I wanted to hear more reports of others who have received Merry Christmas greetings in local stores.  Note to self: Look on the sunny side.  

Honestly, what is the big difference between happy holidays and Merry Christmas?  When I was growing up, we always said happy holidays, and it included Christmas and New Years.  It was used to say to people that you probably wouldn't see again until after the new year. 

Please don't tell me that you get all butt hurt if someone says happy holidays instead of Merry Christmas. 

It makes a big difference to those Christians whose faith is shaky to begin with, btown.

I'm with Btown on this.  What possible difference does it make, as long as the greeting is friendly and heartfelt.

I don't like bashing businesses with boycotts.   (what awful alliteration)  They're in a damned if we do and damned if we don't situation on so many issues. 

The problem is that stores / businesses goes out of the way to avoid the word 'Christ' as in 'Christmas' like it would offend some of their prospective customers.  The true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate Jesus Christ's birth (let's not go in to exact birthday thing).  This is same insult as throwing out 'In God We Trust' or tossing out the Ten Commandments out of the court house while apeasing to every other religious and non religious movements.  We, the Christians, deserve the same rights (or even more) as some of you would give the gays.  I don't mind the 'happy holiday', but I do mind business excluding the words 'Christmas' in an attempt to be PC.

Casooner

I'm confused.  Why do you deserve more rights than gays do?   Your religious beliefs are a choice.  Their sexual orientation was determined during gestation.

All they want is equality.  Won't you settle for equality for yourself.

As far as the Christmas greeting goes..............if you owned a business in a predominately Jewish or Muslim neighborhood would you still think it appropriate to wish every Jewish and Muslim shopper in your store a Merry Christmas?

@Audrey

I believe he is simply referring to the fact that this nation was founded upon Judeo-Christian Values, not necessarily insisting Christ believers deserve more rights.

However, that is beside the fact.

I'd appreciate it if Audrey could  point out the scientific study that shows homosexuality is something you're "born with?"  What gene is it, exactly, that makes you homosexual? 

I take it you also believe that homosexual's were born with their "Queer" voice also? or could that also be a "CHOICE?"

Politicaljunkie-Audrey has a gay son. do you need further info? audrey audrey the gay sons mother. the snake. the slithering snake. she will tell on you politicaljunkie and you will be deleted. careful the snakes are powerful. audrey audrey the mother who failed. she loves and protects her sick gay boy. do not argue with her, you will be deleted. welcome to the new america.

Audrey won't be the one who gets you deleted. Gunslinger and PoliticalJunkie, your assenine and insensitive remarks and BLATANT disregard for common decensy begs that you get deleted instead. If being courteous to others instead of being outright offensive is new America, then I suppose neither of you belong there. This whole topic was about focussing on the positives. Bloggers like you make this community hard to be in. Thanks to your ineptitude regarding staying focussed and brilliant skills in being nothing more than a waste of our time.

Mudslinger-following Audrey and Vanity around is harrassment, sad thing is they can handle it and put you to shame. Enjoy posting before Jason wakes up.

Wait a minute here, audrey said something that is not true - sexual orientation is not determined by gestation.  There are biased researchers twisting the data to meet their hypothesis and just as many other biased researchers proving that genes has nothing to do with one's sexual orientation.  PJ and MS were just pointing out this flaw in audrey's statement.  Being gay is a sexual deviation by choice, not by genetics as some would like for the rest of the world to think.

Why do Christians deserve more rights?  Becuase the day is titled 'Christmas' as in recognition of Jesus Christ's birthday.  Therefore, December 25th should be called Christmas as it has always been.  Not change the name to something else that appeases the stores for consumer greed.  

Looks like this thread has turned nasty with the gay bashers weighing in.

Casooner's off base comment referencing Christian "rights" in comparison to gay rights in a discussion about holiday greetings opened the door for the homophobes to chime in with their hateful vitriolic crap.

Gunslinger's particularly hateful personal attack on Audrey stands tall among the worst we've heard from some of the nastiest of trolls.

I doubt gunslinger will get off many, if any, more shots on this site.

Anyway, the terms "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" first arose many years ago to include people of the Jewish faith who also celebrate observance of one of their holiest religious rites during the season.

The generic greetings are simply meant to be inclusive of all faiths, not to exclude Christians.

Today, there are people of even more faiths to greet in our increasingly diverse culture.

Sorry, you paranoid Christians, but you don't get to be martyrs over this.

There is no conspiracy of political correctness to deprive anyone of a holy day.

Consider that in greeting a Jewish friend or someone you know is Jewish, you might respectfully say Happy Hanukkah while your Jewish friend might counter with the traditional Christian greeting with respect for your personal faith.

If you have no knowledge of the faith of people whom you greet, it makes little sense to address them as Christians.

So, it is polietly fitting for businesses who don't know customers personally or their religious leanings to use the generic greeting with all good intentions.

Boycotting stores for expanding greetings of good cheer to include all faiths is silly at best.

By all biblical and historical accounts, Jesus Christ was a great guy and all, and celebrating his birthday is fine, but there are other legitimate faiths held by decent people with differing deistic beliefs and personal visions of their god who merit consideration during a season in which they also celebrate their chosen holy days.

It is only common courtesy to respect the faiths of others.

If some Christians are unwilling to respect the beliefs of others, then why should others bother to respect the views of those closed minded Christians?

But hey, if your feelings about your faith are that exclusionary, then by all means limit your holiday shopping to only stores that show deference to Christians. Screw the people who don't see things your way. They are scum. They are all damned to suffer in the eternal fires of hell, anyway. Go ahead and have yourself a very hateful holiday.

My Muslim friend says Merry Christmas to people and she is in retail.  Just as I would say Happy Hanukkah or any other greeting for any faith's holy day.  Personally I use Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas interchangeably.  This is a HOLIDAY SEASON and there's no reason to exclude anyone from it.

I was leaving the post office yesterday and a gentleman held the door for me.  When I thanked him he said "Merry Christmas" and the world didn't collapse.  I said "Merry Christmas to you too."   If he had said "Happy Holidays" I would have said "And you have a great holiday too."

Good wishes folks, that's what it's about.

Now, all you folks have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday !  Ya hear me?  I insist !

Casooner's audacious dismissal of Audrey's well supported view: "Wait a minute here, audrey said something that is not true - sexual orientation is not determined by gestation."

Casooner goes on to dismiss any and all knowledgable experts who support Audrey's opinion as biased, thereby summarily removing all argument otherwise from consideration.

So, I guess it's all settled then, Audrey. Casooner is the final arbiter of truth and you and the rest of us who might disagree are merely chopped liver.

 I find it funny that most Christians, especially on this site feel persecuted.  When the some of us have to live with Christianity shoved down our throat on a daily basis. 

I have no problem with our national motto, simply because I respect the history of it.  It doesn't offend me one bit.  I do have a problem with posting the ten commandments anywhere in a government run building, because that is crossing the line of church/state separation.  And I respect the constitution more so then others seem to.  Upholding the constitution isn't something I feel you can pick and choose on. 

Everyone has the right to worship how they will, and to shop like they will.  But to get "offended" over someone saying Happy Holidays over Merry Christmas is very obtuse.  Personally, I think that in this day and age just having someone in a store notice that you are alive is a plus in the win column. 

You guys want a place where they *KNOW* how to wish you a Merry Christmas?  Try the godless secular state of Japan:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Christmas trees made out of sushi?  Take *THAT,* Gaspar, Balthazzar and Melchior!

Saber can I have mine with onions Please?

The “Gay” Gene Study

Simon LeVay himself a gay man, admitted that the study was inconclusive in 2001, “It’s important to stress what I didn’t find. I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn’t show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain.” (as quoted in Byrd, et al., 2001, emp. added). Simon LeVay’s hypothalamus study confused the public. Hopefully the truth will finally set the record straight.

The next and probably most influential study reported a “gay” gene and was conducted in 1993, by another man that engaged in same gender sex, Dr. Dean Hamer and his team of geneticists at the National Cancer Institute. Hamer and his colleagues reported that a “gay” gene seemed to be maternally linked and could be found on the Xq28 stretch of the X chromosome.
Hamer, who has testified in opposition to Colorado’s Amendment 2, which sought to keep homosexual activists from winning minority class status, has played an enormous role in The “Gay” Agenda, the born “gay” hoax. Then Senator Robert C. Smith (R-New Hampshire) even accused the doctor of “actively pursu[ing] a gay agenda.” - Joyce Price, “Federal Cancer Lab Hunts for Gay Gene,” The Washington Times, 3 April 1994.
Immediately after the Hamer study was published a media explosion ensued, but like the Hypothalamus study before it, Hamer’s study was soon to be discredited as both biased and corrupt. In fact, the title of an article appearing in the same-gender sex magazine, New York Native, illustrates this fact well. The article is titled:

“‘Gay Gene’ Research Doesn’t Hold Under Scrutiny, Chicago Tribune’s John Crewdson Uncovers Possible Scientific Misconduct by NCI Researcher.” (New York Native, 7-10-95, p.25)

This is NOT a Holiday Tree

This is not a Hanukkah bush

This is not an Allah plant

It is a Christmas tree.

Say it...

CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas

Yes CHRISTmas -not Holiday

We are not celebrating the birth of a Holiday!!!

We are

Celebrating the Birth of

Jesus Christ!!!

So I would like to say to each and everyone of you

Have a Very Merry CHRISTMAS

Have a Very Blessed Christmas

Btown, maybe the difference is that most folks on here don't insult Atheists while most (not all) of the Atheists feel it's perfectly fine to insult and mock Christianity and our beliefs.  Book of myths, sky daddy, delusional...those are just a few of the things said about Christianity.

"I find it funny that most Christians, especially on this site feel persecuted."

Unless it's a Yule tree.  They came first.

Remember the Reason for the Season:  Axial Tilt.

Btown, maybe the difference is that most folks on here don't insult Atheists

Several do. 

Christianity can't survive without persecution.  You should thank us.  And they're *STILL* myths.  The point is, too many Christians don't know what myths are, and why they're important.

That was an okay poem, Sioux, but it didn't rhyme.

Merry Christmas to you, too!  : )

Nancy-

I like to think I am respectful of everyone's belifs.  However, I was just making an observation based on what I see.  I root of the cause is sometimes unknown.  Issues of faith or lack there of are always touchy. 

For the record, I don't have any sons.  My husband and I are the parents of  two beautiful, smart, kind, hardworking daughters. 

Nancy

Let me state that I have been insulted, maligned, talked down to, accused of being immoral, and wished that I would die or go live in communist Russia.  The list goes on and on.

You don't notice it because it doesn't affect YOU.   I notice each hateful remark, I just don't respond to them.   Sometimes they're scary (like Gunslinger and Cowgirl) and I've thought of declining to state my beliefs because of the threat I feel.  But I DON'T want to live a coward's life!

Having said that let me make it clear that I'm not scared of any threat to myself, but I have loved ones that I fear for because of my outspokeness.   Ironically, most of them are Christians.

Where is the FREEDOM in America for ME.

How come I didn't know about these incredible daughters?  Where have you been hiding them?  And all this time I thought it was just me and Rose.

Oh yeah, and then there's Cat and Rose.

; ) 

You guys missed the word "most" I guess.  I never speak in absolutes.

Just to single out two of our regulars (example).  Audrey nevers insults or mocks Christians, RF always does.  Opposite emds of the spectrum so there must be some who fall in the middle.

Oooops, dang.  I used absolutes after all.  :-)

Oh, and RF. Just like your antagonism toward conservatives makes me a better one, so your constant ridiculing Christianity makes me a better Christian.

Thanks buddy...much appreciated.  Merry Christmas.    <{;-)

By the way Audrey, you're very fair in your discussions about religion.  That's also very much appreciated.  I don't get into it too much because it's a very personal and individual thing.

I only get into it when it's starting to get lopsided.  Nancy, you're right!   You never speak in absolutes or make general statements.  That's appreciated too, my friend.  I should have addressed my remarks to some of the more inflamatory, adamant bloggers.

Audrey, copying and sending the pics from the eamil.  Watch for them.

edit.  Anyone else do typos like my email one?  I have several that I'm very dyslexic on.  Don't know why.  Bakersfiled is one, and I mess up people a lot.  The word, not the being.

I want to share a story with you all...so bear with me....

About 'a hundred years ago'--6 men and myself were in some jungle--put there for the sole purpose of retrieving any 'downed' pilots that had to check-out of their aircraft while on their mission in the vicinity---they KNEW that 'friendlies' are in the area and are there to get them in case they got shot down---before 'Charlie' got ahold of their ass.....

We were planted there 4 days before the mission....silent and invisible...scared teenagers in the a%$hol# of the world...our Commander-In-Chief at the time was known as 'Tricky Dick'--(Richard Milhouse Nixon)---aka "The Big Dick"....don't get me wrong...rather than starting a nuclear war to win the war...he choosed to give up the whole game and bring us home and ended the madness...and that didn't sit well for those that did what they had to do and in the end---tails between our legs---and to this day--we're still mad.....but that's another story.....

What I'm trying to say is that while this was going on--those 6 men and I were having Christmas Dinner out of a can--silent--praying within our minds---and praying that IF one of those pilots were to be shot down..that we got to that pilot first---without having to take a human life in the process...but if it had to be --so be it----

I'll never forget that Christmas--I found 2 of 'my amigos' over the years over the internet....one sent me some pictures of 'our buds' of the time.....I called him and we both cried---then drank a shot for each one of them that was on that mission...

So this Christmas---look at what you have...and enbrace it.....give hugs...give love...and do what WE did in the bush...pray for peace....

Thats a heavy thing for a teenager at the time---thats a heavy thing for anyone caught up in the madness....

Ling...thank you for your service and for reminding me of what is really important in life.  Christmas morning you and your family will be in my thoughts.

Thank you Ling.  Sorely needed sentiments about now.  Merry Christmas. 

You REALLY want to thank me...then take your extra blankets and clothes and GIVE them to people living on the streets---but be VERY careful...some of us NEVER came home--if you know what I mean...pack sack-lunches...something..anything...I know you see them around town....and just give it to them...it's the families with children that worry me....just for one night--rent a room at a Motel 6 so that they may shower-do laundry--and sleep in warmth--just for 1 night...now that isn't going to break the bank..is it?

Just give them the key-and a way to get to the room---and in my eyes--you would have earned your wings...(Don't worry-I've got connections)

I've been blessed to take care of my wife 24/7--having lost my 1st one due to cancer--now the 2nd one is fighting---but we've never strayed from helping others---especially during these times---but we have been a bit (???) with origination's that ask for money---and how much REALLY goes to those that need it....

When I was with Kaiser Medical..my Doctor DONATED his time and money at the Bakersfield Homeless Shelter--so we donate there.....

But we need to get these folks off the streets---or at least get them fed-warm--well....we're a nation that gives a sh&t  about the WORLD.....and we spend HOW MUCH MONEY ON NEW WA YS TO KILL PER YEAR????

Can you imagine IF we spent the same amount of money JUST TO TAKE CARE OF OUR  OWN.....THAT"S my wish to Santa Claus...I'm tired...and I'm going to sleep--but not after I take the Mrs. for her treatment at CBCC---I'll sleep in the truck---

It's not hard--just think about it...

Hey chopped liver, it's not conclusive.  There is no proof except for bunch of biased researchers.  Seriously, it's a choice.  It's not like the color of your skin or the size of your eyes.  It's not age, gender or race.  IT'S JUST A SEXUAL DEVIANCE!  Get over it.

ling, good story.  From a fellow vet, thanks for your service.  But, what's with the capitalization and run on sentences?  It's a bit difficult to read.  I know that this is your MO, but...

There is no proof except for bunch of biased researchers. 

Whereas *YOUR* opinion is totally free of any ingrained prejudices.  *SURE* it is.

~casooner90~...one day you'll feel it in your heart---you know what it's like to put another human being in your iron sights...just says for those moms and dads--husbands and wives that won't be hearing it this Christmas from their loved ones that won't make it home---but let me guess...you have no heart..... 

Ling,  wow, that's keeper advice.

You wet my eyes, really.  :)

ling, no, I will never know what it is like to put a human in my 'iron sights' as my time for service is over.  Do I have a heart, yeah I do.  For many that I have helped.  I just refuse to buy into this gay bull.  That doesn't mean I don't have a heart, that just means I won't tolerate their gay agenda.   

Oh, you meant to phrase your run on with a question mark.  I missed that.  Dude, use some other stuff like question marks, punctuations, periods...

random, I'm ignoring you.  There's a reason for that.  Your random thoughts are too confusing and don't justify a response. Incase you haven't noticed, there are many that I ignore on this site so don't feel bad.  HM is another one. 

Ling, I had two brothers and a fiance over there  at the same time who have told several similar stories.  Thanks for serving and thank you for the reminder that there are lots of things we can do to help.  Hopefully this will spur us to action.  And yes, my eyes are "misty".

I think it's time for Otis.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...