Five things people say about Christmas that drive me nuts
Christmas does not belong in the workplace because it undermines diversity at work. And businesses that promote diversity have more profits in the long run than companies that do not have a diverse workforce.
A big problem with Christmas is that those of us who have no reason to celebrate it have to spend a month between Thanksgiving and New Year’s dealing with Christmas at work. Christmas is the only religious holiday that everyone has to stop working for. It’s the only religious event that offices have parties to celebrate. These practices alienate non-Christians.
Businesses that curtail practices that alienate minorities will see growth to their bottom line as a direct result of this action. And besides, promoting acceptance of diverse backgrounds at work enriches our lives, independent of the bottom line.
But encouraging diversity doesn’t mean diverse ways to celebrate Christmas. Diversity is giving people space to ignore Christmas. Forcing people to take the day off requires everyone to run their work life around this holiday in a way they might not have chosen for themselves. Yet still, Christmas continues to permeate workplaces across the United States.
Do you want to make a difference? Start with yourself. When it comes to discussing Christmas in the workplace, here are five offensive things people say to someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Don’t say them.
1. “Christmas is not a religious holiday.”
The only people who think Christmas is not religious are the Christians. Everyone else thinks, “This is not my holiday.” In fact, only a Christian would feel enough authority over the holiday to declare that it is not Christian.
To think that Christmas is for everyone is tantamount to Americans who think that everyone says bathing suit for the thing you wear to go swimming. In fact, the British say “swimming costume” but you’d never know that if you only hang around Americans. The smaller your frame of reference the more convinced you are that the way you do things is the way everyone does things.
2. “Stop complaining! You get an extra day off from work.”
I don’t want a day off on Christmas. It’s a great day to work. No one calls. No one interrupts me. And in many workplaces there’s great camaraderie in the office on Christmas because only a few people are there, and they all have something in common: They don’t celebrate Christmas.
I want a day off for Yom Kippur, which I usually have to take a personal day for. Why do I have to take a personal day for Yom Kippur but no one has to take a personal day for Christmas? This is not equal treatment for religious groups.
3. “Christmas is about good cheer. Focus on that and lose your bad attitude.”
I know I have a bad attitude. But consider that the fact that good cheer is mandated in December is also a Christian trope. For example, Thanksgiving is the holiday that makes a lot of sense to surround with good cheer. It’s about gratitude. Makes sense that we’d focus on Thanksgiving.
And the idea that we add Hanukkah to the mix is ridiculous. Hanukkah is about a war victory. The good cheer mandates are not coming from the Jews except in a sort of peer pressure way to cope with the Christian insistence that we all be happy because the Christians are happy.
4. “You can also take a day off for Hanukkah.”
First of all, Hanukkah is eight days. Second of all, the holiday isn’t a big deal to us, except that it’s a way for Jewish kids to not feel outgunned in the gift category. Jacob Sullum wrote in Reason magazine last year, “It is inappropriate…to make such a fuss over Chanukah, a minor Jewish holiday whose importance has been inflated in the popular imagination by its accidental proximity to Christmas.”
So look, we don’t want a day off for Hanukkah. Or any other Jewish holiday. We want floating holidays that everyone uses, for whatever they want. It doesn’t have to be religious, or it can be. But we don’t need our work telling us when to take time off. It’s insulting and totally impractical.
5. “We get Christmas off at work because this is a Christian country.”
People actually say this to me. Every year. I’m not kidding. People tell me that I should move to Israel if I don’t want to celebrate Christmas. Really.
I tell you this so that you understand what it’s like to be a minority. The majority of the country is not New York and Los Angeles, and the majority of the country thinks Christmas is actually sanctioned by the government. For example, my son’s public school in Madison, Wisconsin has the kids make a December calendar that includes the birthdays of four saints. Surely this is illegal mixing of church and state, but I don’t hear any complaining from parents.
People want tolerance and diversity but they are not sure how to encourage it. There is a history of tolerance starting first in business, where the change makes economic sense: Think policies against discrimination toward women, and health insurance that includes gay partners. Tolerance and awareness in the workplace reliably trickle down to other areas of society.
So do what you can at work, where you can argue that tolerance and diversity improve the bottom line, and you will affect change in society, where tolerance and diversity give deeper meaning to our lives.
Here is something that was quoted from the united Nations that may better explain why diversity IS INDEED Important to Country and Land..
PS — That doesn’t explain anything about how “important” “diversity” is to Country and Land. If a long-standing cultural tradition of the locals must be “suppressed” or “downgraded” in ordwe to make newly come people feel “equal” — how is that “enrichment” of the local culture? It’s not “enrichment” — it’s replacement. In the UK Christmas is also being downgraded because of the large Muslim immigrant population that is now living there. Imagine that — in the land of Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas is being downgraded! How is that “enrichment” of the British culture, may I ask?
PS “Unbelievable” — have you noticed that China is currently kicking our ass in the global economy? China is not very “diverse” — 85 percent of their population is of the majority Han Chinese ethnic group. And it does not offer citizenship to non-Chinese immigrants. And no one is telling them they can’t celebrate Chinese New Year because it might hurt some “minority’s” feelings.
MaryJ
your comments exude ignorance. Sorry P, but, this really rattles my chain. If I need to I can tolerate informed discrimination, but, when someone tries to elaborate a “point” w/o any Substance and based upon pretty much sweeping Generalizations – my barbs come out
China not diverse? Really? I suppose Mexicans are all Indian as well? or people from India are all dark skinned? Indeed Almost EVERY country in the World has their own form of diversity issues. Based upon Race, Class, Religion or Culture. Religion being the Largest source of discrimination in many cultures and countries, going back to the days of lore.
India for Example, like Hong Kong Recently gained BACK their independence from a Country that Ruled them. This Country (Great Britain) was the visitors. There are over tens of different Religions in India as there is Also in CHINA – and Yes, China Does also have Christians, but they also have National Religious Holidays based upon the Budhist Religion which the MAJORITY follow
Maybe you should follow finance issues to understand that there are many reasons that they are kicking our ass, and a lot of it has to do with Money.. Like the fact that THEY pretty much are holding the Largest Reserve of American Currency?
Regarding my earlier post, well if you decided to READ the WHOLE post, then maybe you would have better understood what I wrote had to do with what You Wrote… but, again, sweeping Generalizations without facts seem to be your strong point!
“but, again, sweeping Generalizations without facts seem to be your strong point!
Posted by Unbeleivable”
Ummm, someone didn’t read their own post.
America is the most diverse country in history. To even compare us with China or India is, well, unbelievable.
Just say what you mean. We white people are evil through and through unlike all the other equality loving cultures. We’re the cause of all the worlds problems, each and every one of us.
I bet the thought of white people living among, and by, themselves just turns your stomach.
Diversity = less white people.
Well said Mary.
PS – Econ 101: China is kicking our ass because greedy rich people sold out their own country’s manufacturing base.
Again did you read the following posts — I WAS NOT the one who started with the comments about Diversity and China. Again Diversity does not apply to Race, especially with regards to employment, and that is NOT only what the UN Meant either
— quoted from the UN Report —
Equality at work: Tackling the challenges provides a global picture of job-related discrimination, citing both progress and failures in the struggle to fight discrimination ranging from traditional forms such as sex, race or religion, to newer forms based on age, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status and disability. “The condemnation of discrimination in employment and occupation is today almost universal, as is the political commitment to tackle it.”
RE Putnam and his findings quoted Putnam, a good liberal, is very much pro-diversity and pro-immigration. But, says Lloyd, Putnam is “a liberal who sometimes seems to shrink from the impact of his own findings”, which maybe helps explain why Putnam has now gone on the record saying that both of the FT articles were “misleading”.Instead, he prefers the editorial which runs in the FT today. http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/economonitor/151162
Maybe check out his interview for more details from his own mouth http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=875
Anyways, this was about Xmas, not about diversity — what does Xmas have to do with RACE?? do only White people enjoy Xmas?? Only Americans?
Let’s get back to the subject!
Whatever Putnam said to protect his career doesn't matter in light of his own scientific study. You earlier tried to say that diversity made a nation better based on something the UN said. Scientific data does not support this claim.
Anyways, this was about Xmas, not about diversity – what does Xmas have to do with RACE?? do only White people enjoy Xmas?? Only Americans?
Let's get back to the subject!
I wasn't posting on Christmas. I was responding to your posts.
You said
China not diverse? Really?
China isn't diverse. China is classified as homogeneous by the UN and anyone who can grasp the obvious.
I guess you don't want to discuss what you said.
I don't blame you.
Let's just cut to the chase. Have you always hated Christian males like the writer of this intolerant article?
Puhlllleese, quit trying to use unsubstantiated rhetoric to Prove Fallacy
You Said that the UN Said many things which indeed they Did Not, but here is something that may interest you regarding China in Regards to their Diversity – especially since you like to Quote Statistics and educational institutions http://spice.stanford.edu/publications/20202/
Number 2 I did Not Initially Bring up China in this topic, and Neither did I Compare China to America.
3 – UN does indeed have Data to support their investigation; Obviously you have NOT read the Report (extensive I understand) Since You have MISQUOTED their data Several Times.. that, or you Made up your information.. Scientific.. well considering that Science is Indeed NOT FACT, but just Theory, I would dare say it is probably scientific; Yes, it was thoroughly researched, and unlike Putman, included research from Countries, income status, and classes within the United nations.. NOT only the united States.
4 – Putman wasn’t trying to Save His Career, he was trying to Demonstrate to the public that his information is being misused and misunderstood.. as one would see by his own words
5 – You are assuming that A) I am not Christian B) I am Not Male C) I am not white
6) I don’t hate Anyone- but I DO DISLIKE when people Try to pass off and Manipulate uninformed, and unrepresented personal beliefs and rhetoric as facts – especially when it is to cover up what appears to be thinly disguised bigotry
Way to go Ben Stein! He’s gotten it exactly right. Besides, religious and cultural beliefs aside, it’s a nice day off to spend with family, friends, loved ones. You do love your family and spending time with them?
Why not going to the essence and celebrate (it doesnt work if i am going to work or am not going to work for a day or a week, its just the same to my life ongoing) all the festivities, festivals, saints birthdays and religious -as it has been mentioned- holidays all the time. But only after having REALLY understood their deep meaning (as it is written in the last pace of the post) Best, r.
Wow! Look at all the angry people!
I agree with most of your points. I’m agnostic, and I’m totally NOT offended by Christmas. I think of it as a day off of work, but I sympathize with people of other religions who certainly seem to be shafted.
I think you said it best with “The smaller your frame of reference the more convinced you are that the way you do things is the way everyone does things.” Most people in America have grown up with the commericalism of Christmas and they think its good. Anyone who tries to change that, you can expect resistance. That’s why all these people are angry. They hate that you aren’t rooting for what they enjoy, so therefor you are wrong. To hell with being inclusive of other people, they think it’s up to YOU to conform to THEIR beliefs. It’s bullshit, but it’s human nature.
Do you decline your “Christma$ Bonu$)every year?
* * * * * *
If only I got one…
-Penelope
For past companies, I’ve negotiated going to work on an otherwise typical paid holiday (and thereby actually having a more productive day with no one around!) and in turn, got another floating holiday.
Additionally, instead of discussing your displeasure with the general public, why not take it up with your employer – the people who can actually make changes to what days you get off work. It is more effective to work towards a solution than just complain about the problem.
“People want tolerance and diversity but they are not sure how to encourage it.”
Here’s a suggestion for encouraging tolerance – don’t complain about the company’s holiday festivities and days off work. By trashing it you are encouraging intolerance. And intolerance of one, could trigger reactions that include an intolerance to whatever beliefs you have, too.
(Out of curiosity – do you celebrate or complain about St. Patrick’s Day? What about St. Valentine’s Day?)
People need things to complain about. Penny here gives them what they need.
If you want tolerance, lady, try showing it once in a while.
Oh, and Merry Christmas. :)
Southern Baptist Christian/ Republican/ Educated But more importantly AMERICAN!
None of which matter, my opinion carries just as much weight as anyone else's.
I'm going to comment on almost everything you have said because I think you are speaking with uneducated people who are making the majority of the country sound stupid.
Generally, Americans have forgotten what Christmas is all about, it was the birth day of Jesus of Nazareth, who later became Christ. Hence the holiday called “Christmas”. However, the marketing has shifted from Jesus' birthday to a celebration Saint Nicolas' (aka Santa) life. God forbid we offend anyone with our Christian beliefs so we will take Christ out of Christmas for you. By the way, do a little reading on Bishop Nicolas (aka Santa) and you fill find that there are Christian veins in his story as well.
You don’t want to take Christmas day off… TAKE YOUR WORK HOME! There problem solved! That would make too much sense, besides it doesn’t sound like you want to work anyway “It's a great day to work. No one calls. No one interrupts me.” Also the only reason you would have “great camaraderie” on such a day would be because you don’t have to be diverse or tolerant, you and all of you anti-Christmas co-workers would have the opportunity bash and to slack off on the company's dime and a half holiday pay.
“Good cheer is mandated in December is also a Christian trope. For example, Thanksgiving is the holiday that makes a lot of sense to surround with good cheer”. This comment makes since given that you are bashing Christianity, but you are living in the US. Any third grader will tell you why we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, because of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, which has NO religious origins.
You don’t want any Jewish holidays off, that's a good thing though, there are almost 40 of them, and some are multiple days. Christians have 2 major holidays, The Birth of Christ, and the Rebirth of Christ, why are you complaining again?
I am glad that your school is teaching your children about the different saints; however I think they should include every religions background so that the next generation of leaders will have a better grasp why different groups of people act differently.
You are screaming about diversity and tolerance, yet all you are un-tolerant toward Christmas and have made completely non-diverse comments toward American ways. You throw a bunch of stupid closed minded quotes out as if you were in Nazi Germany and being persecuted daily. You are one of thousands of the minority groups in this great nation and want us to change OUR ways because OUR beliefs don't parallel yours. Your intolerant attitude and ignorance disgusts me. People are telling you that you should leave because of the simple fact that people like you are never satisfied and are completely ungrateful for the things you have. I would recommend a trip to Germany, or Israel, maybe then you'll stop complain about a nativity scenes and no work on December 25th.
Christmas really isn’t about Jesus being born, though. These days, it’s about who the can get into the most debt before the new year comes buying their bratty kid a new generation of iPod (even though he currently have 5 that work fine already, other than the fact that they’re “old”).
“To all of those about to say "The US is a Christian Country," think again. The United States is a country made up of a diverse religious background, including individuals from all walks of life and religious paths. The various Christian sects are just some of the religious affiliations practiced by people all over this country.”
US = Pseudo Democracy. I say Pseudo because we don’t vote on every little thing, and we’re really more of a Republic than a Democracy.
Anyways, despite our Democracy really being a Republic, majority rules. The key word for non-Christians? minority.
I have to say, I also don’t like Christmas. Mostly because, once you’ve seen the same TV movie for the past 15 years, it gets pretty freaking old. Once you hear the same Xmas music for the past 15 years, it gets old. Even though I don’t get to hear the music the other 11 months of the year, I still hear it and am all “*groan* Not this song *AGAIN*?” (the disgusting Chestnuts roasting song springs to mind).
I can agree with the dislike for the good cheer part. The Xmas holiday can be a very depressing holiday for a lot of people. I don’t mind the good cheer, so long as there’s also an equal amount of acknowledgment that for some people, it’s a marker for a bad event in their life (Mother’s day is like this for me).
If it makes you feel better, I think the country has a Christian majority, not because people are *practicing* Christians (a lot aren’t, or if they are, they aren’t following the real Jesus; the one that loved & forgave everyone, even the psychotic serial murderer), but because people grew up as Christians, and like all other religions, Christianity insists that if you were born to Christian parents/baptized as a baby, you’re a Christian for life; even if you’re the biggest asshole on the planet, even if you don’t follow a single rule about Christ’s teaching, even if you’re a psychotic murdering fiend. You’re still considered Christian.
I have a friend who calls herself Catholic, despite the fact that she’s not a practicing Catholic. She’s a practicing Christian, just not a practicing Catholic. This is because the Catholic church says you’re Catholic your entire life if you’ve ever been baptized in their church. Unless you become excommunicated (or so I hear).
I’m another one who doesn’t like Christmas. I gave it up about 12 years for religious and practical reasons. I’ll admit that I do care that others celebrate it and expect me to, also. I get the horrified, “What are you, a pagan?” looks and similar comments when I tell someone that I don’t celebrate it. I really want to say, “No, that’s why I don’t celebrate it. I’m not a pagan. Do you observe Sukkot? No? Why not??” I do respond with that now and then but ahhh, that’s a can of worms!
Honestly, I don’t like that I must take the day off when I’d rather not. And that I have to beg to get the days I observe off and even then don’t normally get them. But such is the price of living in the U.S. I take the good with the bad just like everyone else here. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it all. ;)
I never realized how irritating Christmas could be for non-christians. We (christians) just assume that everyone is glad to have a day or two off and spend time with family. It never occurred to me about that days that YOU (non-christians) have to fight for.
I’m almost positive that most christians are clueless to this situation. It is going to take someone to clue us in…silence is acceptance.
Hanukkah is insignificant? WOW — as a black person this article has really been an eye opener. I’ve never been on the other side of ignorance.
Jeremiah, more Christians know about this than you think, I believe. Most I know do, anyway. But it isn’t just non-Christians who might be irritated by all this. A lot of Christians don’t celebrate Christmas, though most do, and a lot of them feel as Penelope does. And as I do. But it’s the minority, I’m sure.
I’ve spent the last 12 years cluing people in and as I said in my previous post, I get horrified looks and responses. Honestly, most don’t *care* that other people feel as they do. Tis the Christmas spirit, no doubt…
Oh yes, I meant to address the Hanukah issue. It isn’t insignificant to all Jews, I don’t think. At least not to the Messianic ones. A lot of them feel that it’s a very important time and they celebrate it in a big way, not necessarily with the gifts but in other ways. There’s definitely diversity! :)
You get a day or more off – reason enough to celebrate! Once everyone starts complaining about having an actual day off – that isn’t taken from your small vacation package – then there will be no more days off. Hello??? Enjoy your vacation!
Wow, I see a lot of my posts were deleted. I guess when you can’t beat someone’s arguments you just delete them.
Not a surprise. A hateful bigot like this anti-Christian Trunk can’t stand being told the obvious. She also can’t stand loosing a debate or not getting the last word in.
I’m sure it will take you all of 5 minutes to delete this post like the others. I won’t post another so that you can get the last word in.
Pathetic.
I’ve just read several of your blogs. Full of complaints but generally well written. But this one– wow. Why are you so worked up against Christmas? I’m surprised you don’t get this worked up for 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and the other “forced” holidays. Could it be that you are simply anti-Christian, and not just anti-Christmas? A spirit of tolerism towards Christians, as well as to the other religions represented in the workplace would go a long way… having managed a large and diverse group which included Hindus, Jews, pagans, Christians and agnostics, you allow people to observe their days and rituals so long as it doesn’t interfere with work. You claim to be asking for tolerance, but you are showing none yourself. In fact you come across as blatantly antagonistic.
No need for the angry tirade.
Anti-Chirstian??? People the name of this blog is the “Brazen Careerist”. Of course, it’s going to be an in your face, listen-to-me-dammit style of opinion. Besides if Christians were forced to celebrate Ramadan a fury like no other would emanate from the Christian church.
Think about it my fellow Christians; would you enjoy constantly being bombarded with the stores, songs, and spiritual figures that are associated with Ramadan? FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH!!!
I have to agree with you Penelope. I am not Jewish, but I do not celebrate Christmas yet I was subject to my offices Christmas parties, etc. You’re absolutely right about the whole Christmas’s day off. No one gets Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or any of the other holidays off, but the Christian Holiday Christmas is honored. What ever happened to diversity?
This anti-Christmas attitude sums you up very well. Self-absorbed, soul-less, defensive. You really don’t have a clue about what Christmas is about, do you? It may be based on a Christian tradition, but to the United States of America it represents a tradition where all people unite to celebrate together. It means different things to different people, but to 99% of us, it means at the very least: harmony, brotherhood, friendship, giving, helping, sharing, peace. If you don’t think that’s worth celebrating, then go back to your cubicle and continue sulking.
Sure…let’s be a fractious society: no common bond, no common traditions. Everyone does what’s good for them. Many small communities forming around their common beliefs, or small larger communities forming around their common beliefs. We’ve seen countries like that and they are anything but united.
As a kid I was forced to take off from school for holiday’s that didn’t mean anything to me and now my kids do; I never gave it any thought, but now i wonder if my liberal tolerance has gone too far when they look to undo our society founded on christianity. Accepting diversity means tolerating other peoples beliefs and needs, and sometimes the expression of their beliefs impacts your life. You don’t demonstrate much tolerance for diversity in this article. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Minorities seem to have license to offend the majority. It’s never wise to offend intentionally.
Oh my gosh… you are the best. First post of yours I have ever read, but completely spot on. This country is way too religious and fortunately not as Christian as Christians would make it out to be.
I wish I knew you. You sound like an absolute blast. Keep up the good work.
Be careful. If I meet you I may kiss you.
I’m the jerk who offered the suggestion that the nonprofit I work for eliminate holiday celebrations for staff and clients so we could try to avoid cultural/religious issues with clients and I could not waste days decorating our offices.
It didn’t go well.
As an evangelical Christian I know Christmas is a Christian day- we’re a very self-gratifying faith right now, and so is our special holiday.
I work every religious holiday. Christmas is my most productive day of the year!
How sad that I would call you brave for voicing this opinion!
This might be the most ridiculous and bitter tirade I’ve ever read. And the argument about ‘this is a Christian country so we celebrate Christmas’ is perfectly valid because it’s actually very true. What a bitter, miserable and arrogant individual this person is. I hope I never have the misfortune to work with anyone like this. Get a grip woman.
Laura … Christmas in April? Did the comment get stuck in your outbox for four months? Besides being a Christian country it’s apparently a democracy and I always thought that freedom of religion meant just that. As for bitter.. tirades and arrogance ummmm … pot, kettle, black anyone.
I don’t deny you your right to your opinion but I don’t respect it. Your passion is admirable but then so is Penelope’s; I would be happy to work with either of you any time. Let’s all take a deep breath and say together, “Only 8 shopping months until next Christmas.”
O poor baby. You don’t have any problems if this is all you have to complain about. Boo-Hoo!
Posted by K Francis | December 5, 2007
I can't believe, in all of the ranting and raving, that nobody came to the defense of Hanukkah. It's not just about a war. It was a war against religious oppression. It was a victory for religious freedom! The reason the menorahs are to be displayed in the window is to remind everyone that we are free to practice our faith. I think that's pretty powerful, even if most of my neighbors have no clue what a Hanukkah menorah is.
*** Apparently you don’t have a clue either… I was raised as a reformed Jew, but went to Schul for a year. I learned that we celebrate this minor holiday to recognize the fact that 1 jar of oil lasted 8 days, providing light for the Macabeeans when normally the oil would have burned out by the end of the first day. So to recap, we celebrate for God having given the miracle of the light. ***
Moving on, these types of posts seem to act as a weeding out. It becomes obvious who is qualified to be in this community of thought and who should just go somewhere else, or maybe put their head back in the sand where it came from.
*** Might just be me, but either you are wearing a cloak of Ostrich feathers, or maybe you should clarify your “qualifications”.
IMHO
My humble apologies to K Francis, as I just discovered with my previous posting that my name comes after the post, not at the head of it!! So, my previous posting goes to Jeanette on Dec 5, 2007 instead…
Again, please accept my apology.
Glynn,
Please read my comment again. We do not disagree. I said “the reason we put the menorahs in the window” – not “the reason we celebrate.”
“Christmas does not belong in the workplace because it undermines diversity at work. And businesses that promote diversity have more profits in the long run than companies that do not have a diverse workforce.”
Hard hitting fact or totally unproven rhetoric?
More research is sorely needed, Penelope! Your opening statement on diversity being good business is far from proven. The Wright study in 1995 is probably your source, but no doubt you yourself know that other studies show that increased diversity leads to more conflict and higher turnover. Ahh, if only reality could be boiled down to a few simple maxims!
I suspect this is a fit of holiday pique on your part, sparked by a stab of guilt from overindulging in the omnipresent office food spread, fanned by a familial or cultural sense of longing, and given meager substance from a quick peek at the Lexis database and a breezy click-through of top-item finds on Google. Now that’s good old-fashioned journalism!
I love your blog on Christmas because you are exactly right! I say the same thing every year and I am a Christian. Here’s what I want. I want Christmas back. I don’t celebrate Jewish or other religious holidays. I would feel like I was intruding, not being reverent to what someone believes. And, I DON’T WANT NON-CHRISTIANS CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS. It cheapens it. I would love for it to stop being a federal holiday (I am willing to take a personal leave day for it). I would love for it to be dropped from everything–and Christians return to their homes and churches to celebrate it. I feel like Christmas has been stolen from me and I want it back.
No, Christmas is NOT a “Christian” holiday; plenty of non-Christians, including Jews and Muslims celebrate that holiday; they should not be excluded for being the “wrong” religion.
Christmas actually started as a pagan celebration of the winter solistice in Scandinavia…but in medieval times, Christians factions took it over and claimed that Jesus are born in December and so added the Nativity part.
I think both the secular and Nativity part of Christmas are both very beautiful and should remain a major federal holiday and that everyone who wants to should feel free to celebrate it and feel free to say *Merry Christmas* or *Happy Christmas* whether they are Christian or not.
Oh and while I think this country was probably founded more on Christian values than other values, I definitly don’t think it is founded on that now. And, that should be our focus–no disregard to how the whole thing was set up. So, I think it is time to hang Christmas up as a public/federal holiday–it no longer even looks Christian anyway, except perhaps in the homes of Christians who celebrate it as religious still. Believe me, as a Christian I’d like nothing better than to put the reverence back into a day that is now non-recognizable for what it stands for.
I want to tell you that chritmas in birdsbro pa christmas is on staturday is great things
If America were the enlightened land of personal freedoms that it mythologizes itself as, Penelope’s comments would be self-evident and uncontroversial.
Remember the old 64-color Crayola Crayon sets that included a light-pink crayon labeled “Flesh”? Christmas is the “Flesh-colored crayon” of Federal holidays.
.
maybe you can petition your company to work the day and bank it as a personal holiday.
i am an icu nurse and am forced to work many holidays of my personal religion in order to save the lives of people who are too geeked up about bullshit to live their lives in a more harmonious manner and so have pneumonias, strokes and mi’s during the holiday season.
looks like little miss penelope got some sh*tty gifts for Hanukkah.
i hate all religious holidays
This comment is, ahem, a little late, but… my company shuts down between roughly christmas and new year. Why? Because as you said yourself, there is little business going on. We call it the “Winter Holiday” to be PC about the whole thing, but the fact remains that pretty much everyone enjoys the time off and the company benefits by not having to keep the same level of operations going during a scheduled slow period.
Hi Penelope. In Minneapolis and I’m sure many, many other places, I sense that Christians do make an effort to not offend non-Christians. We get that saying “Merry Christmas” can be offensive and honestly, we are not trying to offend you, so we hold back. It’s “Happy Holidays” or nothing at all. I get the feeling like there is so much dislike for Christians. What is my crime? There are more of us and December 25th is a paid day off? (strange complaint coming from you.. surely you can still write blogs from home?)
The problem with floating vacation days is that people are so guilt ridden about getting all their work done that many people don’t take their vacation days. So if you give them floating holidays too I guarantee you will have a bunch more people coming in and working on Christmas instead of taking their holiday time. I’m not saying working on Christmas is bad, I’m just saying work/life balance is important and December 25 is one of the few days that lots of families spend time together. Having the designated day off “gives us permission” to actually take a freaken break from work.
I think your final 3 points are good ones. But the first two, I would object to.
First of all, I know many non-Christian who do not consider Christmas to be a Christian holiday. Some of my Jewish friends celebrate it. My atheist grandparents celebrate it. For you to suggest that everyone other than Christians feel “it’s not my holiday” says to me that you’re the one with the narrow frame of reference.
Second, you may like working on Christmas because it’s a nice time to do uninterrupted work because so few are working, but that’s the exact reason why it’s a problem. If so many people aren’t working, phone calls can’t be made. Questions to vendors, etc. won’t be answered. It might work in some fields, but I work in finance, and there is a lot that cannot be done when the majority of businesses are not open.
No one who celebrates the birth of Christ, really gives 2 flying farts what anyone who objects to Christmas, thinks.
We can all have this debate on the day Jesus comes back AGAIN, and then we’ll see who is right.
Oh, and you have a blessed Merry Christmas!
you are an idiot.
its not bad to be jewish but that doesnt mean you have to be mean to christmas…. my brother and i are learning about jews and we are celebrating hanuka. if you dont like christmas then dont celebrate it, but dont try to bring other people down. christmas is a time for joy and if you want to you can celebrate christmas with just santa you dont have to be all religious. but jeez dont be such a stick in the mud!!! your bringing everyone around you down
I like how everything slows down without anyone losing face or looking lazy around Christmas time.
Finally, two weeks of the 52 weeks of the year, America takes a break… Italy takes the month of August and two Australian friends of mine take two months of vacation a year. If we didn’t have this Christmas holiday, I am thinking we wouldn’t have any American holiday where it’s okay to take a break, relax and just enjoy life for a little bit. I hope you are able to enjoy it, the kids are off school, work is slow, it’s an all around good deal!