Dear Perisher, It’s Christmas, Not Happy Holidays

I'm sure you can find someone. Just like you can find someone such as yourself wound up by this non-issue.

It's about having a little respect.

 

goods train

 

one of the things I like about Rebus books is that Ian Rankin takes lots of opportunities to use scottish words and expressions. he is doing his bit to keep his own lingo alive. we should do more of it

 

I see you have picked up my point. Language changes. It always has. It always will.

And what language was this written in?

 

How about old English?

Ic pro mêtan ðêos scêad swîðe sam man pîs cwide orgilde clif frymð. Su lecgan ðone as ðêodisc we sprecan! Ne hwierfan.

 

Too much Viking and Angle. Blow ins.

 

All the Celts had was written language. They displaced the Bell Beaker people

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Beaker_culture

 

Happy Yuletide

 

Did you even read the second part of my post? I'll repeat it.

 

I've travelled a crapload - and I'd be disappointed if someone thought I was so delicate that they had to wish me a generic "Happy Holidays" rather than a "Happy/Merry [insert random foreign sacred day of choice]".

I've had Holi in India, Nowruz in Afghanistan, Day of the Dead in Mexico, New Year in Morocco, and Nebuta Matsuri in Japan. Not a single person said "Happy Holidays" to me - which is just the way it should be. I don't see why we should dial our own traditions back.

I suspect the fear of upsetting foreigners is well and truly in the heads of marketing types and non-existent anywhere else. The world would be a pretty sad place if everyone did with their holidays what we are starting to do with Christmas.

 

So what. People are still free to change and do their own thing their own way. Nobody is obliged to "comply with culture".

 

Maybe there's a wake-up call there, but you do you.

 

You might want to check your conspiracy theories there. Nobody is going to war on Christmas. People are just deciding for themselves what it means for them.

Nobody is "shoving their cultural and political norms on us". They're just not quite who you'd like them to be. Oh well.

 

You don't have to. But neither can you stop anyone else from changing.

 

I have no idea who might be offended, if anyone. I'm quite happy to keep saying "Merry Christmas" but I don't have the slightest problem if others don't want to.

I guess I just appreciate individual freedoms more than you do.

 

The "War on Christmas" is an invention by Trump-loving evangelicals.
They loooove feeling persecuted.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
The term "War on Christmas" is American, as much as "Happy Holidays" is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_persecution_complex
https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/11/29/the-war-on-christmas/

 

It is interesting working there over Christmas.

Happy Holidays is definitely the "approved form" for Christmas greetings. Basically it is a neutral term designed to nullify the "clash" between the Jewish Hanukkah and Christian Christmas celebration.

Vail, as an American company is simply expressing the Christmas Greeting as accepted in the USA.

I don't give it much thought.

Scotski appears to be pointing out the amusing marketing cross over between localised Australian "Christmas in July" and the Americanism "Happy Christmas" at Christmas. A simple sales and marketing construct as they try to be every man for every occasion, very little to do with political correctness.

There is no doubt someone will blame "The Left" or "The Greens" because .... idiots celebrate Christmas Happy Merry Holiday as well.

 

Just to go off on a tangent

I quite like christmas in july in the snow. It's an opportunity to indulge in all the white christmas traditions without having to compromise for 40°C temps. Our ski club has started doing it recently and many quite enjiy it

 

Except it should be Xmas in June - to coincide with the shortest day. And it's 6 months from 25th December.

 

Yeah but I'm prepared to compromise to get a more reliably white xmas

 

You should have made the trip to LM on December 25 in 2006. 30cm natural snow in the car park.

 

not sure about wound up. More wonderment.

Merry Christmas

 

No, I’m happy with people saying what they like. I just don’t think any adjustment to tradition was called for by the people most likely to take offence.

 

Sure, but my point is they're free to change without having to justify it.

 

And I’m free to say it’s bullshit.

 

I can't understand the offence. They're wishing you a nice break! What's so offensive about that?

 

That's an accurate description of most of what gets called "culture" right around the world!

 

The outrage from people who get wished a “merry Christmas” pales in comparison to those who get wished a “happy holidays” .

 

Well all of Great Britain used to speak varieties of Welsh (Brythonic languages) before those pesky Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Irish, Normans and Vikings invaded various bits of that island.

Welsh survived in Wales, but also in the Kingdom of Strathclyde (most of north west England up to north of Glasgow) and in the Duchy of West Wales (modern Cornwall and a big chunk Devon). West Wales was absorbed by England in the 900s and Strathclyde was absorbed by the English and proto-Scots about the year 1000, but both areas continued to speak Welsh until a couple of hundred years ago.

So it looks like Legs' joke applies not just against people speaking standard English, but also Scots Gaelic (a dialect derived from Irish invaders), the Pidgin Norse-English spoken in the Shetlands and the Danish influenced dialect of places like Yorkshire. Perhaps the Welsh and other people of Brythonic origin can lodge a native title claim against people of Anglo-Saxon, Scots-Gaelic and Norse ancestry for pinching their island?

 

I look forward to the protection of Merry Christmas being written into the Religious discrimination bill

 

Another one who has, eventually, got the point.

 

Oooh boy, my extended fam have that complex bad

 

I'll only respect arguments made in caveman grunts
Oogabooga

 

I like the expression Seasons Greetings. Its not religious - and it shouldn't offend anyone except scrooge

I'm dead against PC shit, drives me insane, and it offends me that we seem to spend so much time offending one group by trying not to offend another.

I wish my muslim friends happy Eid al at the end of Ramadan, but I presume that is no longer acceptable as someone may be offended?

I'm sure the muslim community are laughing their boxes off at how stupid we are

merry christmas

 

Eff off. I'm offended
Seasons greetings, Gareth! And happy holidays

 

And happy holidays, seasons greetings and merry chrsitams to you also Ms Teckel

 

Absolutely no reason to project that people would be offended by saying Eid Mubarak to your Muslim friends, Hanukkah sameach to your Jewish friends, Merry Christmas to your Christian friends, Happy Holidays to your Americans friends etc. If the receiver of the greeting is offended mostly you would never know.

The whole "war on Christmas, PC" carry on is a complete invention by the right wing fundamentalist aligned propoganda machine.

The Happy Holidays greeting is America's way of dealing with their religious lobby group issues.

Australia is not yet (keep up the good fight) America no matter how hard these same lobby groups increasingly attempt to dictate the agenda.

Merry Christmas heathens

 

I made nothing up

 

[groan]
I personally prefer to greet people with ‘Happy Orgy of Mindless Consumerism’

 

I propose we postpone Christmas till tomorrow. It's just not hot enough in Sydney today for a good old aussie Christmas.

 

was supposed to be christmas dinner at our place today but we've moved to a friend's because they have air conditioning and we don't. expecting 35,that's plenty hot enough

 

36 in Perth.
Merry Sweaty Christmas to all ☀️

 

in Brissie today it’s a bit cooler, raining but still sweaty

 

Muslim mate just sent me this. I laughed.

 

What about those that are not on holidays??