I would REALLY like to see this article because it is so ridiculous, it sounds like it might have been written by The Onion or something and not in any seriousness.
JenlovesDon1, well, yes, many people celebrate Christmas because it is Jesus's birthday but not everyone. I'm not trying to be combative or start anything, I just wanted to let people know that there are all different kinds of people out there and all different points of view, none of which is better than anyone else's. I, for example, am an atheist but I totally celebrate Christmas and Easter. For me and my family they are traditions, a time for families to get together and celebrate things we don't normally celebrate like goodwill towards man, etc. For us, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus, God, or anything like that. I guess what we follow is closer to the original spirit of that particular day which was celebrated as Yule long before the time of Jesus. Yes, it is believed that Jesus was born in the summer or something but the reason the celebration of his birth was changed to December 25 was because the pagan holiday of Yule was already celebrated that day and it was easier to get the pagans to convert to Christianity if they, the converters, simply changed the meaning behind the existing holiday rather than try to get the pagans to drop Yule entirely and celebrate Christmas in June. This is just historical fact, the reasoning behind why we celebrate Christmas on the day we do. I might be a little off in my explanation but the general gist is correct. for the record, DH and I and the other atheists in my family are just atheists and not pagans. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with pagains, I just wanted to make it clear where I was coming from.
As an atheist, I have zero issues with other religions as long as they don't try to impose themselves on me. Someone mentioned being upset that some people were upset about "In God We Trust" being on our money. Well, I admit that I don't love it. I mean, imagine if it said "In Allah We Trust". You wouldn't love that because it does not express your beliefs. I am not a militant atheist, I truly believe that everyone has the right to worship the way they want (or not at all) so I am not out there shouting protests about our money. However, I hope I am not opening up a can of worms here since nobody brought it up yet, but I do not like the insertion of God into the pledge of allegiance. The pledge was originally written as "one nation indivisible...", not "one nation under God, indivisible..." and I believe that it is more inclusive the original way, not only to atheists but also to those who are spiritual and worship a higher power other than the Christian God. Again, I am not out there shouting protests about it but if a vote came up I would DEFINITELY get out there and have my vote count towards what I believe in.
Now, back to the original topic! A Christmas tree is a Christmas tree and should be referred to as such. Have a menoral and a Kwanzaa whatever out there, too. Frankly, it would be nice to see more public recognition of other cultures instead of JUST Christmas... although I do love Christmas and looooove all the decorations! :) I just think they could do other ones, too.
As for companies telling their employees to wish customers "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", well, that is just good business. So what if they don't acknowledge YOUR celebration, they are just trying to spread good cheer, would you rather they not do it at all? I do think that each employee should be empowered to make their own decisions on the fly and be able to wish someone who is obviously celebrating one particular holiday the appropriate greeting. Like, if I hit Target wearing a Christmas sweater (as if! Sorry, most of them are kind of hideous!) and a Santa hat the employees should be allowed to wish me a Merry Christmas. Right now I don't think they can and that is the major flaw I see.
