Are you suggesting Jesus would actually have given a darn about how people greet each other on his alleged birthday and the church should be taking a stronger stand on that? Because that sounds rather trivial and quite unlike you.

Or are you criticizing the fact that that trivial issue is all they could find to write about? In which case, I'm quite with you. The whole "War on Christmas" is the biggest load of distracting hogwash in modern church history.

Mendalla

I agree with graeme. I think that if you said "Happy holidays!" to Jesus, he would have cut you down with a machine gun then tap danced on your corpse before bringing you back to life, only to kick you in the balls then shoot you again.

THAT'S how you handle a "Happy holidays!"

Jesus would have had no patience for such a well-meaning gesture that made no reference to his blood cult.

I think happy holidays is fine, so is Merry Christmas- so is "Best wishes for...", so is "all the best of the season!" "you Christian whimps!" doesn't exactly scream goodwill. It screams something, but not goodwill. Lol.

I wonder if Jesus would be astounded and perplexed that we even celebrate and acknowledge His birthday at all. The early Jews and early Christian church didn't celebrate birthdays. The Romans did. Could this be why the Bible doesn't mention the day Jesus was born? For all we know Christ might prefer his name be left out of this holiday altogether?

I mean Mendalla's latter case. Most of all I was struck by making this question the focus of a Christmas message. I should have expected the clergy to have something more pressing to talk about.

I note that Catholic University of the United States recently accepted a gift of a million, maybe more, from a "foundation" (propaganda think tank) run by the Koch Bros. - usual message of the think tank - let business do whatever it wants, cut taxes for the rich, destroy unions, etc. There was also money to set up a new programme called free enterprise, to be taught by "a scholar-practitioner from the business world".

50 presidents, deans, etc. of Catholic universities all over the US signed a protest against this as being against Catholic principles.

It happens in Canadian universities all the time. But I've never heard a whimper out of the churches(or the universities). In fact, here in New Brunswick, a business group has announced that, with the consent of the department of education, it is setting up and teaching a new programme from K to grade 12. It's called entrepreneurship. But it's more accurately referred to as ideological propaganda.

In any case, just taking a casual look around at the world, I can imagine Jesus would have thought the great issue we have to confront is those of us who say "happy holidays".

...graeme ..... just wondering here ......

Why don't you run for United Church of Canada Moderator???

Seems to me that if you want the church as a whole to take a direction that you feel is so terribly lacking then maybe you should be working to be in some leadership position to do something about it..

Regards

Rita

Seems like a timely piece. This is the time when people get upset about store policies ......

I always say Merry Christmas, if someone says happy holidays to me I say thanks and Merry Christmas to you

People get upset about unimportant things and sometimes they end to read a minister who says. " don't sweat the small stuff...."

At least the decision was to treat it as a triviality and say "thank you" to it, rather than to paint it - as some do - as a "war on Christmas".  It could be worse.

When interacting with people through work, I always say Happy Holidays to be neutral unless they say Merry Christmas to me, then I say it back. Because we're never sure if the person aknowledges Christmas or not, and my employer asked us to do it that way. However, I had one person with an Anglo saxon first and last name get upset that I said Happy Holidays, not Merry Christmas, first. He said, by his name that I should assume that he's Christian (I am not allowed to argue with the public)! I have to say that was a first. You can't please everyone.

My reply that springs immediately to mind?

"Really? You don't sound like one right now..."

This is why I can't work with the public.

Is this because the' M is stew'þ Id by law ... a Latin or Romantic thing; a coverup of emotional origins?

Kerismas merbark"

...is Merry Christmas in 

Farsi (Persisn)

(Jesus is well-thought-of in the Koran)

Now it's Happy New Year!

Depending on the moon Jan-21-Feb21

...In China.

Thai, Jewish, Islamic ...all different.

The only important New Years were 1942 to 1946. (an estimate)

Those were the years when, at midnight, you got to kiss your girl.

63 years ago I married mine,

She bakes the best dark fruit-cake in the entire cosmos. 

This year, again, of it I ate too much. I hope I never learn better. 

To every single one who posts here

Yes YOU!

Sincere wishes for a Happy New Year   

Jesus had his say....

It is our time now... don't you think?

We must speak for Christ now.

So what would he say? and how? and when? and where? and why?

And, I wonder does it all start with the children...

Such is the under standing child beneath all the crap we throw at eM ... and thus it is revealed how wise and ignorant the old people were of the child of light ... a KID ignited by passion to know the Cos?

It came at a moment of lack of thought unless a planned thing; most are accidental or occidental ... arriving primally at a dark moment when the thoughts strayed ... such is the initiation! This was maked by the Arabic alief ... that Shadow moving under the trees ... is that kohl or what?

If you gather this ... is that mental dissonance ... like emotives that a real person will never understand if living from the boches ... the bible say the story goes on beyond the boches; some experience needed out there! Then alas some hysterics are required historic-Allah speaking ... and thus the Cos Mole O'je-ical humiis ... Nos Hite!