Elder Oaks - encouraging holiday insensitivity?

[LSOF]

As we broadcast to one another and to the world how righteous we are, flouting the commands in our own holy books.

[dareka]

More rant.

I'm still a little perturbed about it when Mormons freak out about the word "Christmas". They seem to forget that it is derived from "Christ's Mass".

Umm....why are Mormons embracing the apostasy?

I wonder how that slipped past the correlation committee. We'd better change our holiday greeting to "Merry Christsacramentmeeting!"

[nibbler]

In extended family saying "happy holidays" is considered fighting words. For real.

They also hate how they have to tiptoe around with what they say lest they offend someone in an overly PC society.

'Tis the season. [triggered]

Merry ChristmasChristMcChristyChristChrist everyone.

[document]

They also hate how they have to tiptoe around with what they say lest they offend someone in an overly PC society.

I have noticed in the last year that those who scream the most about the PC-nature of society are usually the first who are offended when someone says something against them.

[lostintime]

I always wonder why you can't actually just get to know a person well enough to know their religious preference, and wish them a happy whatever based on the actual individual rather than feeling like we need to just broadcast a canned holiday greeting regardless of religious preference.

[document]

I always wonder why you can't actually just get to know a person well enough to know their religious preference, and wish them a happy whatever based on the actual individual rather than feeling like we need to just broadcast a canned holiday greeting regardless of religious preference.

Because the checkout lady at Target doesn't have the time to get to know each customer.

I've witnessed this multiple times. Once at Target, once at Fred Meyer, and once to a bell ringer.

[MoPag]

I wonder how that slipped past the correlation committee. We'd better change our holiday greeting to "Merry Christsacramentmeeting!"

LMAO!!!

Also, welcome to NOM.

[crazyhamster]

Happy Winter Solstice Celebration.

#hijackedbychristians

Thank you wtfluff!!

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/yuletra ... -Roots.htm

Pretty much everything we associate with Christmas is Pagan in origin.

Exactly! All of the traditions are based on the fact that it occurs around the solstice. I think I'll start doing that this, on the 21st (or 20th or 22nd, depending) I'll go around wishing people, "Happy Solstice!!"

[alas]

Happy Winter Solstice Celebration.

#hijackedbychristians

Thank you wtfluff!!

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/yuletra ... -Roots.htm

Pretty much everything we associate with Christmas is Pagan in origin.

Exactly! All of the traditions are based on the fact that it occurs around the solstice. I think I'll start doing that this, on the 21st (or 20th or 22nd, depending) I'll go around wishing people, "Happy Solstice!!"

Yeah, you can joke about this. You don't have a daughter who says, "Mom, we can't come to the Christmas party THAT night. It's Solstice and I have duties."

Yeah, my daughter is a pagan priestess, she has duties on Solstice, Halloween, and since she was born on Groundhog Day, she even has duties on her flipping birthday. I don't get holidays with her because Christians appropriated them all. The revenge of the pagans. But, yeah, pagan priestess, been for over 20 years, so I can't exactly say it is a phase she is going through.

Last night, I told my husband that I really didn't want to go out to dinner with his sister because she posted some a**hat thing on Facebook about how people who get offended with "Merry Christmas" need to accept that they are living in a *Christian* nation. And her post went on about how she is so sick of being forced into political correctness, and that she is going to say Merry Christmas if she wants to. She is so offended by political correctness interfering with her right to offend people. Yeah, she voted for Trump. I didn't tell DH that I would be tempted to shake her and yell in her face, "We are not a Christian nation, but a purposeful secular nation. Read the Constitution, instead of your right wing crap." But that would offend her, so I will be politically correct and resist calling her a bigot.

We need a word that covers all the Hollidays without leaving anybody out. And we better not leave out Cannadians who celebrate Boxing Day. How about, Happy Thanksadventsolsticehannakachristmaskawnsaboxingnewyearstwelthnightepiphani. There, problem solved, if you can say it. And to keep the Christians happy, the majority of the Hollidays are theirs.

May whatever God you worship at this time of year bless you and keep you.

[LSOF]

I'm going to start observing eleven days of Newtonmas --- from his Julian birthday on December 25, to his Gregorian birthday on January 4 --- devoting them to the study of calculus and physics.

[Leukarktos]

She is so offended by political correctness interfering with her right to offend people.

That's the thing that baffles me. Back when I believed in Jesus-as-Savior, I imagined him to be very loving, the kind of person who would go out of his way not only to not offend people (with the exception of hypocritical Church leaders like the scribes and Pharisees), but to include them and make them feel welcome. So when Christians assert their Christianity by claiming the right to offend people, and therefore behave the exact opposite way to how Jesus would behave, it makes my head spin.

I don't mind if people say "Merry Christmas." But I might respond with a "Happy Hanukkah" or "Merry Yule" as a gentle reminder that there are other holidays.

L

[crazyhamster]

Oh, I like "Merry Yule!" I might use that.

For what it's worth, I don't know anyone who is offended by "Merry Christmas". I find more offence taken to "Happy Holidays", etc. (though not so much around here. People are just happy that you greeted them.)

[document]

I went Christmas shopping yesterday so my children could buy gifts for each other. The word "Christmas" was everywhere, people said "Merry Christmas" all the time. One person, the checkout lady, said "Happy Holidays". One whole corner of both stores I visited had a Christmas area with "Christmas" written over it. Nativities were for sale in both locations. Trees were labeled "Artificial Christmas Trees". I'd say if there ever was a "war", I'd say it was won based upon my experiences of visiting two major chains and paying attention.

People who buy into this seem to be like many of us are when receiving criticism. I played a large solo this year at the Christmas concert. I did very well and it was a difficult and large piece. I received compliments from dozens of people when I finished. I received one criticism from someone who criticizes everything in life: I made a small blip in a fast run of 32nd notes. What part does my brain focus on? The criticism! It doesn't focus on the many compliments. In fact, that night as I walked away from the performance, I thought I did terribly because of that single criticism. In retrospect, and after reviewing the video coverage, I nailed it. My brain was playing tricks on me.

Now, if I obsess and care about the holidays vs. Christmas arguments and so-called "war", I will noticed "Happy Holidays" very much so. If I go through the stores I will breeze over the more than 100 times it says Christmas up and around the store because at the end of my experience, someone wished me "Happy Holidays". That single gesture will pale all other gestures with the word "Christmas" in there. The brain focuses on the negative. It is just a trick of the brain in this case that this myth continues.

[No Tof]

Good discussion as we approach Christmas Day.

@2biz I suspect mr oaks is referring to our temples. Seems that has been the thing being pushed this decade.

I think the season will be interesting for family No Tof thus year. Hoping we can have open discussions about what it means for each of us. DW tbm the rest of us in varying degrees of heretical thinking as far as the church is concerned.

Despite oaks idea that Christmas is a literal linear concept, I hope we can decide there are many ways to celebrate as humans, christian or no.