woodman42

Do you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday?
Just curious.

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Did you say tool sale?

Corndog

"Have a happy non-denominational festive season" How's that???
Gotta watch what you say these days.....sad,really.

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Geoff...

Daveb

Your post reminded me of an email "chain mail" that I received recently. I can't vouch its accuracy.

The following was supposedly written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary:


My confession:



I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it
does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful
lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I
don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.




It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I
don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a
ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers
and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at
all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near
my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine
with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.



I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think
Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think
people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around,
period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an
explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I
don't like it being shoved down my throat.



Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we
should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as
we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But
there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from
and where the America we knew went to.



In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a
little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny,
it's intended to get you thinking.



Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane
Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
(regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and
insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by
this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of
our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.
And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How
can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we
demand He leave us alone?"



In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I
think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her
body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools,
and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in
school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and
love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.



Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they
misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we
might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We
said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.



Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they
don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill
strangers, their classmates, and themselves.



Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it
out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."




Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the
world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say,
but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes'
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending
messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny
how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and
workplace.



Are you laughing?



Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on
your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what
they will think of you for sending it.



Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us
than what God thinks of us.



Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no
one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't
sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best
Regards.




Honestly and respectfully,



Ben Stein




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woodman42

No haven't seen this one. I just got to wondering how people really felt about all this stuff that seems to be affecting America today.

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Did you say tool sale?

Corndog

America isn't the only country on this planet.

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Geoff...

rob.hough

Canada is America, they just haven't realized it yet.

Corndog

Don't wind me up...this is neither the time nor place.

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Geoff...

joasis

I always say "Merry Christmas", a statement of my Faith. I do not loose sleep over being politically correct anymore.

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rob.hough

I don't consider Christmas a Christian holiday anyways, so I just say Merry Christmas. If someone gets offended because I essentially 'wished them well' in a different wording, then to hell with them anyways.

mackem

I have no religeous beliefs, but i still say "Merry Christmas", it's just something i've alway's said.

LITLHOF

Merry Christmas, always and forever. Walt Rollison/Litlhof, Sevier County, Tennessee.

jpw23

Festivus for the rest of us!!!!!!

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Save a tree...eat a beaver!

woodman42

Corndog
I appoligize. Your right, my feable mind did not stop to consider that there are folks here from other nations.
I guess my correct wording should have been, effecting the world today. Did not intend to step on any toes.

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Did you say tool sale?

MinConst

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Paul
Minichillo's Construction
Web One Man Shop
I will never leave you hanging!

joesdad

Unless I'm addressing one of my Jewish customers it's always Merry Christmas across the board. It's not like anyone's asking "So, what are you doing for Jesus' birthday?"

I'm a sitting-on-the-fence Catholic, so I don't go out of my way to defend or condemn mine or anyone else's religion.

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"Well... it looked good on the drawing" :http://armandj.com

Corndog

Naw..it's cool. I guess I'm just a little grumpy bein' laid-off and all.

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Geoff...

woodman42

Come on down. There is plenty of work down here. I could use some help!

__________________
Did you say tool sale?

daryl in nanoose

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www.geocities.com/edimprovement

TexasTimbers

I say Merry Christmas too. We have also finally weaned our children and parents off of the outrageous materialism that Christmas has become. We are giving $50 to each of our 5 children this year and that is viewed as getting ripped off by todays' standards. Last year we spent a couple hundred on each and the year before we did that and all the in laws and the "semi-close family" members too. Each year`we have made progress. We will consider ourselves completely unmaterialistic when we celebrate the birth of Jesus with more energy than we didicate to meeting the materialistic expectations of a society gone absolutley mad on holiday spending of all sorts.
While i may be giving my wife a $400 chainsaw this year, our kids will understand full well it is actually a tool we need and a TIC "gift". I would be buying it anyway.

People of all faiths, even many "non-religous" people have no problem saying "God" and refering to Him generally, or the concept, but say Jesus and the conversation turns cool quickly.

I don't know if Ben Stein wrote that or not either but it does sound like something that a former speech writer of Richard Nixon's could write. i applaud it but still if you notice he never used Jesus's name either that I remember, and let's not forgot that yes even though He wasn't born in December but most likely June, we Christians "kidnapped" a pagan holiday and made "Jesus the reason for the season". I wish we would go back to railroading pagan ways and turning them into something holy instead of vice versa like we allow our society and government and insitutions do today. Then we could all be gay. That means happy.

Corndog, Canada is already in America. Many Canadians and Mexicans get offended when people refer to the US of A as "America" because Canada, the US, and Mexico all make up North America. Then there are those Central and South American countries as well. So, not just a technicality, you too, Corndog, are an American. More specifically a Canadian American.

That's how the concept of "Russian American, African American" etc. got twisted. Russia, nor Africa, are located on any American continent so there is no such thing as an "Russian American or African American". There are many Americans of African descent just as I am an American of Texan, Irish, and Scottish descent.

And oh, by the way . . . .Merry Christmas everyone.

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Flame Box Elder

mdlbldrmatt135

After checking Snopes....... part of that was in fact Written by Ben Stien......