Christmas under attack

[Jorghnassen]

my_wan, I think you need to have your sarcasm detector calibrated.

He does. Still, the PC nomenclature issue is pretty retarded. I have no qualms with "happy holidays" and "holiday season", but a Yule log's a Yule log, a Christmas tree's a Christmas tree and a menorah is a menorah (or have those been renamed "holiday multibranched candlesticks"?) In the particular example given in my previous post, there's bad translation as well. To try to completely expunge the religious and historical aspects associated with particular holidays and rebrand them into some non-specific sales products just adds another layer of crass commercialism, and no one in their right mind wants to celebrate that.

 

[Tanstaafl]

I agree, I've never been a big fan of political correctness, and the more prevalent it has become, the less I like it.

But there's a bright side, it is now in the rather long list of issues where my very conservative brother and I can find common ground.

 

[cgordon]

The Xians attacked first, when they co-opted the old religions' winter festivals to celebrate a mythical god-child's birth (that according to their own sources was more likely late Springtime).

 

[Darth Rotor]

My research indicates that the opening shot of the War on Christmas was fired by Irving Berlin when he wrote his sinister, Christ-hating song Happy Holiday performed by Bing Crosby in 1942.

Oh dear, someone played the "blame the Jews" card early this year.

Where is that popcorn, anyway?

The Xians attacked first, when they co-opted the old religions' winter festivals to celebrate a mythical god-child's birth (that according to their own sources was more likely late Springtime).

So, let's see, you want to undo 1500+ years of history by whining about that? Time moves forward, at least for us puny humans. You remark smacks of playground justification for pulling a knife.

DR

 

[m_huber]

As long as Charlie Brown's Christmas is still coming on tv every year, I don't see why anyone should be worried.

Besides, why do Christians even care about the birth of Jesus? The important thing is that he died. Who took the "Christ" out of "Easter" and why didn't anyone notice?

 

[my_wan]

my_wan, I think you need to have your sarcasm detector calibrated.

Well, either that or I do.

 

[my_wan]

I guess a "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign" is easier than an anti-pc campaign, and takes less understanding. Yes I am intentionally overstating my case. The irony is I have more actual information for my case than the simplistic battle cries of the religious right.

 

[Upchurch]

In fact it seemed to be entirely manufactured by Christians unwilling to provide a venue for any other religion,

That is an American tradition older than celebrating Christmas.

 

[pgwenthold]

As long as Charlie Brown's Christmas is still coming on tv every year, I don't see why anyone should be worried.

Twas on last night. I hope you didn't miss it.

Charlie Brown's Christmas is really interesting from my perspective. Aside from the fact that it is a nice little feel good story, there is a fascinating piece of culture hidden in there. The main theme of the story is that Christmas has gone away from its roots and is now way too commercialized (Lucy's great line - "It's run by an eastern syndicate, you know"). Wow, that sounds familiar! Every year we constantly hear about how Christmas is too commercialized, so Charlie Brown is right appropriate for the times, right? But keep in mind, Charlie Brown's Christmas was created in the mid-1960s! That is 40 years ago!

The interesting thing about Charlie Brown's Christmas is that it is documented proof that people have been complaining about the commercialization of Christmas for at least 40 years. For some reason, despite all the complaining, I don't see it getting any better. You wonder if maybe, just maybe that people aren't so offended by the commercialism as they claim to be?

Heck, there is a great example of what I mean. One of the things that Charlie Brown finds to be offensive is that Snoopy enters the "Neighborhood Lights and Display Contest." He bemoans, "Even my own dog has gone commercial."

Hmmm, just drive down your street these days and look at all the neighbors trying to outdo each other in their displays. Charlie Brown shows us that back in the 1960s, big, gaudy displays were considered signs of blatent commercialism. Yet now they are almost required! And I gotta say, who do you think are putting up those displays? Is it the "secularists"? I'd suggest not. Heck, your random church is going to have them these days.

Just as long as they don't have pink, aluminum Christmas trees...

 

[bjb]

That is an American tradition older than celebrating Christmas.

Very true! For example, the Puritans were not exactly tolerant of other religions and they did not celebrate Christmas for a number of reasons:

http://www.apuritansmind.com/Christmas/DankoChristmasBanned.htm

 

[Father Dagon]

I thought rabbits had their holidays around easter. But know theyve apparantly thrown themselves into the whole christmas debacle:

"The task force was assembled after receiving and denying requests from a local rabbit to include a menorah in the city's official holiday display."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/448630/the_holiday_display_task_force_in_fort.html

Who me?

Never heard about jewish bunnygirls?

You seem to be making the association that because retailers are trying to be politically correct it must be Christmas under attack. Do you really believe retailers care one way or another, they just want as many sales as possible. They've been feed the idea that many feel that by using certain terminology they are alienating a fairly large segment of the population. Being a business wanting sales this is not a good thing. The irony here is that what examples of anti-Christmas blogs you see are often anti-capitalist. Who is getting notoriety and making money off of the fight for Christmas campaign? Who is making lists of "Friend or Foe" and saying things like;

Reminds me of a photo from the early 70's. The billboard ads from the large retailer chains in Sweden was not celebrating material wealth, but said something like "Christmasing [sic!] with responsibility at us." (Jula med ansvar hos oss.)

I simply hate when large corporations spreads anticapitalist venom. Beacuse in the short term, it only hurts the smaller companies.

 

[Ryan O'Dine]

The interesting thing about Charlie Brown's Christmas is that it is documented proof that people have been complaining about the commercialization of Christmas for at least 40 years. For some reason, despite all the complaining, I don't see it getting any better. You wonder if maybe, just maybe that people aren't so offended by the commercialism as they claim to be?

This is exactly what confuses me most about the “war on Christmas.” Before it started in earnest, the complaint was about the holiday being too centered on businesses trying to sell you things during one of the holiest moments of the Christian calendar. Now, what I take from the “war on Christmas” is that businesses aren’t trying hard enough.

To me, this is about secularizing Christianity in the most underminingly commercial way possible -- by marrying it’s observance to the kind of lustful pursuit of worldly goods that Christianity used to abhor (or so I thought).

 

[cgordon]

So, let's see, you want to undo 1500+ years of history by whining about that? Time moves forward, at least for us puny humans. You remark smacks of playground justification for pulling a knife.
DR

Who's whining? Just stating a fact.

I'm sure various pagan institutions stole each other's holidays and celebrations similarly over the millenia of un- and recorded human history ...

My point is, Christians oughtn't be sniveling about some over-hyped 'war on Xmas' unless they've got their own houses cleaned first.

 

[c4ts]

But what about Bill O'Reilly? He's my Traditional Christmas Warrior buddy! Every Christmas Eve we go out on the roof with our rifles and drink Christmas rum, while we take pot shots at that pagan Jew bastard Santa Claus for failing to recognize the divinity of Jesus Christ! Then we put on our white Christmas Robes and sing traditional German baroque hymns as we join hands with our brothers in a circle around the warm fire of a blazing cross. Sure, the neighbors complain, but that's because they're a bunch of evil atheists who hate Christmas.

 

[NobbyNobbs]

I recall unbiased Peter Jennings on unbiased ABC World News Tonight a number of years back opening the broadcast about some anti-abortion protestors with the line, "People opposed to a woman's right to choose..."

And I support that right. But I don't pretend both sides aren't biased, consciously or not.

Assuming that this broadcast took place after Roe v. Wade, he was technically and legally correct in saying a woman has the right to choose.

Were he to have said "...a woman's supposed right to choose.." he would have been pilloried by the other side.

 

[Cleon]

I get regular email from the Forward, the largest Jewish newspaper in the United States. (I subscribe to the print edition of Forvirtz, the original Yiddish-language version.)

Imagine my surprise (well, more like amusement, really) when I received an email this morning from the Forward advertising "Unique Gift Ideas for the Holidays." "Holidays?" Not "Hanukkah?" From a Jewish newspaper?

Oddly, nobody in the Jewish community seems to be up in arms about a "War on Hanukkah."

Y'know, we're more insecure than most, especially when it comes to anything approaching assimilation. And if we're ok with using "Holidays," well, let's just say that I think it's high time that Bill O'Reilly and his gaggle of Warriors for Christmas withdraw the stick from a certain orifice.