The War on Christmas Thread

[FlamesAddiction]

I also thought that red and green were sort of the unofficial Christmas colours, so that cup still fits the bill. No less than snowflakes for that matter. Most parts of the world don't have snow on Christmas.

On a different note, the company I work for just officially announced the company "holiday party" date. It's the first time they are calling it that instead of a Christmas party. Not a big deal, but "holiday party" just sounds less fun for some reason.

[darklord700]

BTW, that red Starbucks cup is ugly. There needs to be some combination of snowflake, mistletoe, reindeer, Santa, candy stick and sleight that's all I can think of for now and not just a big red cup.

[polak]

I worked in Retail through almost all of University. Not once did anyone say anything about me saying Merry Christmas. Occasionally I noticed a few people didn't say it back but not a single complaint.

People like to blow everything out of proportion.

[undercoverbrother]

I hate Christmas.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by darklord700

BTW, that red Starbucks cup is ugly. There needs to be some combination of snowflake, mistletoe, reindeer, Santa, candy stick and sleight that's all I can think of for now and not just a big red cup.

I was thinking they should go full nativity scene and print biblical verses on the other side. Its offensive that we have all these pagan symbols everywhere. I'm sorry, but I want historical accuracy and I'm pretty sure there were no Reindeer in the stable. Also Jesus probably shouldn't be white if we're really going to talk here.

[ben voyonsdonc]

People are so f'n petty.

There are celebrations at around solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, as well as Christmas at this time of year. The reality is that Christians don't own this time of year. If people want to say Merry Christmas...that's great. Don't force people to do so.

[Thor]

loool the Oatmeal guy made a few changes to the starbucks design, I think everyone will enjoy it.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by blankall

It's not secular though...

Just because some people are treating it that way, doesn't mean it is for everyone. Also, while all of our other secular holidays have roots in historical events that are not tied to religion, the roots here are clearly religious. Many of the customs are derived from pre-existing Celtic and Roman religions, but that doesn't make them any less Christian, as Christian customs are largely a mix of Celtic, Roman, and Jewish religious traditions to begin with.

The roots are religious but so are the roots of all our holidays. Victoria day celebrates the birthday of the Monarch appointed by God. For Christmas there are two distinct holidays being celebrated. Otherwise why would devout athiests give Christmas presents.

1 is the secular Christmas that the state sponsors the other is a religious festival.

A country with christian roots shouldn't toss out the cultural aspects of its history just because they were based on a religious festival. Halloween is a loosely religious festival as well. However it has been embraced as a secular day for kids. We didn't rename Halloween Costume and Canday day. It kept the name of the festival as it became secular. Instead of warding of evil spirits it became about scary movies and cute kid and animal costumes.

The same should be done with Christmas. Encourage participation in the secular holiday of giving.

[troutman]

Mele Kalikimaka

[Regulator75]

[blankall]

Originally Posted by GGG

The roots are religious but so are the roots of all our holidays. Victoria day celebrates the birthday of the Monarch appointed by God. For Christmas there are two distinct holidays being celebrated. Otherwise why would devout athiests give Christmas presents.

1 is the secular Christmas that the state sponsors the other is a religious festival.

A country with christian roots shouldn't toss out the cultural aspects of its history just because they were based on a religious festival. Halloween is a loosely religious festival as well. However it has been embraced as a secular day for kids. We didn't rename Halloween Costume and Canday day. It kept the name of the festival as it became secular. Instead of warding of evil spirits it became about scary movies and cute kid and animal costumes.

The same should be done with Christmas. Encourage participation in the secular holiday of giving.

Linking the birth of a monarch to religion is a much bigger stretch than linking Christmas to religion. Even if people aren't celebrating the purely spiritual aspects (although many still are), they are still practicing the ceremonial aspects. Ceremony is a large part of religion.

Honestly, I have no problem with places like Starbucks having cups that are Christmas themed or people saying Merry Christmas. But it's another step forward to say that everyone should conform to the dominant religion and practice Christmas traditions, merely because some people don't consider it religious anymore. Are you going to enforce that somehow?

Edit: You're also wrong about Victoria being appointed by God. During Victoria's reign the UK officially became a constitutional monarchy, which gave the parliament the ability to dismiss or appoint a new Monarch. Although in practice the parliament had supreme power over the monarchy since the late 1600s.

So Christmas and Easter remain the only religious holidays in Canada.

[Russic]

Watching my religious family members try to wrap their heads around the fact that there is more than one holiday in December is becoming almost more enjoyable than Christmas itself.

[Hack&Lube]

I'm looking at my cup right now. The snow-flakes are on the cardboard sleeve instead of the cup. It's fine.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by blankall

So Christmas and Easter remain the only religious holidays in Canada.

Hockey Day in Canada

[Two Fivenagame]

Does bathing a paper cup in religious symbols bestow some form of miraculous power upon it?

Would my vente americano somehow be converted to the blood of christ?

Could I take my grande non-fat extra hot yadda-yadda into church and casually sip it during the sermon?


This religion stuff is so confusing.

[Regular_John]

I don't really have a horse in this race, but I find it fascinating and highly amusing to watch from the outside.

Yes, some companies/organizations are tweaking their messaging to be less Christ centric.
No, this does not constitute a "War on Christmas"

But it sure is funny to watch the knee jerk reactions on both sides of the equation.

[Drak]

Originally Posted by darklord700

If people celebrate Christmas or the birth of Christ, it is deemed offensive in this country now.

But who run Starbucks or big corporations in America and make these decisions? Most of them are middle aged WASP which makes this "Christmas is offensive" politically correct movement ironic.

Pretty soon, you'll hear people saying Merry Christmas in China & India more often than you'll in North America.

Amusing sentiment from one that calls himself "darklord."

But that's some grade A faux outrage bullcrap right there. Bill O'Riely, is that you?

[WCW Nitro]

I think the problem is that it seems to some that the company wants to go Christmasy as evidenced by the red cups, but is scared of going too far. I'm not Christian, but I can see their line of thinking.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by blankall

Linking the birth of a monarch to religion is a much bigger stretch than linking Christmas to religion. Even if people aren't celebrating the purely spiritual aspects (although many still are), they are still practicing the ceremonial aspects. Ceremony is a large part of religion.

Honestly, I have no problem with places like Starbucks having cups that are Christmas themed or people saying Merry Christmas. But it's another step forward to say that everyone should conform to the dominant religion and practice Christmas traditions, merely because some people don't consider it religious anymore. Are you going to enforce that somehow?

Edit: You're also wrong about Victoria being appointed by God. During Victoria's reign the UK officially became a constitutional monarchy, which gave the parliament the ability to dismiss or appoint a new Monarch. Although in practice the parliament had supreme power over the monarchy since the late 1600s.

So Christmas and Easter remain the only religious holidays in Canada.

So why do Atheists in general celebrate Christmas? Surely they aren't celebrating a religious holiday?

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by GGG

So why do Atheists in general celebrate Christmas? Surely they aren't celebrating a religious holiday?

Because they are slaves to corporate marketing and consumerism.