merry christmas or happy holidays - Page 3

[siobhang]

There are a MINIMUM of two holidays during this period. Christmas and New Year's Day. New Year's day is a holiday, and it is technically Christian, since the Jewish and Muslem calendars both have different years/changing to the new year.

So Happy Holidays is actually more accurate, and it is inclusive and (in my experience) less likely to offend. My 2 cents.

[umsami]

My Mom gets upset too. She wants "Merry Christmas."

I'm Muslim... and I don't care. Although I do think it was weird that yesterday, this guy totally went out of his way to come up to me and my kids (I wear hijab).. and say " Merry Christmas." SO I said, "Merry Christmas to you too." But I still thought it was a little bizarre. I wasn't wearing one of my possibly a nun-outfits (black outfit with white hijab...) :

I don't begrudge others their holidays. I'd like to hope that some day people (other than Muslims) will actually wish me a Ramadan Mubarak or Eid Mubarak (Happy Eid)... but I'm still waiting. Just like my Hindu friends are unlikely to get a Happy Diwali anytime soon.

[mamabadger]

Originally Posted by umsami

... I do think it was weird that yesterday, this guy totally went out of his way to come up to me and my kids (I wear hijab).. and say " Merry Christmas." SO I said, "Merry Christmas to you too." But I still thought it was a little bizarre. I wasn't wearing one of my possibly a nun-outfits (black outfit with white hijab...) :

He might still have done it because he thought you were a nun or something. I have been mistaken for a nun several times, just because I was dressed a little bit conservatively or was wearing a kerchief on my head. Some people have a rather vague idea of what a nun "or something" looks like.

[weliveintheforest]

I don't mind happy holidays at all. It bugs me to see chain emails and videos on facebook about how stupid it is to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".
I think I believe in Jesus, but I don't think Christmas is really about him. It's a pagan holiday made-over to fit into Christianity. Christmas is not in the bible. I see no reason to get offended when people don't 'put the Christ back in Christmas'.

[TzippityDoulah]

I also think a lot of people would have never considered the idea that muslims don't celebrate christmas too. how you're brought up in a lot of places is the only thing you're exposed to ykwim? I try to explose my kdis ot different cultures and ideas b/c it makes life easier when you're an adult and trying to meet new people and what not.

[TzippityDoulah]

for the record, the idea that Christmas is a pagan holiday made over is only a theory. there is just as much proff that it was always a christ holiday that was close to a pagan holiday. (like christmas, hannukah and eid are all around the same time...) I just wanted ot set that record straight b/c that seems tobe making it way around places as "truth" when it's just an assumption. soltice was celebrated for a long time, and so has been the birth of christ.

[SunshineJ]

Originally Posted by HennyPenny

for the record, the idea that Christmas is a pagan holiday made over is only a theory. there is just as much proff that it was always a christ holiday that was close to a pagan holiday. (like christmas, hannukah and eid are all around the same time...) I just wanted ot set that record straight b/c that seems tobe making it way around places as "truth" when it's just an assumption. soltice was celebrated for a long time, and so has been the birth of christ.

Interesting. I've honestly never met anyone who believes December 25th to be the actual date of Jesus' birth. Everything I've researched either presents theories ranging from Sept 15 or Jan 6 to a blanket "the date is undetermined and accepted as such". Do you have any relatively unbiased sources on that - I'd be really interested to read more on that (not being snarky)?

[Smokering]

There was a theory floating round the early church that Jesus was both conceived and died on March 25, making December 25 the birthday (because of course, the perfect Son of God wuld have had a perfect gestation time and arrived on His due date!). I think it's a bit dodgy myself as a theory, but it was certainly around.

[TzippityDoulah]

oh no, I don't believe it was.... don't get me wrong. I haven't a clue when t was. but when the holiday was first started there was the belief it was his birthday b/c of calculations about when Mar gave birth and so forth. it was just accepted as being the closest they could get to the date and so they celebrated it.

of course that has nothing to do with trees, santa or presents lol... that's just things that gets added to holidays through traditions meshing.

[TzippityDoulah]

Originally Posted by Smokering

There was a theory floating round the early church that Jesus was both conceived and died on March 25, making December 25 the birthday (because of course, the perfect Son of God wuld have had a perfect gestation time and arrived on His due date!). I think it's a bit dodgy myself as a theory, but it was certainly around.

dodgy, yes i totally agree... but it still gives reason to see it wasn't just Christians trying to steal solstice ... thogh it *could* have been part of the reason they were encouraged ot celebrate Jesus birth... the heart of man in history is hard to prove.

[philomom]

Originally Posted by HennyPenny

dodgy, yes i totally agree... but it still gives reason to see it wasn't just Christians trying to steal solstice ... thogh it *could* have been part of the reason they were encouraged ot celebrate Jesus birth... the heart of man in history is hard to prove.

The Romans had a huge week long Saturnalia festival from Dec 17 to Dec 24th. Gifts, slaves freed for the week and lots of wine and food. The early xtians may have chosen Dec 25th because everyone else in Rome (and Roman provinces) was home sleeping it off. Thus all the partying may have given the early xtains relative peace for their unorthodox and un-government sanctioned worship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia

[TzippityDoulah]

Originally Posted by philomom

The Romans had a huge week long Saturnalia festival from Dec 17 to Dec 24th. Gifts, slaves freed for the week and lots of wine and food. The early xtians may have chosen Dec 25th because everyone else in Rome (and Roman provinces) was home sleeping it off. Thus all the partying may have given the early xtains relative peace for their unorthodox and un-government sanctioned worship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia

well that's certainly any interesting idea!

but yeah, I just hate hearing how it's become fact that Christian's stole it from pagan's just to assimilate them into their Christian faith. I realize there have been some people using the name of Christ to do some pretty ridiculous things, but I hate to just make vast assumption about things like that. I don't go pointing my fingers at anyone unless i have proof of a wrong. it just breeds and petty hateful intolerance between faiths.

[Tradd]

Originally Posted by umsami

I don't begrudge others their holidays. I'd like to hope that some day people (other than Muslims) will actually wish me a Ramadan Mubarak or Eid Mubarak (Happy Eid)... but I'm still waiting. Just like my Hindu friends are unlikely to get a Happy Diwali anytime soon.

I have a moderate Muslim woman in my office (by moderate, I mean she doesn't cover, although she does dress in modest "normal" American clothes). I knew Eid was around T'giving, so while I didn't know the proper greeting, I simply asked her if she had had a good holiday weekend (I surprised her by knowing it was called Eid - bonus points to MDC! although I did get the pronunciation wrong). She seemed delighted to even be asked. The other coworkers didn't even know she'd had a religious holiday that weekend.

[umsami]

Originally Posted by Tradd

I have a moderate Muslim woman in my office (by moderate, I mean she doesn't cover, although she does dress in modest "normal" American clothes). I knew Eid was around T'giving, so while I didn't know the proper greeting, I simply asked her if she had had a good holiday weekend (I surprised her by knowing it was called Eid - bonus points to MDC! although I did get the pronunciation wrong). She seemed delighted to even be asked. The other coworkers didn't even know she'd had a religious holiday that weekend.

I'm sure she was thrilled. If it helps, I don't even pronounce Eid correctly. The first letter is ع"ayn" which is one of those letters in the Arabic alphabet that not all English-speakers can pronounce properly (like the "ha"). I tend to say "Eeee-d" (Like letter E with a d at the end)... when the correct pronunciation is more like ay-ee-d (but that's not 100% correct). I also mispronounce my own son's name which also begins with the ع. LOL

[smeisnotapirate]

Awww... Diwali puja is one of my favs. I remember seeking out a Hindu gal in college and asking if she would be going to the Hari temple for Diwali. She almost fainted. It was cool, and we had a date every year.

But I was a south Asian religions minor (Hinduism, Islam, Daoism, Buddhism, etc), so it was an extenuating circumstance.

</nostalgia for college>

[TzippityDoulah]

Originally Posted by smeisnotapirate

</nostalgia for college>

lol