Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Paper's calling it Christmas

From the Times Newsweekly:

As soon as Thanksgiving ends, Christmas begins. Right off the bat, this newspaper wishes to advise that any tree lightings, concerts or other festivities taking place from now until Dec. 25 and published here will be referred to as Christmas — not holiday — events.

Some schools display Christmas trees alongside the Hanukkah menorah, the Muslim star and crescent and the Kwanzaa Kinara (candles), but for some reason, the trees are referred to as “holiday trees.” Oddly, the word Christmas is left out even as other faiths and cultures are acknowledged appropriately.

However, Christmas is still Christmas in our book. Though it has been commercialized and watered down into a season of extreme gift-giving, let’s not forget that the holiday is the celebration of the birth of Christ. All the political correctness in the world will not make it anything else.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas!sorry,i don't recognize kwanza or festivus.

Mike Tirelli said...

We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year

Thank God for the Times Newsweekly!

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU TIMES NEWSWEEKLY!!! ALSO, IF IT WEREN'T FOR CHRISTMAS, WHERE WOULD THE RETAIL ECONOMY BE? HEAR THAT MACY's?

Anonymous said...

All these organized religions are utter craziness. All of them.

Anonymous said...

The Christmas-Holiday debate just spurs hate. People who are OK with themselves and others right to be don't really care what you call it. It's just people on both sides of the issue who are fanatical that argue this. If you hate Jews, Muslims, Blacks then you get very personal in this debate. If you want to tear down catholics who dominate the region you try to dismiss Christmas as holiday.

Like Mike Tirelli..Thank 'god' for the Times Newsweekly. People comfortable with life don't really care. Call it whatever just lets spread love to all this holiday and be thankful for what we have been blessed with.

Queens Crapper said...

"If you hate Jews, Muslims, Blacks then you get very personal in this debate."

Most blacks I know celebrate Christmas, so I don't know what you're getting at. Kwanzaa is an after Christmas celebration and actually is not religious.

Jews and Muslims don't care if Christians celebrate Christmas. The ones that have ruined this for everyone are the ACLU types.

Anonymous said...

Bless us, O Raptor Lord,
and these, your gifts,
which we are about to receive
from thy merciful talons.
Through the bounty of Raptor Christ,
our Cretaceous Lord.
Amen.


Love Raptor Jesus or die.
Raptor Jesus is the savior of all mankind, and will deliver thee to carnivorous enlightenment.
Believe in the Lord Raptor Jesus, or have your genitals removed
Raptor Jesus will rise again!
Raptor Jesus went extinct for your sins!
Raptor Jesus loves your kids!
The divine trinity of Raptor Jesus shelters us from the coming Velocirapture!
Raptor Jesus is my messiyuh!
Raptor Jesus owns The Hoffinator

georgetheatheist said...

Folks, check this one out:

http://www.gjdc.org/market/events.html

Kwanzaa gets bigger play than Christmas. Why, Christmas isn't even mentioned!

BTW, they forgot to mention that the kiddies can have their photo taken with the Kwanzaa Pimp. ("No chile. Da Kwanzaa Pimp don't give yo no presents. Da Kwanzaa Pimp, he done take yo presents.")

Anonymous said...

Don't be making cracks about the "Kwanza Pimp." I am not African American, but at least the Kwanza holiday tries to celebrate positive ideas such as scholarship, achievement and respect for culture and ancestry.

As for me, I will visit the beautiful Neopolitan Nativity in the Metropolitan Museum of Art where figures of all races, creeds and occupations are displayed to prove that large cities had all kinds of people living in them even then.

georgetheatheist said...

"Kwanzaa" was invented by Ronald McKinley Everett a convicted felon. He's known and revered in "da comoonitay" as Maulana Karenga. "Maulana" = "Our Lord". "Karenga" = "Nationalist" A modern-day shyster employing the Fuhrerprinzip.

"Maulana Karenga" beat and abused women by whipping them with electrical cords and karate batons. He inserted soldering irons and detergent in their mouths.

He invented "Kwanzaa" with it's seven "principles" which are racist, separatist, and collectivist.

If you're non-black, you'd better watch your ass acknowledging this sham celebration.

Check it out my bruddas and sistas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.Ron_Karenga

Anonymous said...

Kwanzaa is the biggest joke of the month

Anonymous said...

I feel bad for people who worry about things like this. I could give a shit what you call "the holidays."

Kwanzaa was invented in the '60s by a felon, Chanukah rose to prominence because Jews felt left out, and Jesus was actually born in March, but the Church chose to celebrate his birth around the winter solstice to compete with the Pagan celebration of Saturnalia.

They're ALL made up. Today it's just a ploy to make you buy shit. Call it whatever the hell you want, but you're still nothing more than corporate slaves.

Queens Crapper said...

Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the Christmas tree today.

georgetheatheist said...

Ayn Rand speaks [In answer to the question of whether it is appropriate for an atheist to celebrate Christmas]:

"Yes, of course. A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will to men-a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property (though it is supposed to be part, but is a largely unobserved part) of the Christian religion.

The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, "non-sacrificial" way. One says: "Merry Christmas" -not "Weep and Repent". And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form-by giving presents to one's friends, or by sending them cards in token remembrance . . ."

The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by mystics: the fact that Chistmas has been "commercialized". The gift buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions-the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors-provide the city with a spectacular display, which only "commercial greed" could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of the spectacle."

- The Objectivist Calendar, Dec. 1976

Anonymous said...

Exactly Crapper (from the first response). Jews, Muslims, and Blacks don't care if it is called Christmas or whatever they decide call it today. The ones who truly care are people with inferiority complexes and lunatics like the ACLU & liberals who need except traditions.

I am Jewish and I have no problem calling ti a Christmas tree because it is one. But I don't care if they all it a holiday tree to keep people from protesting. Just the people who get passionate have issues is all I am saying.

Gary the Agnostic said...

How reassuring it is for us to know that we have Ayn Rand's permission to celebrate religious holidays.

More seriously, even if you're not religious, this should be the time of the year to enjoy your families and your health. There are far too many people in this city, nation, and world who have neither, and we should appreciate that.

Stephen said...

@ QC
Christmas trees come from pagan European traditions not the bible. They only gained popularity related to Christmas in the 19th century. The bible makes no mention of December the 25th as a holiday. It was invented to replace pagan winter solstice celebrations. You can't convert people and then tell them they can't have their holidays can you?
So get your history straight if you want to lord your faith over other people otherwise you just look dumb

Queens Crapper said...

I have no idea what you are talking about. I made a joke comment about a Christmas tree. "Lord over" my faith? You sound like you smoke crack.

Anonymous said...

BTW, they forgot to mention that the kiddies can have their photo taken with the Kwanzaa Pimp. ("No chile. Da Kwanzaa Pimp don't give yo no presents. Da Kwanzaa Pimp, he done take yo presents.")
------------------------------------

Hey, it's georgetheracist! You're a joke!

Liman said...

Crappie, be sure to bring up Kwanzaa every other day so we can watch Godless George go wild.

Not that he's necessarily wrong.

AC said...

The only reason that an article like this would get posted is to get a rise out of people. It serves no other purpose, it worked. Let George say what he must, let the Jesus Raptor asshole say what he wants. The ACLU would not be in business if people were not so politically correct - Al Sharpton would have to get a job if racism ended.

Patrick Sweeney said...

Practice religious tolerance: It's ok to say "Merry Christmas"

georgetheatheist said...

Sho'nuff.

Chris said...

I'm calling bull on this. No doubt there are many multi-"holiday" celebrations out there, but I've never seen a published reference to a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." If it's out there, I think it must be pretty rare. This sounds more like someone trying to stir up a non-existent controversy.

Queens Crapper said...

In 2005, the city of Boston renamed the spruce tree used to decorate the Boston Common a "Holiday Tree" rather than a "Christmas Tree". The name change drew a poor response from the public and was changed back to "Christmas Tree" after being threatened with several lawsuits by Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Alliance Defense Fund. In the same year, Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., asked that the tree that decorates the Capitol grounds to be renamed back to "Christmas tree". It had been renamed "Holiday tree" in the 1990s. - Wikipedia