MERRY CHRISTMAS? (email i just received)

As long as we live in this great land and have the freedom to express ourselves and what we believe in, we will always offend someone.

PASS THIS ON TO OTHERS; MERRY CHRISTMAS

I'm on a "Merry Christmas" mission and I'm in full throttle. My little yellow VW Beetle has turned into a Christmas billboard with Merry Christmas written across the back window. Yes, I've decided to trek off to work everyday on the public highways with a message that seems to offend some people.

At stop lights, I even turn my music up a little louder, and to top it off, I sing along with it. Don't I know that stopping at a red light to roll my windows down only to share the joy of Christmas carols on public streets is a No-No? Don't I fear the Christmas "Gestapo" and those who would have me remove the written message from my car?

I'm sorry folks, but the only person I'm concerned about "offending" during
this Christmas season is the Lord himself. LEAVE THAT MANGER ALONE!
We've allowed the Baby Jesus to be kicked out of His lowly manger, and those who are offended by Christmas are still not happy.

I refuse to let this happen. I'm going to do my part to make sure "Merry Christmas" doesn't become extinct. Because like it or not, if the believers in Christmas don't take a stand now, it's gone forever.

Listen folks, the Christian community has been underestimated before; we will have to show ourselves again.

I walked into a Wendy's Restaurant the other day and was rather exuberant
with my "Merry Christmas" greeting to the manager. He didn't have much of a response and I said, "Where's your Christmas spirit?" He said, "We're not allowed to use the words "Merry Christmas" when greeting customers. We can only say "Happy Holiday." (Boycott Wendy's?)

This morning I grabbed a quick breakfast at a Whataburger Restaurant and I noticed there wasn't a single decoration in the store. I asked the manager why they weren't decorated for Christmas. He told me the corporate headquarters decided not to send any decorations to any of their stores, and he didn't know why. (Boycott Whataburger?)

After I heard about all the Macy's and Federated Stores taking down their Merry Christmas signs, the Target stores not allowing the Salvation Army to "Ring the Christmas bells," and the many incidents of children, choirs, and bands not allowed to play or sing Christmas carols, I realized it was happening right here in my own little Texas town.

How can this be? Not in Texas!

We do, however, have a store, Hobby Lobby, that plays nothing but Christmas carols during the season. On Christmas Day they run a full page ad in our local newspaper. That ad is not to promote the store, but uses the entire page to tell the story of Jesus' birth. Now that's taking a stand. We need to thank them. (SHOP HOBBY LOBBY!!)

When I saw a news report the other evening of children being taught new words to a song we've sung for years - "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" - I was saddened to hear "We Wish You a Splendid Holiday."

I know now that it's just a matter of time that the "Merry Christmas" greetings will be gone. Look around your town. Notice the "Holiday" greetings and not "Christmas." It's happening right before our very eyes.

Start singing the songs; go down the streets of America singing to your heart's content. Get some of those wash-off markers that these kids use to write on their car windows when they're rooting for their hometown football team. It's easy to do, and if a torrential rain washes it off, write it on there again and
again and again if needed.

We've got to get this message out. "Go Tell It On the Mountain . . . that Jesus Christ is Born." Sing it, speak it, be a billboard for our Lord.

The story of this "Baby Jesus" alone has brought about more goodwill at this time of year than any other day we celebrate. How can we sit back and allow
Him to be snuffed out of our lives?

Is it Jesus, or is it His followers that the "offended" don't like? What kind of revulsion galvanizes one to campaign so vehemently against the mere mention of His name, the mere singing of a carol, or the mere visual of a sign that says "Merry Christmas?"

I can listen to my own boss at work use some of the vilest words and follow up with, "Excuse my French." I may cringe inside at his damning of God's name,
but I tolerate it. So if you don't like me wishing you a "Merry Christmas," I'll
say, "Excuse my joy." You may cringe that I celebrate the birth of Jesus, but just tolerate it.

I cannot be concerned that "Merry Christmas" offends you. If I'm not careful, the day will come when saying I'm a Christian will offend you.

I'm offended that you're offended. How about that?

When we get to a point that we can no longer take part in a tradition we hold dear, we have no choice; we either defend that tradition or we give it up to
those who say NO. That's it . . . period. So, which will it be?

I'm not giving up my "Merry Christmas" joy to anyone. If I know of someone
that celebrates another holiday during this time of year, I will be glad to wish them whatever holiday they want. Just tell me what it is and I'll shout it to the world and wish you a grand celebration.

Just give me Christmas. To you merchants: Stop being so hypocritical and "filling your tills" on the back of Jesus! Who do you think is the symbol of giving at this time of year? It was the wise men bringing gifts to the newborn Christ-child.

You want your coffers full, but have ordered your employees to take down all the Merry Christmas signs. If that's the case, I'll buy gifts at a place that understands my joy.

If you're worried about offending someone, you just did. The most recent Newsweek survey shows that 82% of Americans believe that Jesus is the Son
of God. So, in trying not to offend a few, you've offended many.

It's okay to jump into the "Merry Christmas" spirit when it fills your cash register, but let's call it something else . . . and don't stop giving . . . and don't stop buying. . . we'll just change the name and you'll never know the difference.

I know the difference and I'm feeling it greatly. It's hard not to be aware that townships across our country have actually banned the singing of Christmas carols because it might offend someone. And it's not just the religious songs;
it's the secular ones too. No more "Jingle Bells" or "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" because they're associated with Christmas. Boy, aren't we getting sensitive?

If we're not celebrating Christmas for the hope it gives with the birth of our Savior . . . there is no hope!

I noticed a few years ago that we changed the name of Abraham Lincoln's and George Washington's birthday so as to be all inclusive regarding the Presidents. Hark, if we should recognize anyone as exceptional. Now it's called Presidents' Day.

Well, if we're going to be so all inclusive, next month I'll have to refer to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day simply as 'Civil Rights Leaders' Day. We don't want to exclude great Americans like Rosa Parks or Cesar Chavez, do we? And to think that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton might be left out.

We might need to change Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Grandparents' Day to All Parents' Day. Just lump them all together.

It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? So what's the difference?

My freedom to celebrate Christmas in the tradition of the Christian religion is as much my right as it is your right to be offended by it. So what are we going to do? Did anyone hear me . . . what are we going to do?

Do we defend a person's right to go forward with a time tested tradition (how about 2000 years?), or do we defend a person's right to end it all because they're offended? As long as we live in this great land and have the freedom
to express ourselves and what we believe in, we will always offend someone.

If we try to make everything right for everyone, we won't have anything for anyone.

May you always have Christmas in your heart!

Amen


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EACH OF YOU!! I still believe in Christ - mas and Santa Clause too.

"Happy Holidays, jackass."

and say you're offended and wish them a Happy Hanukah (spelling?)

"Do you put up a Christmas tree or a *holiday* tree?"

"Well...we light a menorah...happy holidays to you too!"

"Don't I fear the Christmas "Gestapo" and those who would have me remove the written message from my car? "

:rofl:

Dude, seriously? The Christmas Gestapo? Ha ha! You kill me! I wonder who actually comes up with these ideas? I mean, somebody's got to, what with them never happening on planet Earth.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/11/21/christmas/index_np.html

How the secular humanist grinch didn't steal Christmas
The right-wing crusade against the liberal "war on Christmas" is great for rallying the troops. Too bad the war doesn't exist.

By Michelle Goldberg

Nov. 21, 2005 | In 1959, the recently formed John Birch Society issued an urgent alert: Christmas was under attack. In a JBS pamphlet titled "There Goes Christmas?!" a writer named Hubert Kregeloh warned, "One of the techniques now being applied by the Reds to weaken the pillar of religion in our country is the drive to take Christ out of Christmas -- to denude the event of its religious meaning." The central front in this perfidious assault was American department stores, where the "Godless UN" was scheming to replace religious decorations with internationalist celebrations of universal brotherhood.

"The UN fanatics launched their assault on Christmas in 1958, but too late to get very far before the holy day was at hand," the pamphlet explained. "They are already busy, however, at this very moment, on efforts to poison the 1959 Christmas season with their high-pressure propaganda. What they now want to put over on the American people is simply this: Department stores throughout the country are to utilize UN symbols and emblems as Christmas decorations."

According to the JBS, this assault on yuletide iconography was "part of a much broader plan, not only to promote the UN, but to destroy all religious beliefs and customs." The pamphlet called on all Americans to fight back by informing department stores that those with improper ornamentation wouldn't be getting their business.

At the time, the campaign to save Christmas was not widely treated as a matter of great national import. The John Birch Society was generally regarded as a crank, far-right outfit whose paranoid conspiracy theories (it believed fluoridated water was part of an evil communist plot to poison America's brains) put it outside the pale of reasonable discourse. Staffers on the ultra-right 1964 Barry Goldwater campaign tried to prevent Birchers from volunteering because they carried the taint of extremism. The John Birch Society didn't have access to a major television network. But a lot has changed since then.
....

Personally, I avoid any store playing Christmas carols, because I can't stand them. I don't care what greeting I get from clerks. Even though I don't celebrate Christmas, I won't deny it to those who do, and will respond with "Happy New Year". What I won't be is intimidated by these rw "Xtian" nuts who insist on "freedom of speech" but only for themselves. And I reserve the right to crank up my classical music if I'm next to a car blasting Christmas carols.

and i believe in the tooth fairy......:sarcasm:

Sometime in August or September.

(Holy Day) was set up in December at least in part to replace existing Pagan seasonal celebrations (Winter Solstice anyone?)

Olaf

Boo fuckin' hoo. What a whiner.

What the fuck is people's problem with saying Happy Holidays?

As if Jesus gives a shit!

Just give me Christmas. To you merchants: Stop being so hypocritical and "filling your tills" on the back of Jesus! Who do you think is the symbol of giving at this time of year? It was the wise men bringing gifts to the newborn Christ-child.

Stupid. Worship at your church, not the megamall you ass.

LIKE THEY DO IN THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCHES YOU SELF SATISFIED HORSE'S ASS? Christmas is just a holy day of obligation there. During Cromwell's rule of england Christmas was a day of fasting.

God what a schmuck.

than acting like him(or the mythical version)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=5509682

And be sure to hit "reply to all" so all his friends read it.

Thanks for posting.

:eyes:

If they want to make the magical christmas car and blast christmas songs at full blast...that's their right as much as it is for people whose car-thumping bass can be heard inside of buildings.

If they start seriously bugging people, they're going to get asked to stop, and that's what they're looking for. They are *flaunting* their free speech rights soliciting someone to "opress" them.

These people honestly don't understand the good neighbor theory. Do what you want, but don't force others to participate. Ambushing a fast-food worker with WHERE'S YOUR CHRISTMAS SPIRIT?? is just rude.

We've had several calls at the company I work for about how the term "Holiday" over "Christmas" is severely dampening these fundamentalists' shopping mood. Seriously...if someone called in saying "why isn't your catalog a Hanukkah catalog instead of Holiday" we'd have the same reaction.

THERE IS MORE THAN ONE HOLIDAY ENDING THE YEAR, INCLUDING NEW YEAR'S EVE/DAY...CORPORATIONS DID NOT JUST THIS YEAR "TAKE DOWN" THE "CHRISTMAS" SIGNS, THEY'VE BEEN SAYING HOLIDAY FOR LIKE A DECADE NOW!

I do not get off on this whole festive holiday groove that other people seem to. Do what you want, but don't you dare force this Christmas shit down my throat. I will celebrate it with my family in my way and NOBODY will make me observe a religious version of a holiday without my consent. Bitches.

he wanted them to worship his father . . . who, if you're a believer, is also "Our Father" . . .

to believers, Jesus was the son of God -- but so are we all . . . he was just better at it than the rest of us . . .

Happy Christ's Birthday! Let's get more specificity in our greetings if that is what we are going for. :sarcasm:

put my Christmas lights out in the shape of a giant middle finger on my front lawn with a sign that says "It's MERRY CHRISTMAS!" just so I can reflect the same holiday spirit the right wing is bringing to Christmas this year. Perhaps I could print up some cards that say "Fuck You & Merry Christmas". Maybe a nice Santa display with "Ho Ho Ho Bite Me!" Really warms the heart doesn't it? Tis the Season to Hate Your Neighbor.

Merry Fucking Christmas - South Park
I heard there is no Christmas,
In the silly Middle East..
No trees, no snow, no Santa Claus,
They have different religious beliefs...
They believe in Muhammad,
And not in our holiday...
And so every December,
I go to the Middle East and say...

Hey there Mr Muslim, Merry Fucking Christmas
Put down that book, The Koran
And hear some holiday wishes
Incase you haven't noticed,
It's Jesus's Birthday
So get off your heathen Muslim ass
And fucking celebrate.

There is no holiday season in India,
I've heard..
They don't hang up their stockings,
And that is just absurd..
They've never read a Christmas story,
They don't know what Rudolph is about...
And that's why in December,
I'll go to India and shout...

Hey there Mr Hinduist, Merry Fucking Christmas
Drink eggnog, and eat some beef
and pass it to the missus
Incase you haven't noticed,
It's Jesus's birthday
So get off your heathen Hindu ass,
And fucking celebrate.

Now I heard that in Japan,
Everyone just lives in sin...
They pray to several gods,
And put needles in their skin...
On December twenty-fifth,
all they do is eat a cake...
and that is why I'll go to Japan,
and walk around and say...

Hey there Mr Shintoist, Merry Fucking Christmas
God is gonna kick your ass You infidelic pagan scum.
Incase you haven't noticed,
There's festive things to do
So lets all rejoice for Jesus
and Merry Fucking Christmas to you.

On Christmas Day, I travel round the world and say..
Taoists, Korishnas, Buddists
and all you atheists too..
Merry Fucking Christmas to you.
Thank you, Mr Hat..

"Is it Jesus, or is it His followers that the "offended" don't like?"

--naw, just the lunatic followers like you, lady. lol

brings santa or the reindeers into their christmas. that takes away from christ mas. my kids went to fundie school, no santa, no reindeer no easter bunny

on edit really really i want to send an email back saying, well i am a christian and to bring santa into christs day is just wrong. i will pray for you

bah hahahaha

Through all of your rhetoric, spew and whining, you fail to realize that your lord was NOT BORN ON DECMBER 25TH!!!!! Have a celbration on the correct day, for christ's sake!!! (sometime in March, for anyone who gives a rats ass)

oh and happy solstice may Mithra bless you all the new year.

My freedom to celebrate Christmas in the tradition of the Christian religion is as much my right as it is your right to be offended by it. So what are we going to do? Did anyone hear me . . . what are we going to do?


So, YOU CAN CELEBRATE IT YOU TWIT. I don't give a shit. Wave your hands out your car until you get frostbite for all I care, but don't shove your holly jolly shit down my throat.

There are some people who don't believe in your fairy tale, and you should be respectful of their right to celebrate, or not celebrate, it.

should be the response. It wouldn't be Christmas if the fundies were not angry about something. They need this to feed their persecution complex. You can give them a cooking book for Christmas so they don't have to eat so much fast food. Hate to see their cholesterol count.

Also, why do they worship a Jew when they don't like Jews. Maybe they need to drive around with a big star of David on the roof of the car.

quiet, and unintrussive.

and tell her to calm the fuck down.
I've been in the mall--I didn't notice who said "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas", simply because I wasn't looking...nobody is overt about any of it, however, if you look hard enough, you will find someone that offends you.
The only thing to worry about is these freakshows who make a huge deal over NOTHING...that the stores won't put up anything (of course they will blame it on us when that happens).
The stores aren't afraid of US...they are afraid of THEM.
I, too, love Christmas trees, Santa, reindeer, carols and the whole shebang....however, just like every other day of the year, I am not seeking to offend those that do not.
As far as I am concerned, within a little over a month period of time--we have Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years.
Happy Holidays covers all nicely.

from one of his friends (he just got a computer--his first--and forwards practically everything he gets). I responded that it sounded like "right-wing b.s." to me, and he answered, "You're too much - LOL." (Dad's a Dem, as is Mom.)

...yep, there's someone who's concerned with "the true meaning of Christmas" :spank:

"Listen folks, the Christian community has been underestimated before; we will have to show ourselves again."

Damn straight! After all, the Religious Right has only been able to gain control of the White House, Congress, the Federal Courts, the Media, the public schools, Wall Street, and a couple dozen governorships. That's just not good enough. :eyes:

It's laughable at this point. They're desperately trying to get angry about SOMETHING, ANYTHING that can make them feel like martyrs, being oppressed by a tyranny of their own imagination.

And they'll succeed. Again. And again. They put the "right" in "righteous indignation."

-MR

Until this year. The fundies are ruining it for me.

And a word about Hobby Lobby: I realized they were a right-wing fundie outlet years ago when I visited them on a Sunday only to find they were closed. I am a busy student, and Sunday is the only time I can do crafts. It pissed me off so much that they were closed for religious reasons (forcing me to celebrate their religion with them, in a sense) that I took my business elsewhere that day. I have never shopped at Hobby Lobby since. I don't want to patronize fundie businesses who support fundie causes or who force their beliefs on their customers.

This person can shop at Hobby Lobby if they want to. BUT I CANCELLED THEM OUT BY NOT SHOPPING THERE! MWAH HA HA HA HA!!!

It's funny that he would mention Hobby Lobby - I've refused to spend any money there for years because they are closed on Sundays and have overtly Christian signage explaining why on each cash register.

called manager driving to jo annes, told him being hte good christian i am, i have had it with fellow christians and wouldnt support any business that used christs name to make a buck. called again a couple days ago and said, my husband needed something and said he was off to hobby lobby. all it took from me was a hobby lobb? and he smiled his oh so pretty smile and said, michaels, wink

Seems to be that YOU were celebrating Christmas. Are you incapable of doing so unless everyone else does it, too?

Hon, that isn't a religious belief in the brown baby Jesus. . .that's an addiction.

don't they?

I'm so grateful I don't know any fundies, I feel sorry for those of you who are unfortunate to receive this nonsense.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc...

I heard a soldier today wish his dad a "Happy Hanukkah", his mom a "Merry Christmas", and "Happy Holidays" to everyone else listening. Doesn't that soldier realize that he is fighting to defend against the war on Christmas? I mean, really! How dare he fail to follow the script of this "Christian" nation!

Ya know, some of these "War on Christmas" idiots need to get a REAL fucking problem.