First Commercial Christmas Card

gill77

Senior member
Aug 3, 2006
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Firstchristmascard.jpg


Seems like "Merry Christmas and a happy New Year" has been with us for a while.

One would be hard pressed to find a greeting that has been consistently used in a more genuinely kind manner.

So is it still appropriate or has it been deemed incorrect?
 

gill77

Senior member
Aug 3, 2006
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What are you on about?

The question seems fairly straight forward. This innocent greeting has been a part of our culture for a significant amount of time and it appears that it may now considered politically incorrect.

Just curious what others may think. I don't have a dog in the Merry Christmas fight, but I am interested in the bigger picture of the whole PC movement. One could say the backlash to it even played a role in the presidential election.

One would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the culture divide that come upon us and the PC thing is one piece of the puzzle.
 

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
17,549
15,634
146
The question seems fairly straight forward. This innocent greeting has been a part of our culture for a significant amount of time and it appears that it may now considered politically incorrect.

Just curious what others may think. I don't have a dog in the Merry Christmas fight, but I am interested in the bigger picture of the whole PC movement. One could say the backlash to it even played a role in the presidential election.

One would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the culture divide that come upon us and the PC thing is one piece of the puzzle.

I know. The PC police jump all over you if you say things like “evidence based”, “climate change”, “trans”, or “black lives matter”.

You wouldn’t believe the kicking and screaming that goes on when people use those words.

Just sad.

Oh Happy Holidays!

#AllHolidaysMatter.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
99,532
17,612
126
You want to say Merry Christmas, say Merry Christmas. :shrug:
Hanukkah is much older.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
Hanukkah is much older.

So are birthday celebrations. So wishing somebody a Happy Stolen Saturnalia is not new or unique and one would not be very hard pressed at all to find older greetings that have been used consistently.
 

gill77

Senior member
Aug 3, 2006
813
250
136
I know. The PC police jump all over you if you say things like “evidence based”, “climate change”, “trans”, or “black lives matter”.

You wouldn’t believe the kicking and screaming that goes on when people use those words.

Just sad.

Oh Happy Holidays!

#AllHolidaysMatter.

Happy Holidays to you as well Paratus. Pretty clever turnabout, but it kind of drives home the cultural division point.

In general, the whole PC movement is pretty clever in the use of language. The use of offense and defense is quite effective. Find a word that does not represent your values and try to rid it from the vocabulary by labeling all that use it, racist, fascist or whatever. Then introduce new words or phrases and just pound the heck out of them.

I enjoy listening to NPR, but I don't think they can go 30 minutes without using "diversity" or "global warming". Must be company policy.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
99,532
17,612
126
Happy Holidays to you as well Paratus. Pretty clever turnabout, but it kind of drives home the cultural division point.

In general, the whole PC movement is pretty clever in the use of language. The use of offense and defense is quite effective. Find a word that does not represent your values and try to rid it from the vocabulary by labeling all that use it, racist, fascist or whatever. Then introduce new words or phrases and just pound the heck out of them.

I enjoy listening to NPR, but I don't think they can go 30 minutes without using "diversity" or "global warming". Must be company policy.


Again, who banned you from saying Merry Christmas? I say Merry Christmas and I am no Christian.
 

gill77

Senior member
Aug 3, 2006
813
250
136
You want to say Merry Christmas, say Merry Christmas. :shrug:
Hanukkah is much older.

No worries. I will and I do. Still a free country. (though far less so)

Wishing someone a Happy Hanukkah is great if you know they are Jewish otherwise you would probably be off the mark. There are over 2 billion Christians and about 20 million Jews globally.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
99,532
17,612
126
No worries. I will and I do. Still a free country. (though far less so)

Wishing someone a Happy Hanukkah is great if you know they are Jewish otherwise you would probably be off the mark. There are over 2 billion Christians and about 20 million Jews globally.



You brought up "it's been around for a while", not me.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
No worries. I will and I do. Still a free country. (though far less so)

Wishing someone a Happy Hanukkah is great if you know they are Jewish otherwise you would probably be off the mark. There are over 2 billion Christians and about 20 million Jews globally.

And there are 5.5 billion non-christians. So unless you know which fairy tale a person follows then Merry Christmas is a bad bet too. The overwhelming majority of the worlds population doesn't believe in fictional Jesus. Hence "Happy Holidays" is the best possible greeting that has the most chance of being accurate for whoever you're talking to.
 

gill77

Senior member
Aug 3, 2006
813
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And there are 5.5 billion non-christians. So unless you know which fairy tale a person follows then Merry Christmas is a bad bet too. The overwhelming majority of the worlds population doesn't believe in fictional Jesus. Hence "Happy Holidays" is the best possible greeting that has the most chance of being accurate for whoever you're talking to.

If you leave the Western Hemisphere (or Europe, for now) your odds turn against you, but then you have the problem of wishing someone a happy holiday when there is no holiday, at least in their book.
 

Cozarkian

Golden Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,352
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Just because there is nothing wrong with saying Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's, and just because those have been used for a long time, doesn't mean everyone should use them. Common phrases change for reasons other than political correctness.

I use Happy Holidays for people I don't see regularly because it is shorter, just as congenial, and at least as accurate. I still use Merry Christmas for people I expect to see between Christmas and New Year's.
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
Ahhh Christmas cards... a way to turn a piece of paper from 2 cents into $6.99.

I hate the stupid card notion. Why can't you just show love instead of buying some words on a paper?
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
The question seems fairly straight forward. This innocent greeting has been a part of our culture for a significant amount of time and it appears that it may now considered politically incorrect.

Just curious what others may think. I don't have a dog in the Merry Christmas fight, but I am interested in the bigger picture of the whole PC movement. One could say the backlash to it even played a role in the presidential election.

One would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the culture divide that come upon us and the PC thing is one piece of the puzzle.

OK, we need to knock this off. THERE IS NO WAR ON CHRISTMAS. You can say Merry Christmas to anyone, and they'll be very happy and appreciative that you did so. People can also say Happy Holidays because a large portion of the population is not Christian and they celebrate different holidays...and we want them to be included.

A recent poll shows 96% of Americans celebrate Christmas- meaning non-Christians have adopted the holiday because it's fun, it encourages togetherness and giving, and we need this in today's world. Great people anyway you wish.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
If you leave the Western Hemisphere (or Europe, for now) your odds turn against you, but then you have the problem of wishing someone a happy holiday when there is no holiday, at least in their book.

BZZZ. Also wrong. We have some lovely parting gifts for you. Almost all religions and faiths have some sort of holiday related to the equinoxes and seasonal changes. That's where the Christians stole Christmas and Easter. And the vast majority of the world uses the Georgian calendar and most of those celebrate New Year. No matter where you go in the world, almost everyone is going to have some holiday or another right around now.
 

gill77

Senior member
Aug 3, 2006
813
250
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OK, we need to knock this off. THERE IS NO WAR ON CHRISTMAS. You can say Merry Christmas to anyone, and they'll be very happy and appreciative that you did so. People can also say Happy Holidays because a large portion of the population is not Christian and they celebrate different holidays...and we want them to be included.

A recent poll shows 96% of Americans celebrate Christmas- meaning non-Christians have adopted the holiday because it's fun, it encourages togetherness and giving, and we need this in today's world. Great people anyway you wish.

I agree with almost all of what you said, but I don't know where this WAR ON CHRISTMAS comes from. As far as the whole "Merry Christmas" thing, I didn't just pull that out of my....... hat:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulja...s-politically-correct-who-cares/#1667b34e1fdb

BTW, when did you become moderator?