Happy Holichrismahanukwanzaadan?

[Gav]

Re:

(a) I think we hit on a major cultural difference that I am trying to get at.
(b) I was also trying to point out that I did a quick straw poll amongst minorities whose current worries are much more pressing than what the majority call their holiday. Like I was getting at: the consensus appears that if you stifle one greeting you stifle them all and so you stifle the debate (such that there is).
(c) You'll get no disagreement from me. I would imagine that Wal-mart (which is called Asda her and I boycott for non Christmas reasons) is not concerned about the minority idiots. Even amongst the conservatives; idiots like these appear to be the minority. If I am wrong then I can probably recommend a few countries that you might want to move to.

Edit: I perfer Happy Christmas and Merry New Year. New Year is a bigger event for me and my country*. Merry also suggests being tipsy which is far more appropriate for New Year.

*Yes I think that Scotland chooses to mark New Year more than Christmas - it's certainly a bigger deal. Scotland used to be ultra religous and that meant a bleak christmas at your church being told how bad you were.)

[jeff]

No problem, Gav.

I think the Happy vs. Merry is one of those language differences, like petrol vs. gas, bonnet vs. hood, and so on. Two countries separated by a common language, as usual!

[Gav]

I don't know if this is germain to the discussion: kitschmas.

[gojujay]

Even though Hanukkah occurs around the same time as the other winter holidays, it is in no way a celebration of the Solstice. It's a celebration of a historical event where a small, poorly-armed group of Jews defeated a huge, well-armed army. They fought to defend their right to their faith. Then they went back to fix up the Temple, which their enemies had ruined, and went to relight the Eternal Light (which all temples have, and churches have them too, although they're usually candles in churches), but discovered that they only had enough oil to light the lamp for one day. They lit it, and miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, long enough for them to get more oil. They declared a celebration of the event to take place every year, and named it Hanukkah, which means Rededication, because of the rededication of the Temple.

However, the true miracle of Hanukkah was that the small group of farmers defeated a great army, with God's help. Anyone who tells you that the miracle was about the oil doesn't know the story well enough.

I stand corrected.

I am curious, has Hanukkah (Chanukkah?) always been celebrated as it's celebrated now? Minus the commercialization so prevalent in all things today, is it, was it always a major holiday?

[Go? Fencing?]

I stand corrected.

I am curious, has Hanukkah (Chanukkah?) always been celebrated as it's celebrated now? Minus the commercialization so prevalent in all things today, is it, was it always a major holiday?

Hanukkah (spelling is a personal choice, as it's only a transliteration from the Hebrew alphabet) has never, I repeat, never, been a major holiday. The major ones are the High Holy Days, which are Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and then I suppose Passover could also be considered a major holiday. Hanukkah is not. It's mostly just a kids' holiday that was hyped-up so Jewish kids wouldn't feel so left out when all their Christian friends were celebrating Christmas.

And commercialism has never been especially successful with Hanukkah like it has been with Christmas, although it is of course present.

[YankeeRebel]

Just got this note in my in-box. How timely:

Subject: For IP: "Commercialize Christmas, or Else"


December 4, 2005
Editorial Observer
This Season's War Cry: Commercialize Christmas, or Else
By ADAM COHEN

What is less obvious, though, is that Christmas's self-proclaimed
defenders are rewriting the holiday's history. They claim that the
"traditional" American Christmas is under attack by what John Gibson,
another Fox anchor, calls "professional atheists" and "Christian
haters." But America has a complicated history with Christmas, going
back to the Puritans, who despised it. What the boycotters are doing
is not defending America's Christmas traditions, but creating a new
version of the holiday that fits a political agenda.

Apparently, this is the new "strawman" that has been created by conservatives: the "Christmas-hating-liberal." You can't get a better strawman than that. I mean, what kind of a person hates Christmas? The scary thing is, there will be people out there who believe that this strawman is real and will use it as another reason to hate their neighbor.

[Inquartata]

I mean, what kind of a person hates Christmas?

Well, there's the Grinch. And Scrooge. And Oscar the Grouch.

Seriously, though...try typing "I hate Christmas" into a search engine.

[epeeisky]

Seriously, though...try typing "I hate Christmas" into a search engine.

I just did and got 15.1 million results.

[mrbiggs]

Apparently, this is the new "strawman" that has been created by conservatives: the "Christmas-hating-liberal." You can't get a better strawman than that. I mean, what kind of a person hates Christmas? The scary thing is, there will be people out there who believe that this strawman is real and will use it as another reason to hate their neighbor.

Agreed. I was flipping through the channels awhile back, and I stopped on Bill O'Riley. (I don't know why...maybe I just felt like being infuriated or something.) Anyway, he said to the repblican he had on that he was fighting the good fight against the "anti-Christian bias in this country." I don't know how you could live here and beleive in an anti-Christian bias.

I think this is like the abortion issue. There are alot of people strongly on both sides, but the reality resides somewhere in the middle. Some are getting mad at any hint of anything but Christmas, going as far as to boycott businesses, as Jeff said. But on the other side, liberals are turning Christmas, as Amadeus said, into a "bad word," and are truly causing the conservative backlash. For example, it is simply not allowed to do something related to Christmas in a high school (at least where I live). You can do "holiday" things and such, but nothing with Christmas. The few times where Christmas is allowed, such as the occaisional chorus concert, there are always as many Hanukah as Christmas songs. And let's face it, there really aren't very many good Hanukah songs out there, because it's a minor holiday. It'd be like composing a song for Saint Patrick's day.
So I think that if both sides lighten up a bit, we can all live much happier.

[larkmaj]

I stand corrected.

I am curious, has Hanukkah (Chanukkah?) always been celebrated as it's celebrated now? Minus the commercialization so prevalent in all things today, is it, was it always a major holiday?

Likewise, Christmas is not the biggest holiday on the Christian calendar. It is in fact Easter. Commercialization has a huge effect, just look at Santa Claus, the creation of an advertiser.

[YankeeRebel]

So I think that if both sides lighten up a bit, we can all live much happier.

Amen to that

[gojujay]

...It'd be like composing a song for Saint Patrick's day.
So I think that if both sides lighten up a bit, we can all live much happier.

Any drinking song is appropos for St. Paddy's Day!!!

[jeff]

Just leave the green beer off the list, huh? Eeeew!

[Epee_Pox]

(Chanukkah?)

Is that a CH as in CHeese? Or as in CHampagne? Or as in CHaos?

[Go? Fencing?]

It's a CH as in... the letter chet.
http://scottidog.com/pics/hebrew/chet.gif
Kinda a clearing-the-throat sound.

[Zilverzmurfen]

Is that a CH as in CHeese? Or as in CHampagne? Or as in CHaos?

I've always though of it more like the letter J in spanish. Like J in 'Juan'. Sort of like when you're clearing your throat.

[mrbiggs]

Is that a CH as in CHeese? Or as in CHampagne? Or as in CHaos?

As in loCH more than that...

[VELISARIOS]

Happy Christmas!