Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Its that time of year again....

Well, It is now after Thanksgiving and it is now that time of year when you have that hustle and bustle of the Black Friday shopping and the sales here and there. I am going to rant a little bit today. It isn't something that I do that often, but this is what I am thinking about and how annoyed I have become with this whole situation.
Merry Christmas VS. Happy Holidays!
Why has the phrase "Happy Holidays" become popular? Over a period of many years Christmas has become less of a Christian-centric holiday and more of a generic cultural holiday. It is celebrated by many non-Christians in various ways and the religious connotations are lost even on some Christians themselves. Christmas isn't very "Christian" anymore. For me personally, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of my Savior. I know that everyone gets all wrapped up in the shopping and the gift giving and all that, but do Christians take the time to realize what this time of year is really about. I am as guilty as any other person. I go Black Friday shopping. I worry about gifts for my family and friends, and sometimes I do get stressed out about the small insignificant issues that the Christmas Season brings.
Here is where my problem lies. I know that America has freedoms, and I am blessed to have the freedoms I do, just like this blog. I have the freedom to write down my feeling about this issue. But society has taken this Christian "holiday" and changed it into a shopping/cooking time of year when the significance is Jesus. Do I expect everyone to believe as I believe, absolutely not! But do I want to change the name of Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa? No, just like I said before, EVERYONE HAS THESE FREEDOMS IN AMERICA. I do not believe that Merry Christmas is derogatory. I believe that you can not change the way someone reacts to you. You can only explain your side to the best of your ability, and then hope for the best.
What I believe is that I celebrate CHRISTMAS. I do not celebrate HOLIDAY. I know some will say well Happy Holidays covers everyone. I can see that point. If you were not sure of someones faith back round then I can see that side, you may say Happy Holidays, and I do understand someone not wanting to offend someone else. But at the same time, for Merry Christmas to be taken away, or not used or whatever you want to call it, to me is disturbing.
There was an article in the Tulsa World a few weeks ago concerning our currency. In the 1950's In God We Trust was put on to our money. During that time it was "The Red Scare" that had everyone worried, and the US Government decided to try to ease the country's stress and worry so this was something that would help. I do not see anything wrong with that. Does everyone in the US believe in my God, well no, but some are not remembering the reason this country came into being. Doesn't everyone remember that we came to America for religious freedom from the Catholic church? That this country was created for freedom?
This whole politically correct way of thinking is wrong. I do not think we should change the traditions of our country to be politically correct.
Not everyone will agree with me, and not everyone will be happy about this blog, but for me, this is Christmas time, not Holiday time. This is the time of year I celebrate the birth of MY Savior. I do not agree with changing things to Happy Holidays, I should not be condemned for wanting to say Merry Christmas. so to everyone I love and cherish MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
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2 comments:

  1. Scott L HowellNovember 29, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    So this is interesting. You know I have a very strong opinion on this subject so please read EVERYTHING I say before you draw a conclusion on my comments. Here are some facts that will be useful later:

    1) Christmas is the holiday where Christians celebrate the birth of Christ however it happens in December on purpose as early Christians were trying to replace the pagan holidays for the Winter solstice.

    2) Most of the popular Christmas customs such as gift giving, Christmas trees, Santa Clause, etc were modified from the original customs and symbols from the pagan celebrations.

    There are more facts there but the main point here is that we must understand the true history of the holiday so we can understand the modern spin. It certainly wasn't the Christians who invented Christmas, the 'reason for the season' initially was to celebrate the Winter solstice.

    As I am with many things, the debate of 'Happy Holidays' vs 'Merry Christmas' is one where the motivation for your choice is more important to ME than the result. If you say 'Happy Holidays' to me because you are trying to be politically correct or to avoid offending me you're doing it for the wrong reasons. If you truly want me to have a happy holiday then that's a very nice thing to say.

    If someone comes to me and wishes me a Happy Chanukah I smile because they want me to enjoy my holiday and I'm not offended. So I have little patience for those of other religions or atheists who complain about being offended. Whatever you want to think, the intention of anyone saying "Merry Christmas" is a nice gesture and it should make you smile.

    So the TLDR version: If you say 'Happy Holidays' to me to be politically correct you can go jump in a lake. If you truly wish me to have a happy holiday then I love you too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. LisaNovember 30, 2011 at 8:21 AM

    I love you bubba!

    ReplyDelete

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