Question:
Why do Christians get mad when people say happy holidays?
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:36:20 UTC
I'm Christian and even as a Christian there are already three days celebrated during the holidays (Christmas, Christmas eve, and New years) besides it's courteous to not assume someone isn't Muslim, or Jewish. So why do so many other Christians throw a fit when someone mentions happy holidays?
Twenty answers:
Nous
2011-12-24 10:53:05 UTC
Christmas is nothing to do with either Christianity or Islam but it does have it's origins in the midwinter festival and many other basically pagan rites but since much of it is a celebration of nature rather than religion everyone should be able to enjoy it and be happy together despite religion!



The ancient European pagans celebrated the midwinter festival and a number of other festivals long before Christianity ever existed!



Babylonians celebrated the feast of the Son of Isis with gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift giving and the goddess of fertility, love, and war.



The Romans held a festival on 25 December called “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, celebrating their own god Sol Invictas – PAGAN!



The Persian god Mithras, the Syrian sun god Elah Gabal, the German Sol, the Greek Helios and the Mesopotamian Shamash. But also Saturnalia, honouring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. The law courts and schools were closed. No public business could be transacted an this is where the holidays originated - ALL PAGAN!



Wax tapers were given by the more humble to their superiors. The origin of the Christmas candle - PAGAN!



In Rome groups of costumed went from house to house entertaining their people. And this was where the carolling Christmas tradition originated PAGAN!



Statues of the Mother and lover or Mother and son were paraded through the streets not only in Italy but also in Africa, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Bulgaria. Thus, the symbolism of the Heavenly Virgin and the infant child paraded on a yearly basis are not of Christian origin. They stem from the Mother-goddess religion, which is very ancient ENTIRELY PAGAN!



Scandinavian countries celebrated Yule honouring Thor – PAGAN!



In Germania (not Germany) they celebrated midwinter night followed by 12 wild nights of eating and drinking. The 12 days of Christmas PAGAN!



The church under Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25 in 350 AD in order to try to hijack the PAGAN festivals but it was largely ignored. Christians did not really celebrate Christmas until 378 but it was then dropped in 381 and not resurrected until 400.



The Christmas tree stems from pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of holly boughs ivy and other foliage as an adaptation of pagan tree worship. Holly and ivy represented male and female. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual - all PAGAN!



Santa Claus came from the Dutch “Sinterklaas” and was a tall figure riding a white horse through the air and usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient children. Also the origin of the reindeer, sleigh and the elves ALL PAGAN!



The modern red coated Santa was brought about by coca cola!



AMERICA ACTUALLY BANNED CHRISTMAS several times and is the originator of the expression “Happy Holidays” which came about because of the pagan origins of Christmas to include all religions and traditions!



The Venerable Bede, an early Christian writer pointed out that the Christian church absorbed Pagan practices when it found the population unwilling to give up the festivals. Thus a lot of what Christians now see as Christians practices are in fact pagan!



Christmas is the time of year christians strive to prove just how pagan they have become
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:48:28 UTC
I don't, I say Happy Holidays or thank you right back.

I really do not understand where this is coming from, people have been saying Happy Holidays for years and years, there is even a song recorded in the 50s called Happy Holidays. Back when I worked retail 30 years ago, I said Merry Christmas to this very sweet older woman she said "Thank you honey, but I am Jewish" ever since then I said Happy Holidays :)



I blame Bill O'Riely and his stupid war on christmas rant!
?
2011-12-24 11:41:00 UTC
In Cassandra's defense, X- may have begun legitimately, but in this time and place it is used by people looking to offend. Likewise, n e g r o was once legitimate in the United States, but now Yahoo censors it and you risk getting beaten up if you call someone that on the street.



>>But aroud the 4th of July there is one possible holiday to celebrate, not 6+<<



Canada Day is July 1st, and there are about 1.5 million Canadians living in the United States. Should we avoid saying "Happy 4th of July" to avoid offending them? July 4th also happens to be the birthday of Calvin Coolidge and Stephen Foster (and yes, people do celebrate those events).
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:46:01 UTC
It is kind of immature for Christians to get angry at this, in my opinion.

People don't know whether you're Christian, Jewish, or whatever, and therefore do not have a reference to which holiday you celebrate (Christmas, Hanukkah). I am a Christian, and I am glad that people are sensitive to this. It is just the polite thing to do.

However, some Christians are very protective of their Faith. God is real, Jesus is real. They feel that since they know who the real God is, everyone else should too. This is why I think it is immature. Different people celebrate different things, but some Christians just can't accept that. Even though we are correct, we must respect others. It is truly a shame.
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:45:57 UTC
Christians get upset when people say ''happy holidays'' because they think they only celebrate Christmas for presents, not the day of Jesus' birth. Personally, I do not believe in God and I celebrate Christmas because it's a good time to get together with your family, give each other gifts, and have fun.
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:52:13 UTC
I have no idea, but I agree with you. I have Jewish friends who celebrate Hanukkah, Mexican friends who celebrate Guadalupe Day Dec, 12th, Western Christian friends who celebrate Christmas Dec. 25th, friends of all sorts who celebrate New Year on Jan. 1st, Western Christian friends who celebrate Epiphany and/or Three Kings on Jan. 6th and Orthodox Christian friends who celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7th.

Since there are so many holidays in this period why not cover them all with Happy Holiday as a general wish. On specific days I give a more specific wish.
Anne Arkey
2011-12-24 10:39:27 UTC
They only see Christmas and forget there are actually other celebrations this time of year -- Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the New Year... not to mention the pagan holidays. Besides, Christmas and New Year's ARE bona-fide holidays according to the government. And I'm happy about that.





@Cassandra -- why upset about X? It is Greek for Christ, and has been used by Christianity since Constantine made it the official religion. The reason people sign with an X is to acknowledge they were signing under Jesus's provenance. As does sealed with a kiss -- kissing one's X (Christ) was like carving in stone hence the x has come to mean "kiss." So, before you start complaining, why not get some knowledge instead of looking ignorant?
The Godfather's Daughter
2011-12-24 10:52:52 UTC
I'm with Kate1122 on this one. This whole thing was started by Billo the Clown declaring that there is a war on Christmas because every single person does not say "Merry Christmas". Well, I say there is a war on Hanukkah? How many times do people say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Happy Hanukkah"? Now this sound really stupid, doesn't it? You can't match Billo for stupid...
Denver Short
2011-12-24 10:42:00 UTC
because they are taught to act like spoiled little brats to protect facts like how christianity stole xmas. facts? SURE.



Christians celebrate the Nativity, or the birth of the alleged Jesus every December 25. Contrary to belief, there exists no evidence for a Jesus born on a December. Not a single shred of Biblical text declares this date, nor gives a hint of a winter season birth for a Jesus "the Christ." In fact, there occurs not a tad of evidence for the existence of a historical Jesus!



The Christmas that we celebrate today derived from pre-Christian Germanic, Roman, and Celtic people who celebrated the winter solstice. The use of holly, mistletoe, yule logs, wassail bowls, and decorating a tree derived from early pagan customs. Many European countries still call this celebration "Yule-tide" meaning "wheel time," the cycles of time. None of these derive from Christian origin.



The Persian Mithras cult spread during the 3rd and 4th centuries B.C.E. and predates Christian ceremonies and rites such as: baptism, communion wafer, and Sunday rest. On December 25, the sacrifice of a bull celebrated the Sol invictus (the invincible sun) and signaled the birth of a young sun god who sprang from a rock or a cave in the form of a newborn infant.



The Romans celebrated the Winter Solstice on December 25th as a renewing of the sun every year. Also the Romans celebrated the festival of the Saturnalia from December 17th to the 24th to honor Saturn, the god of grain and agriculture. The festival consisted of a period of goodwill, devoted to visiting friends and the giving of gifts.



At the beginning of the first century, Christianity emerged as a fledgling religion but not until the 4th century did Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. The motive behind the introduction of this celebration aimed at subverting the practice of pagan rituals such as Mithra and Saturnalia. Pope Liberus introduced the Nativity on December 25th 354 C.E.. By the 5th century, the event became so customary that it began to mark the beginning of the ceremonial year.



Today, we still celebrate with ornaments on trees, mistletoe and giving gifts, none of which has anything to do with Christian mythology. So instead of celebrating the Christian deception, why not opt for the earlier non-god celebration of the Winter Solstice? After all, it represents an actual event as the planet earth orbits about the sun. The universe presents us with far more magnificent events than the superstitious religionists have ever dreamt up. Even more than the imagination of Dr. Seuss.
?
2011-12-24 10:45:34 UTC
I totally get what you are saying- A happy holidays wishes everyone joy for the various holidays this season- the thing that bugs Is happy holidays on Christmas cards (for picky people) or when certain people say it specifically because they dont say CHRISTmas- but its not like they can read minds so its just dumb- this world is WAYYYY to easily offended!!!!!!!!!!!

what bugs me is Xmas- unless its used somewhere as an abbreviation because the whold thing wont fit...

but seriously? why do people need to get their undies in a knot over something SO FREAKING STUPID!!?!?!?!?!
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:37:01 UTC
Happy Holidays Christians! Love from me.
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:40:26 UTC
For some reason, those Christians think that saying "Happy Holidays" makes Jesus go away.





Edit: @ Cassandra...you really need to look up the history of the "X" in Xmas, because you obviously have no idea what you're talking about.
From Offtheplanet
2011-12-24 10:43:15 UTC
Most people go on holiday this time of year.
Johnny Mac
2011-12-24 10:39:31 UTC
Most of us don't. If our faith is leading us to dark places of bitterness and contempt, then I believe that we need to spend some time with the Lord in prayer and devotion as we consider our standing with Him. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness.



Peace be with you.
PARVFAN
2011-12-24 10:40:37 UTC
Because they made a issue of it. When they refuse to take the day off without pay I will continue to say Merry Christmas. Peace
?
2016-09-16 08:46:34 UTC
That is a good point
CassandraofTroy Philosopher
2011-12-24 10:39:19 UTC
We don't. We get upset at things like

Xtian, Xtianity, and Xmas where the name Christ is deleted. It's hate speech.

Happy Holidays is a cop out for the weak. Why bother? Do we say "Happy Holidays" on the fourth of July? NO we say "Happy fourth of July" It's like everybody is ashamed to say the word Christmas.
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:40:50 UTC
'cause if u say "happy holidays" , it's like saying "enjoy our pagan festivals and go to hell with us".

if u say "merry Christmas", it means "I expect to see u in heaven (in a short while)".
MOMMAH
2011-12-24 10:51:51 UTC
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
anonymous
2011-12-24 10:39:18 UTC
I don't.


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