Should we change Christmas so it is no longer a Christian holiday?

[Gabri]

I'm an atheist, so I don't really care. But why not let Christian people celebrate it as a religious holiday and non-Christian people celebrate it as non-religious or even not celebrate it at all? That's good for me. Honestly, I don't care at all if it's religious or not. It gives me some no-school days in December, so I'm fine with that :D

 

[PokemonLeagueChamp]

Nearly everyone I know celebrates Christmas, whether or not they're Christian. It's because we have this big fat guy in a red suit who supposedly climbs down your chimney to give you free stuff. Doesn't take a Christian to believe in that. Santa is essentially like the Easter Bunny, which is another mascot for a significant Christian holiday that has been commercialized, albeit not quite as much.

We shouldn't be making religious holidays non-religious just because some very small percentage of people MIGHT get offended by it. If I recall correctly(and I'll go hunt stats for this if people want them), a poll stated that most people didn't mind being told "Merry Christmas" around the holidays, and there were a few that found "Happy Holidays" somehow offensive. We can't just let political correctness dictate how everything functions. What makes America great is that(supposedly)we're supposed to accept all religions and ideologies(to a point, of course, because cults that perform human sacrifices, for example, really shouldn't be allowed ANYWHERE).

 

[I Laugh at your Misfortune!]

I'm nonreligious and I celebrate Christmas, after a fashion. No, I don't sing hymns and whatnot. Instead, I swap presents with family and friends, eat some turkey and feel happy. I don't see the problem with that. If christians want to have a party to celebrate Jesus's birth and other people want to have a party to celebrate family values or whatever, then why not have it on the same day? What we call Christmas and what a Christian calls Christmas is no doubt different. We call it Christmas for no reason other than tradition. I fail to see how this can be offensive. Sure, you can get all etymological about it, but y'know what? If an atheist family has a happy day on December 25th and decides to call it Christmas, then what harm does that do to anyone? So, no, we don't need to change Christmas. It has already changed naturally, to a degree.

 

[GaXeL]

It's not up to the other people who aren't christian to get rid of Christmas, no religion should be forced to get rid of a holiday.

 

[Jolene]

Think of all the poor non-Christian school children who are forced to either take part in school nativity plays which they don't believe in or feel left out... It is so sad!

 

[Timbjerr]

Think of all the poor non-Christian school children who are forced to either take part in school nativity plays which they don't believe in or feel left out... It is so sad!

I dunno about you, but the only times I've ever seen a nativity play was at a Church-sponsored function. XD

My schools had Christmas pageants and stuff, but they were usually based on "The Night Before Christmas" or "A Christmas Carol", two famous literary works that have a noticeable lack of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. XD

 

[Cold Fusion]

Think of all the poor non-Christian school children who are forced to either take part in school nativity plays which they don't believe in or feel left out... It is so sad!

I did this when I was 4-10 in my primary school, I didn't care. I was celebrating a common holiday, it was fun! Even if I didn't like getting up on stage. For me, I was a child I didn't care, it was just a play in which I was showing to others what I had learnt, nothing forced about it. They would let me out if I didn't feel as though I was up to it.

Christmas is a holiday, does it matter the religion it is? It's a holiday; it's supposed to be something fun for those not non-religious ones, and those who are religious can celebrate in their way. For me, it's just a time to relax and have some fun, it really doesn't matter what the past of the holiday is, as long as both enjoy it there's no need to change!

 

[SIN1488]

I agree also, you'll find crazies on both sides of the Christian spectrum. Ever seen/heard of the Calvinists, those are some crazy hardcore Protestants,

Ohhhhh, that would definitely make sense then, as the "hardcore Christians" I mentioned earlier belong to a church called "Calvary Chapel", and with the name I'm guessing they are Calvinists. :O

Those chapels are all over the place in my county, and probably throughout the whole state too.

But anyways, back on the original subject, why would it be worth it to change the holiday? You would just get tons of people protesting the fact, and it would end up being a big mess. I stand by what I said in my first post, you can celebrate any holiday however you want, no matter what other people say, as long as it is legal in your area. So since that's true, there's no need to change anything.

 

[Emonga]

I'm sorry, but I can't see that.

Christmas is just what it is. Christmas. I don't care where it's being celebrated or who can/can't, it will always be a Christian holiday. That's just the way it is. Even if they did change the holiday, you know what kind of religious wars would be on the horizon? Dang.

I agree with that. I would sure hate to see what would happen.

 

[Shanghai Alice]

Think of all the poor non-Christian school children who are forced to either take part in school nativity plays which they don't believe in or feel left out... It is so sad!

My middle school did a mini-Homecoming thing every year, and I never participated in it, and never really cared.

No bodily harm came to me.


Anyways, I'm out. Paris may be worth a Mass, but this argument isn't worth me getting in more trouble than Kaguya at a Mokou-fest.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Holiday Erasure in the Name of Political Corectness

Should we stop placing public displays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. because they're nationalistic (Thanksgiving being a U.S. holiday) or religious in nature just because their are people who do not observe these holidays? I've seen teachers scold children for saying Merry Christmas to their friends in the past because a Muslim student was in the class, hence he'd be "excluded" from the Christmas spirit.

What are your opinions on this?

 

[Kelp]

Especially for nationalistic holidays, it shouldn't matter. For Americans, we are in America after all, so we should be able to display our holidays to a reasonable extent.

As for religious holidays like Christmas, it also shouldn't matter. If some people don't celebrate the holidays, they should ignore it. If though the kids were teasing the Muslim about their views, then it'd be a problem. As long as we respect each others' views on religion, the we could advertise our holidays normally.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

Although, I don't buy into it at all, I can somewhat see the argument for the religious holidays.

But why no Thanksgiving? We have to be country-independent now?

Anyway, no. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. And I wish anybody a happy whatever their specific holiday is as well. I respond to a holiday greeting with whatever I was greeted with.

 

[Eliminator Jr.]

Yeah, this is political correctness gone to far. People can celebrate whatever they want to celebrate, what difference does it make on us?

 

[Shanghai Alice]

Um.

Employees get Christmas off. Additionally, they can also ask for their religious holidays off.

As Ravi put it in Life of Pi...

If someone wants to be Christian, Hindu, and Muslim, they only need to pick up one or two religions and they'll have the whole week off.

 

[Lunacy Giat]

Coming from a Jewish background, when I was little I was sick of people constantly saying Merry Christmas to me. If you really haven't experienced it, it might be hard to understand why it's so annoying. Just say happy holidays, or nothing at all.

As far as having holidays off, many professionals that I know (physicians, professors, etc.) who don't celebrate these holidays, will still work during them.

For instance, someone who is Jewish can work for someone on Christmas, while those that took off on Christmas can work for them on Yom Kippor.

About the thanksgiving thing...my arguments against the holiday would fill a few books...Although, the one statement that I can give is that it should be a day of mourning, not celebration.

 

[Roxichu]

No, we need as many holidays as we can get.

I personally plan to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa this year and give all appropriate greetings, even though I am neither Christian, Jewish or Black.

I'll take any excuse to have a party. ;)

 

[Timbjerr]

I interpret the Freedom of Religion clause of the U.S. Bill of rights to mean that we're all allowed to follow whatever religion we damn well please, so long as we're not hurting one or aggressively trying to "convert" people. My parents' displaying a nativity scene in our front lawn year after year when I was growing up and my instinctive greeting of "Merry Christmas" I offer offer throughout the month of December don't hurt anyone and aren't active attempts to try to convert anyone to Catholicism. XD

So...yeah...It's regrettable that people choose to be offended by such minuscule things, but it's best to learn to not let it get to you. :D

 

[Shanghai Alice]

My flesh burned whenever I heard the word Kwanzaa. Therefore, I must actively stamp it out by any means necessary, since those horrific Kwanzaa-dogs mustn't celebrate their holiday, as I despise seeing others happy on a normal day.

Additionally, we mustn't celebrate Thanksgiving. We insult everything by having fun on that day.

I agree with the "Anything for a Party" argument, but I'd like to add...

You try to stamp out Christmas, and by Kanako, I will not rest until every holiday is abolished.

Stop having fun and get back to work, darnit!

The more you work, the better it is for your sanity.

((Srs version: I, for one, really need this broken two months, so I can rest and recharge. Take that away, and I will butcher you in the name of love, peace, and unity. Just like a 1990s anime.))

 

[twocows]

It's silly grandstanding by a bunch of politicians and some people who like to get offended over nothing. I'm an atheist and I wish people Merry Christmas. It's not like it's a big deal.