RiceLad15
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RE: Alabama special election
(12-15-2017 12:33 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote: (12-14-2017 05:28 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote: (12-14-2017 04:55 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote: (12-14-2017 04:14 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote: (12-14-2017 03:42 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote: Personally, I don't celebrate "Christmas' much. Not a fan of the music or the specials. No small children or grandchildren. Not religious. I will probably spend December 25th in a casino, if I am lucky enough to find one open. If some misguided soul wishes me a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday ro whatever, I will graciously accept their well wishes, but I would just as soon forget the whole thing.
But I note that on calendars, it is marked "Christmas", not "Holiday". Banks and post offices close for Christmas, not Holiday. Employees are given Christmas off, not Holiday.
Not a BFD, IMO. I wish you all a very merry Monday after next, and a Happy New Year.
Yeah, and the date today is not Dec 25th today. Therefore, it makes a lot more sense to say "Happy Holidays" on the days leading up to and after Christmas, as there are a number of holidays celebrated around Dec 25th.
I mean, it isn't called the Holiday Season for entirely PC reasons...
so, on the 25th, what should one say? On the 24th, what Eve is it? When the employees get a day off a week from Monday, why is that? What kind of party will they have at your office, and if it is a Christmas party, will you refuse to attend?
It is the Christmas season. Just ask the retailers.
What words should we use during the
Easter season?
Oh goodness. I was merely explaining why saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas at this time of year makes sense.
I already said that people shouldn't freak out if someone says Merry Christmas to a Jewish person, or to anyone else who doesn't celebrate Christmas.
I'm not offended by people saying Merry Christmas, and I'm a bit annoyed when people do get offended. However, I get more angry by people who have your position and can't seem to fathom the idea that it may be more appropriate to say Happy Holidays in certain instances.
And as to retailers they seem to do a variety of things. It's Holiday Gifts at Nordstrom (https://shop.nordstrom.com/c/holiday-gifts). It's a smattering of the two at Best Buy (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gift-ideas/...6957944904) and Wal-Mart (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gift-ideas/...57944904). And some just avoid it all together - the only reference to Christmas at Target is to Christmas specific decor (https://www.target.com/).
And at my office, we are having a Holiday Party this Saturday. Not a mention of Christmas, the invite says "To celebrate the holiday season with fellow employees and good cheer, we're planning a holiday dinner to end the year."
I don't think anyone should be force to use a specific phrase, they should just be mindful of what they're saying. And to reiterate, that people shouldn't freak out if someone wishes them a Merry Christmas and they don't celebrate that day.
I think that as a general rule, we should not act or speak to make others unhappy.
But trying to find phrases that will never make anybody unhappy is a fool's errand.
So I will go with the majority.
If I am in an area of overwhelming Christianity, as I am, I will say "Christmas", because that is the holiday being celebrated by the general community. If somebody says to me, I am a Wiccan and the mention of a christian holiday is offensive to me, I will apologize to the Wiccan and say happy solstice or whatever they prefer. i just want them to be happy.
sounds like you work in an office that either (a) has a bunch of bosses afraid to say "Christmas", or (B) has a bunch of non-christian employees and the boss know it.
In my businesses, everybody was happy to take Christmas off, everybody was happy to accept their Christmas bonus, and everybody was allowed to wear Christmas sweaters. never had a problem.
You're looking at this incorrectly.
It's not about not trying to offend people, it's about trying to be as inclusive as possible. As I've said before, it's pretty absurd for someone to be offended by being told to have a Merry Christmas, regardless of their religious background. I agree that people shouldn't care if someone gives them a Christmas bonus. But it isn't absurd to say Happy Holidays in order to try and make sure you're including as many people as possible, or use another term just because it doesn't matter at all.
I think that people have just changed, generally, and work to be more inclusive with this saying. As I've said before as well, it's not like it is only Christmas that is being celebrated this time of year. There is also another religious holiday (Hanukkah) and then a non-denominational one (New Year's), so it makes sense to have a Holiday Party.
I definitely do not have an office of bosses who are afraid to say Christmas, but we randomly don't have a lot of Christmas specific language. We get an end of year bonus, we have a holiday party, but the head of our office's wife definitely bakes a platter of Christmas cookies every year. And my office is also happy to take Christmas and Christmas eve off, we're also happy to take New Year's off, and Labor Day off, and so on. We call the holidays by their name because it happens on that day - so it's descriptive of the day. Now we don't take Good Friday off, but that's because we don't get that as a holiday, instead we get a roaming personal day so you can take any other religious holiday, or just random day, off.
Anyways, I'm not really sure what we're arguing about. We both seem to agree that people should not be offended if someone wishes them a Merry Christmas, and I think that's very important.
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