Merry Christmas...Or Not
The folks at the American Family Association are upset. They want everyone to have a Merry Christmas whether they want to or not! Here's their latest release:
Gap, which owns Old Navy, Banana Republic, Forth & Towne and Piperlime, has become the latest politically correct retailer, intentionally censoring the use of "Christmas" in their in-store, online and printed advertising.
Instead of referring to the season as Christmas, Gap instead uses the word "holiday." As hard as we tried, AFA could not find a single instance in which Gap-owned stores use the term "Christmas." Not a single time!
When one Old Navy store manager was asked by AFA if the word Christmas was in his store, he answered, "We have a lot of Christmas gifts in our stores, but the word Christmas is not used here. Everything is 'holiday.'"
Gap wants you to do your Christmas shopping with them, but they don't want to mention the Reason for the season. Gap doesn't want to offend non-Christians by using Christmas. The fact that their censoring the use of Christmas might offend Christians seems to be of no importance.
I've given the "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Hollidays" a lot of deep thought and reached this
conclusion:
Who gives a crap.
Really, why does any organization waste valuable time and money worrying about how you are greeted at a retail establishment? Is anyone really shallow enough to believe that a "Merry Christmas" greeting will instill the Christmas Spirit in anyone?
As Apostle Dale eloquently preached at our church this past Sunday, the spirit of Christmas is all about understanding why Christ was born on earth and why he wilfully gave his life for our salvation. That spirit is not something that can be generated externally--it must come from within our own hearts from an understanding of how Jesus loves us.
If we embrace that, we don't need someone to wish us "Merry Christmas."
If we don't understand what Christmas is truly about, it doesn't really matter what anyone says, does it?
Monday, December 11, 2006
Happy Holidays
I found this over at Straight, Not Narrow. I would have provided a link but I counld not quite figure out how to do it so I just decided to post the whole post. I think Jim is right on the mark with this and don't we have better things to get upset about.
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5 comments:
Absolutely!
Meanwhile many are hungry, homeless, sick, and in prison (without charges).
But none of that matters.
Our Lord clearly stated in Matthew 25, that the question at the last judgment will be "did you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays at the Gap?"
Christtime has become so nasty these days. I never thought I'd live to see the day "Merry Christmas' was told to me as a defiant statement itching for a fight.
I try to go with the rule that one does not return rudeness with rudeness (ie don't stoop) but I am tempted to snap back something nasty, but it is Christmas time...
AMEN -- Christmas, while first a Christian celebration of the birth of Christ--is also, like it or not, a national and secular holiday. The fact that some non-Christian might get upset at being wished a Merry Christmas tells me that a lot of people have a lot of growing up to do. There are a lot more important issues in this world than which holiday greeting to use. Anyone who gets so damned hung up on this one is narrow minded or stupid. Just my opinion.
Great link. Thanks for sharing.
I've found it amazing that the very people who say "Jesus is all you need" also find it necessary to demand that retailers use the word Christmas to validate their celebration of the season. Who does give a crap, indeed!?!? I sure don't need the approval, endorsement or advertising of a place like the Gap to celebrate Christmas in my heart.
How come none of these people are pissed off at Easter? Easter is after all the celebration of what makes Christians Christian not Christmas.
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