# American media & businesses say, "Jesus Who?" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 10, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225 "2003-12-10T23:39:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/21 "2003-12-11T02:20:31Z")
calm _down_ **Diogenes!** It used to be about Christ. Its just plain politically inocrrect now. To even mention His name, somebody might sue! They are so hurt and offended (their rights are violated!) by mentioning anything to do with Christianity! Of course, it wa a holiday made to break up the lousy winter weather, and I appreciate it, but I cannot get why nowadays people (some) are so upset by his very mention, like atheists will fall apart and commit suicide if you dare mention God, or so it seems. BTW, what IS Festivus? I missed that episode? How do I celebrate it? Eve, as always, you are humorous. (Christmas Eve;) ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/22 "2003-12-11T02:27:06Z")
Christmas has been way too commercial for a while now and I’m kind of a Grinch so I’m not getting real bent out of shape with the whole “Holidays” thing. One thing that does seem so false and lame is the obvious and unnatural substitution of “Holiday” when you _know_ full well that ordinarily, “Christmas” would be the logical word. I can’t pinpoint any specific examples, but I’ve been hearing “Holiday” used (in commercials, etc.) where it just sounded out of place. No way, no how would a normal person say “Holiday” in that context. They’d say “Christmas.” So it sounds contrived and forced. That irritates me. Say “Holiday” because it is the first word comes to you—don’t say it because you’re so afraid of saying “Christmas.” In a previous dead-end job, I had a boss who wanted me to say “Holidays” instead of “Christmas.” This boss was a micromanaging anal-retentive weirdo who also wanted me to “dumb down” my vocabulary, so I did not take her “suggestion” to say “Happy Holidays” too well. It sounded phoney and false to say that to customer who is obviously buying _CHRISTMAS_ stuff. Obviously they don’t have a problem with the concept of _Christmas_, for crying out loud! I figured if the manager wanted to control my language to that extent, she’d have to pay me a whole lot more. Screw that. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/23 "2003-12-11T02:33:50Z")
What’s the big deal about celebrating Jesus at Christmas anyway? He wore a purple suit, licked a bowling ball, and had a few good lines, but anyone can see the Dude was the real star of the show. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/24 "2003-12-11T02:43:34Z")
Treating it as completely secularized in the media is better than having them endorse some Pagan magical sun festival, right? So take comfort at least that _most_ people are centering their “holiday season” around the same thing you are. Take what you can get, you don’t wanna end up like the mom in _Almost Famous_ celebrating Christmas in July so that the commercialism doesn’t interfere. Even among secular folks, like myself, Christmas is still the important day in December, even if we only celebrate it out of habit or inertia we haven’t changed the name of the day or anything. And **Diogenes** , Chanukah and Kwanzaa _aren’t_ as important, respectively, to those who celebrate them as Xmas is to Xians. As he rightly points out, Yom Kippur is the big Jewish holiday, and Kwanzaa isn’t really anything at all. It’s just some bullshit made-up crap from the 70’s, does anybody really celebrate it unless they’re making a show of doing so for some media article? Does it even exist outside of politically correct textbooks? Does it serve any purpose whatsoever? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/25 "2003-12-11T02:48:00Z")
**yosemitebabe** , I use “holidays” to refer to the days off that we get during the winter. Saying “Christmas” is inappropriate since 1) it’s one day and 2) not everyone celebrates Christmas. I work with several Jews, and it would be wrong for me to say, “So what are you going to do for Christmas?” What I would really mean is, “So what are you going to do on our days off?” This is too many words, so I use “holidays” as a shortened way of saying that. Once I was on the phone with someone who had done me a big favor and I blurted, “Merry Christmas” just as I was about to hang up. Afterwards, it occurred to me that this person probably does not celebrate the holiday. I felt like an insensitive jerk for being so presumptuous. I think saying “Happy holidays” is much more appropriate in such situations, but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/26 "2003-12-11T02:55:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monstro \* > **yosemitebabe** , I use “holidays” to refer to the days off that we get during the winter. Saying “Christmas” is inappropriate since 1) it’s one day and 2) not everyone celebrates Christmas. I understand that and I do think it’s appropriate to sometimes say “Happy Holidays” when you have a genuine concern that perhaps the person you are talking to does not celebrate Christmas. However, when a customer brings up many super-Christmasy-themed items to buy, it’s a fair bet that they aren’t offended by Christmas. To have someone else tell me that I _can’t_ say “Merry Christmas” to the lady wearing the Santa cap, wearing a “Merry Christmas” t-shirt, and buying Christmas cards and wrap (an exagerrated example, but not uncommon) is _lame._ If an employer wanted me to say “Happy Holidays” to such a person, they would have to pay me more. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/27 "2003-12-11T02:56:27Z")
You’re 100% right, **Belrix** , and Merry **Christ** mas to you, too 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/28 "2003-12-11T03:00:49Z")
> [@](#): > > And Diogenes, Chanukah and Kwanzaa aren’t as important, respectively, to those who celebrate them as Xmas is to Xians. As he rightly points out, Yom Kippur is the big Jewish holiday, and Kwanzaa isn’t really anything at all. It’s just some bullshit made-up crap from the 70’s, does anybody really celebrate it unless they’re making a show of doing so for some media article? Does it even exist outside of politically correct textbooks? Does it serve any purpose whatsoever? Well Christianity is just some “bullshit, made-up crap” from the 70’s AD. 😉 Hannukah has far more significance _to Jews_ than Christmas does to Jews. I don’t understand why anyone feels like other people should somehow be required to acknowledge a religious overtone to a secular holiday. It’s not religious to me. It’s not about Jesus to me. So why call it “Chrismas?” The OP’s rant is just as dumb as if someone bitched about malls and McDonalds commercials refusing to acknowledge the Sun God during the solstice. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/29 "2003-12-11T03:09:03Z")
how about Santanalia? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/30 "2003-12-11T03:15:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Kwanzaa isn’t really anything at all. It’s just some bullshit made-up crap from the 70’s, does anybody really celebrate it unless they’re making a show of doing so for some media article? Does it even exist outside of politically correct textbooks? Does it serve any purpose whatsoever? Questions for the idiot ( **RexDart** ) who posted this: What makes a holiday a “serious day of the month” and another holiday “crap”? Aren’t all holidays “made-up”? So a holiday has to be thousands of years old to be “real”? Yes, many people celebrate Kwanzaa in some shape or fashion. I have celebrated it. A large portion of the black community celebrates it. I know white people who have celebrated it. [Five million people](http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1077/2_56/67531407/p1/article.jhtml) celebrate Kwanzaa. Not as many as who celebrate Christmas exclusively, but surely enough to be noticed if you aren’t ignorant. The holiday (or rather seven days) serves just as much purpose as any other “made-up” holiday. It’s unfair to denigrate it just because you have never been to a Kwanzaa party. I’m getting _real_ sick of people insulting black American culture as something that’s “made-up”. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/31 "2003-12-11T03:19:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*how about Santanalia? \*\* I like it. Santana doesn’t get enough recognition these days. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/32 "2003-12-11T03:20:31Z")
I agree with you 100%, **yosemitebabe**. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/33 "2003-12-11T03:21:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monstro \* > \*\* > > Yes, many people celebrate Kwanzaa in some shape or fashion. > I’m getting _real_ sick of people insulting black American culture as something that’s “made-up”. \*\* well, don’t look at _me_ . I always celebrate Huey Newton Day. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/34 "2003-12-11T03:23:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\*I like it. Santana doesn’t get enough recognition these days. \*\* I agree,but I meant it as a take off on Saturnalia. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/35 "2003-12-11T03:28:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Ink \* > **Your criticism lies chiefly in the secular portrayal of christmas in what is basically secular media. I would think that Christians overall would be THRILLED! You get your holiday back to celebrate in your churches as you see fit! Why does the secular aspect matter at all? Do you care what the news media and the advertisers think? Are you not celebrating your holiday in your sacred place of worship?** Pardon me while I indulge in a moment of bitter laughter. Have you forgotten how much uproar when people tried to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance, or the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme Court? Clearly, the fundies will not be satisfied until every single waking moment of our lives is filled with the Word of God and the Love of Christ. Anything less would be _denial of our freedom of religion._ :rolleyes: Please note that the above applies only to extreme right-wing fundamentalist Christians, not Christians in general. I have nothing against Christianity or any religion; the God you worship is none of my business, unless you insist on making it so. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/36 "2003-12-11T03:50:49Z")
Yeesh. Do you hear me sitting here and bitching about how the Solstice has been forgotten? I mean, it’s a lot older and all. And we actually know when the Solstice happens. Hehe. For a minute, try to stop forcing Jesus down our throats, and think about what it’d be like for YOU if Xianity was the minority religion. Every year, there was a big hooplah about Solstice. Wouldn’t be too terribly much different than our current Xmas, but hey. There’d prolly still be decorated trees and presents (like some old Solstice celebrations). The holiday itself wouldn’t be too much different from yours, aside from being on another day, and EVERYONE would be saying “Happy Solstice/Yule/whatever of the 100 other names there are for Solstice.” They’d be ASSUMING that you celebrate their religion. Whatever various beleifs associated with it would be shoved down your throat. And your holiday wouldn’t even be acknoledged as important in any way (that’s for that, btw). You’d get the 21st off, instead of the 25th (my fiance has to use a vacation day for us to be able to celebrate Solstice together). It’ll get real old, I guarantee you. While we’re speaking of Xian holidays, you know what I do on Easter? I plant a tree. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/37 "2003-12-11T03:54:43Z")
Ahem. “ **thanks** for that.” I wish I could remember to preview posts. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/38 "2003-12-11T04:02:06Z")
I don’t mind not inflicting Christmas on people who don’t celebrate it but I _do_ celebrate it. The people I go to church with celebrate it. I would like to send them **Christmas** cards. So far this year I have been unable to find a card with a religious image and a bible verse or two inside. Just this evening I scoured 4 aisles. Snow flakes, snow men, holly, and ornaments galore. There were about a half dozen cards with images of Jesus or the wise men, and every one of them said “Season’s Greetings” inside. It’s a picture of Jesus. Why can’t it say Merry Christmas in it? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/39 "2003-12-11T04:49:38Z")
Hmmm. I think we should have gobs of dfferent cards - Solstice, Kwanza, Chaunakha, Yule, Christmas, Season’s Greetings. Yeah. BUT I bet you could find Xmas cards with quotes in them at a Xian bookstore. There’s usuallt at least one in every city of any size. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225/40 "2003-12-11T05:17:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Anyone have to lyrics to that “Let’s put the Christ back in Christmas” comedy song they play on the Bob & Tom radio show sometimes? Good stuff. \*\* “Frosty the snowman Was Jesus Christ’s best friend He stood there melting by the cross Until the bitter end.” That’s all I remember right now. Happy Santanalia, everyone! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-media-businesses-say-jesus-who/218225.md?page=3)