My take on the Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday hucksters

So, over the weekend I was shopping and remembered that I have a Chanukah gift that I need to mail, so I decided to look around and find some Chanukah-themed wrapping paper. I entered a large chain store and overhead some very nice Christmas music tinkled. All around me I was surrounded by talking Santas, lighted grazing reindeer for your lawn, grinning snowmen and a wide selection of Baby Jesus in plastic, ceramic or plaster, and of course a veritable forest of plastic Christmas trees and thousands of Christmas ornaments and blinking lights for the plastic trees.

As I browsed around for my Chanukah paper, I found lots and lots of Christmas cookie cutters, "Merry Christmas" signs for my door as well as a whole aisle of Christmas wreaths, cheap pottery with various Christmas themes for cookies or candy (as well as a very large display with Christmas-wrapped candy) and rows and rows and rows and rows and rows of Christmas wrapping paper and ribbon.

I walked each aisle of this mega-market, assaulted at every turn by some of the tackiest Christmas gee-gaws imaginable. I ended up leaving empty-handed, because in these many many aisles of Christmas cheer there wasn't a single tiny little shelf with Chanukah items or a scrap of Chanukah wrapping paper. And this is in a community that has a substantial Jewish population. I experienced this same Christmas shock-and-awe at two other stores before I finally went to Hallmark, who, while having very little Chanukah-themed paper available at least had something.

This attack on Happy Holidays certainly doesn't take into account what you actually SEE when you enter any store during the 'holiday' season. It's all about one holiday and one holiday only, and putting a "Merry Christmas" stamp on it only confirms the obvious - no one else matters.

Sorry to vent, but it was really irritating, especially in light of this big stupid howl going on about "Happy Holidays".

and the Jewish population here is low, percentage-wise.

That said, I generally get Chanukah presents for one friend, and I never buy the themed stuff. I get things like blue candles, or semi-meaningful things (I am not Jewish) and once I got her a page a day calendar called "Oys and Joys" that she surprisingly really liked.

Funny you mention that, because the gift I had to send was a really pretty blue candle. I just wanted to wrap it in something that didn't have Santa or Jesus or little penguins dancing in the snow wearing red caps. I guess I could have just used plain blue foil paper, but at this point I was sort of curious as to how long it would take to find some 'holiday' wrap that wasn't Christmas themed.

and silver or white ribbon. However, I have not had a problem finding wrap here; in fact, our big holiday and party store has a pretty big selection of stuff.

Personally, I dont celebrate Xmas, for both personal and regligoud reasons but I really dont care if people say Happy holidays for Merry Christmas.

While the media seems that think its a big deal I havent noticed "Merry Chrismas" going away.

people in urban areas are a bit more sensitive to the fact that not everyone is christian, so it's out of respect, not persecution that people say Happy Holidays.

Of course conservative pundits think that people doing something out of respect is somehow persecution, but they've never been noted particularly for being rational so who cares.

If someone wishes me Merry Christmas, so be it. I am a rabid atheist, but I understand the intent and take no offense if well meaning.

However, if some shiny faced W-04 sticker bushbot comes up and sneers "merry christmas you pinko commie liberal" at me he'd better do it while running away from me as fast as he can.

It's a made up manufactured conflict - just laugh at the poor socially retarded freepers who have nothing better to get their panties twisted over.

not what you do. No one has bought into the concept "perception is reality" more than them. It's amazing how these people "perceive" they are being "percecuted" because someone on TV told them they are. They truly have no idea what they are talking about.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas"....

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

:( I love the holidays (all of them!) but I can't stand the shock & awe campaign which began even before Holloween in my neck of the woods. :( Christmas elbowed aside Halloween and steamrolled right over Thanksgiving here in Georgia.

And nothing more than that. All it does is divide people and make Jerry & Pat and everyone look like heroes to their choir.

even if I hate your avatar. Yikes!

Batboy. You will.

December 26th, the latest I remember it.

i always buy non-denominational cards and wrapping papers. i would rather 'happy holiday' someone than send a christmas card to a muslim or jew. i have always thought that this practice was thoughtful. oh, well, what do i know!

this whole brou-ha-ha is strictly propaganda. just another diversion so no one will think about all the americans stuck over in iraq for the holidays . . . or something on that order. this 'squeaky wheel getting the grease' fundamentalism is getting obnoxious.

ellen fl