By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - General - Should we take "Christ" out Christmas?

 

Should "Christ" be taken out of this time of Year?

It's a religious Holiday... 189 64.51%
 
It's not about any Relig... 54 18.43%
 
I really don't care - wh... 50 17.06%
 
Total:293
DaRev on 24 December 2012
SvennoJ said:
I use Merry Christmas and Happy holidays interchangeably, don't pay attention to it. Christmas doesn't have much of a religious meaning to me.
Anyway Happy holidays is essentially the same time as holiday comes from the word hāligdæg which refers to special religious days. As an non-religious agnostic I think it's time to stop using the offensive term holidays!

cool, but we all just need to get along, and live with each other's difference so long as they don't hurt anyone physically or otherwise. For example, I have no problem being asked to correctly refer to someone elses cultural or religious holiday.



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

Around the Network
DaRev on 24 December 2012
bouzane said:

Xmas is not removing Christ from Christmas as X is the Greek letter Chi, the first of the word Χριστός which translates to Christ. Xmas, in no way is about removing Christ from Christmas. All that being said, Jesus was born in the spring and has absolutely nothing to do the the Pagan Winter Solstice celebration that has come to be known as Christmas. Additionally, Christians account for the minority of people whom I know so I simply say happy holidays as merry Christmas is a bit presumptuous.

@ bold - I didn't know that.



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

DaRev on 24 December 2012
Dmick90 said:
Christmas is a household name, you're never going to change that. It's just too big a holiday to try to change it. Liberals are trying to take God/Christ out of the pledge, schools, and everything. It really aggravates me. Just leave it alone it's not hurting anyone, that's the way it's been for centuries.

I thinks its funny how there is today (almost seems like forever now) been either very open or covert attacks on Christianity. Problem is that Christianity in its truest nature has to take it, and not retaliate so to speak - or turn the other cheek. So if people, Governments or Courts want to take God/Christ out of everyday living, then Christianity IMO says so be it, it's your right to choose. But I agree it is a difficult pill to swallow.



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

DaRev on 24 December 2012
Mr Khan said:
The secular Christmas has given us a good deal of moral values largely detached from the original story. The Christ-less Christmas of, say, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" or the largely Christ-absent "Christmas Carol" impart values applicable and relevant to all peoples of all beliefs.

I don't see Christmas as politically incorrect, largely because its become a bigger phenomenon than a religious holiday.

I undertsand, however, isn't it true that Christianity in its truest form first had those same principles, later found in secular christianity and culture, already at its core? In fact, wouldn't it be true to say that secular christianity/culture borrowed this principles from true Christianity?

In the end, can you get any bigger than the true meaning of Christmas (i.e found in the bible)?



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

Torillian on 24 December 2012

Dmick90 said:
Christmas is a household name, you're never going to change that. It's just too big a holiday to try to change it. Liberals are trying to take God/Christ out of the pledge, schools, and everything. It really aggravates me. Just leave it alone it's not hurting anyone, that's the way it's been for centuries.

 


"way it's been for centuries" seems a bit much.  Only information I've seen for the pledge says that Under God was added in the 50's.  Hardly centuries of history.  Given that it was written in 1892 and the Under God part added in 1954 it's spent about half its history without a single mention of god so we'd just be going back to its original intentions.  

I have no specific disdain for any religion over another, but it's my belief that the government should stay away from anything that would seem like condemnation or allegiance to any one religion or the existence or not of religion and the pledge of allegiance is included in that.  



...

Around the Network
Mr Khan on 24 December 2012
DaRev said:
Mr Khan said:
The secular Christmas has given us a good deal of moral values largely detached from the original story. The Christ-less Christmas of, say, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" or the largely Christ-absent "Christmas Carol" impart values applicable and relevant to all peoples of all beliefs.

I don't see Christmas as politically incorrect, largely because its become a bigger phenomenon than a religious holiday.

I undertsand, however, isn't it true that Christianity in its truest form first had those same principles, later found in secular christianity and culture, already at its core? In fact, wouldn't it be true to say that secular christianity/culture borrowed this principles from true Christianity?

In the end, can you get any bigger than the true meaning of Christmas (i.e found in the bible)?

Yes and no. For while western morality is indelibly marked now by the mores of Christianity, but at the same time the lessons of secular Christmas do not need the authority of Jesus behind them. They are things good in and of themselves, regardless of their relationship to the salvation of man.



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

DaRev on 24 December 2012
Zkuq said:
I don't care what it's called, there's very little 'Christ' in the whole thing anyway, just in the word and not in the actual thing. That said, I find it ridiculous that some people would be offended by the word itself because, like I said, the actual thing isn't practically related to Christ at all anymore.

Strange - but I agree with you. I assume this is what Mr. Khan was alluding to, that the underlying principles (e.g giving, love, kindness, etc) of Christmas are widely accepted, more so than Christmas itself - interesting



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

DaRev on 24 December 2012
fighter said:
haxxiy said:
Marks said:
Are you kidding? The whole point of Christmas is the birth of Christ...the reason we give gifts is because the wise men gave gifts to Christ.

That's like trying to take St. Patrick out of St. Patrick's Day or St. Valentine out of Valentine's Day....what's the fucking point?

Man I'm really tired of non-Christians trying to change Christian traditions in a Christian country. You don't hear about Christians going to Israel or Saudi Arabia and demand Jewish or Muslim traditions be changed...so why in America?

Saying happy holidays is MORE THAN SUFFICIENT...we don't need to now disrespect the hell out of Christmas by taking Christ's name out of it.

What, haven't you heard? Male white christians dominated the world for twenty centuries, opressed the hell out of everyone, Sauron style, and should pay for it now. Yeah, some people believe that despite China and India dominating world trade and culture all the way to the late 19th century, and women being held in way higher regard in the west throughout most of history. I blame good old ethnocentrism, only working in reverse this time...

and what about atheists, agnostics and laics ? they also celebrate xmas and it wasnt a christian holiday to begin with ?

why should we suffer the heritage of a christian culture against which western modernity fought against and which is opposed to the greek & roman empires heritage (which define western culture more than christianity or judaism) ?

long question made short :

christian believers are in the minority in western culture and they transformed a pagan celebration into a fake date of jesus birth

I think you have it a bit wrong, as Jesus was born and died, Christianity thus was born, Romans being conquerors of Israel at that time adopted Christianity and spread it through out the then known western world. Long story short pegans accepted chirstianity and made it part of their culture, not the other way around.

Whether people or cultures celebrate Christmas in December, April, or any other time of the year really doesn't matter IMO.



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

Areym on 24 December 2012

Don't really care personally. At my job today (grocery store) I always say Happy Holidays because I am aware not everybody celebrates Christmas and I do have people respond to me, with a weird look on their face, with a merry Christmas. Seriously though, we have more important things to worry about in this world.



"Trick shot? The trick is NOT to get shot." - Lucian

DaRev on 24 December 2012
Dmick90 said:
One of my good friends is Jewish, and he does't care if I wish him Merry Christmas, and I don't care if he wishes me a Happy Hanukkah. Same sh** different name.

Agreed, but the (historical) significance of Christmas and Hanukkah are differen't, or so I heard just a few weeks ago.



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.