is small minded bleeding heart liberals who are afraid to offend anyone where no offence has taken place.  Both our countries were founded on Christian-Judeo principles and therefore Christian celebrations are a part of our lives which is why Christmas and Easter are included as national holidays, not any other religious holidays.  And unlike some other countries we allow any religious group to freely worship and celebrate thier holidays.  I have Jewish and Muslim friends who laugh at the stupidity of our bureaucrats in their attempts at political correctness.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger