Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantom Limb
I think it's the fact that when it's said on television, or any large group of people is addressed with "happy christmas", it's like all other groups are being ignored. Not everyone celebrates christmas, so why not just say happy holidays? It's not hard to do and it covers all winter time celebrations so no one is excluded. Anyways, I'm personally sick of all this corporate christmas ****, so the less I have to hear it the happier I'll be.
In fact, it's not even christmas yet so everyone should just shut the fuck up until it's actually time.
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Actually, depending on your culture, "Christmas", and the associated gift-giving etc. can occur at any point between the 6th of December (The Netherlands, if I'm not mistaken) and the 6th of January (Spain). In Irish, "December" is "Mí na Nollaig", literally, the month of Christmas, so technically Christmas is December.
Why is it discriminating to say "Merry Christmas"? Christmas represents a time of year, not necessarily the actual act of celebrating the supposed birth of Christ. Is it discrimination to say "Happy Birthday" on any particular day? Not everyone celebrates their birthday on the same day, after all. Whether or not one celebrates christmas, or has their birthday on that day, the wish is still that they will have a good time. If someone wished me a Happy Ramadan, or Lent (if they felt so inclined), I would be grateful because it is a wellwishing, regardless of the fact that I attend to neither.
"Happy Holidays" isn't even a technically correct term. Many people don't actually have holiday time over Christmas anymore (I wouldn't know about Chanukah or Eid). If anything you would be throwing their lack of holidays in their face by saying that. "Happy Festival" might be er... more appropriate, but the simple fact that it again generalises all winter celebrations into one faceless bundle without character... I would much prefer to be wrong, and have the opportunity to wish the correct goodwill, than be subjected to a term only politically correct due to its total lack of character.