Well you’re not trying very hard.
It’s on channel four at 15.00, 16.05, 18.10, 20.25 and 22.35 (not sure if this is the same thing repeated or installments)
I would NEVER mess about with the Simpsons. No way.
Info and clips here:
Sammy Davis Jr. has died.
Even though “happy holidays” sounds odd to me, IMO our “season’s greetings” statement negates the entire rant. We do the same thing but we use different words.
Dear God, the boy’s gone native!
I was looking at the Sky listings, and they just list all these as various Simpsons episodes - doesn’t say *anything * about a Christmas Message. :smack:
Thank you thank you thank you Owl - my Chrimbo is complete. ::big slobbery kiss::
Seasons Eatings!! 
Making this my new default seasonal greeting!
Yes, because it’s so damn useful.
In my own family we have Christians, Jews, Pagans, and Atheists. The Christians do Christmas, the Jews Channukah, the Pagans Yule, and the Atheists the Solstice. It’s a hell of a lot easier to say “Happy Holidays” than “Happy ChrismasChannakaYuleSolstice!”
THEN I have co-workers who are Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Ife, and Og knows what else… It’s either everyone starts wearing labels saying “I’m celebrating ----, ----, and ----” or we go to “Happy Holidays”
Mind you, I’m not fanatic - when I know what religion a person is I’ll be specific and say “Merry Christmas” to the Christians, “Happy Channukah” to the Jews, and so on and so forth but there’s just too much variety when walking around in downtown Chicago. Maybe you don’t quite have a grip on just how diverse a US city is. Certainly, when I was in Europe (many years ago) I was amazed by the homogenity you folks have in your cities and towns.
No, Christmas is not offensive - shoving it down other peoples’ throats is the offensive part. Insisting that non-Christians take part is offensive. Maybe your own country or town is so overwhelming Christian that this isn’t a problem, but where I work about 1/3 of the work force is not Christian in any way, and never has been.
The non-Christians don’t complain about the day off, but don’t think for a moment they go home to decorations and unwrap presents to Christmas carols on that day off. “Have a good day off on Christmas” is what they tell each other going out the door, but they are NOT celebrating the holiday.
And, on occassion, I have volunteered to work on Christian holidays so my Christian co-workers could take the day off. In which case “Christmas” is just another day at work for me.
It’s not your country or your culture - so fuck off.
As someone who has never been Christian, let me just say you are WRONG - it’s actually refreshing when people acknowledge holidays without forcing me into a mold for their own comfort. If you think that is “patronizing” you need to re-learn what that word means.
Really? I’ve been hearing it about 35-40 years - I had no idea the “politically correct” movement was that old!
Check your calendar again - Christmas comes more than one day after the Solstice.
That may be acceptable in YOUR neck of the woods, owlstretchingtime, but where I live that would be regarded as insensitive at best. Guess our respective cultures have different ways of showing respect towards others.
Do you know for a fact that Mrs. Kahn doesn’t “give a toss”, or is she merely keeping silent?
While most folks I know don’t care WHAT sort of good wishes a stranger voices towards them, if you know someone is of a particular tradition you should make some effort to acknowledge that and not simply assume they’re just like you.
Yeah, they know it’s Christmas - but no, they do NOT automatically go to the Christmas party (many religions forbid participating in the rituals of other religions, even minor rituals). They do not wear silly hats (unless required by their own belief systems). They do not buy presents for their children - the Jews buy Channukah presents, but that’s for an entirely DIFFERENT holiday, and likewise for the other folks. In fact, many do not buy presents at all at this time of year. I was not aware of James Bond films of any sort being a part of Christian rituals. It’s not a matter of being “well-adjusted” - I am aware of the Indian holiday Diwali, too, but I don’t celebrate it, having no reason to do so.
These other winter (northern hemisphere) holidays are NOT some sort of “Christmas-Lite” or parody of Christmas - they are entirely different holy days with entirely different origins. Ignoring them is just as rude as ignoring Christmas.
Anyway, owlstretchingtime: Happy Holidays!
We were using that phrase before you were born, and we’ll be using after you’re dust. Enjoy yourself, and may the MIL give you crap all weekend. 
Actually, there are a notable number of my neighbors who never take down their christmas lights on the house - they nailed them up years ago, only bother with them to change burned out bulbs. They turn the lights on from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, then leave them off the rest of the time. So, in that sense, the decorations never come down.
But really, after the New Year’s Hangover Recovery Period everyone is assumed to be partied out until Chinese New Year and we revert to the default “have a good day” greeting.
Pity. Me, I plan to sleep in, lounge about the house quite a bit, maybe fly if I can get the airplane engine started (we’re having quite a cold snap, temp 1F/-17C) and if not that I’ll be out skiing this weekend. Also eat too much, watch movies, snuggle with Other Half, and generally have a Very Relaxing Weekend. Don’t know if that qualifies as a “Merry Christmas” but will certainly be a “Happy Holiday”. 
This is amazing.
We’ve explained 6 ways from Tuesday why HH makes sense, and yet the anti-HH still insists that there is no reason to use it. It’s like these people are entirely impervious to logic. They continue to bleat their whine despite all reason, despite all good sense. Do these people have holly in their ears and Christmas pudding in their eyes? It’s as if any arguments to the contrary were not even posted at all. It’s like trying to argue the existance of geological strata on a fundie board. Might as well be mute.
Fuck it. I give up.
For those of you who insist on bleating that HH makes no sense, have a Merry fucking mythological baby born to a supposed “virgin” in a fucking barn so we can drink the sacramental raw chicken dropping nog day.
:wally
I’m sorry if I misread your proclomation that there is “no way in HELL would you catch me using such a stupid fakey, hearty, ‘hail fellow well met’, designed purposely to be PC and not offend phrase such as ‘Happy Holidays’”. Anyway, I was speaking more generally to the posters here who refuse to look at the facts (“Happy Holidays” was around long before PC considerations) or explain why it so sticks in their craw that people might be beningly inclusive of their non-Christian bretheren when passing along seasonal tiding.
Not “explaining,” so much as “stating,” since your post is still full of crap. Happy Holidays isn’t PC. It’s just something people say, like “Hello,” or “Goodbye.”
The thread is filled with claims that the phrase is fakey, PC Gobbledygook, etc., so it clearly goes beyond the phrase and makes judgments on people who use it.
Well, since nobody will explain why they hate the phrase except to say it is “PC,” I made the usual conclusion about people saying anything is “PC” – it’s a convenient slur for any situation where Big Whitey Patriarch WASP loses a little edge. One can’t argue against the purpose of inclusive or non-dergotory speech, so one just slurs the whole mess with a single, misapplied phrase.
I’m actually having a lovely Xmas, thanks.
Same to you.
Actually, I cook mine. Bad salmonella experience.
I’m not an ancient pagan of norse heritage, but I have no problem if someone wants to schedule a meeting with me on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Sorry, I guess I should have clarified better. I was under the impression that the OP was speaking of the corporate-speak FORCEFED use of the term. And basically, I lumped it in with all of the other forcefed PC crap we’re bombarded with. The old Bing Crosby/Peggy Lee type Happy Holidays wasn’t what I was smarting off about (and remember, as other posters picked up on, I wasn’t being all that serious).
At any rate, the part of the “happy holidays” thing that i find irritating is the corporate/retail insistance for their employees and such that it is ABSOLUTELY VERBOTEN to use anything other than that term, that is THE only acceptable term, anyone caught using anything other than the authorized PC term (be it happy holidays, or African American or whatever).
Answered to above.
No, I am annoyed at ANY “pc” term that where the use of such is forced and supposed to not offend. IF that is what we’re going to do, fine, but then we have to remove ANY AND ALL offensive language WHATSOEVER from our language.
No Fuck, shit, and all the rest of George’s list ANYWHERE where it might be overheard and offend someone. Atheist and Christians alike will be subject to severe fines if they allude to their beliefs in the slightest where anyone not “authorized” to be able to hear their particular beliefs is present. And so on.
So again, Happy Holidays in the old fashioned Bing Crosby/Peggy Lee sense? not a problem “Happy Holidays” as enforced by the corporate Gods in which you are FORCED to say it because it’s PC (such as answering phones, etc), No.
And last, once again, my first post was not in seriousness,( the one in which you went all ballistic on), OTHER than the PCness must be equitable part, so you’re ranting about something I was being a smart aleck, not serious about anyway.
Sheesh
It’s people like owlstretchingtime that give Brits a bad name. As an Englishman myself all I have to say is
He’s a total wanker.
Happy holidays is quite harmless.
And nobody in the UK (other than this moron) would say Happy Christmas. It’s Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (as in the States.)
I wonder how the “merry” part of it came about. Don’t we say “happy” for most other holidays? “Happy Halloween” (My FAVORITE holiday btw :D), and the 4th of July (for Americans), Happy Valentines Day, ummm… Happy Memorial Day…
Aren’t most of them happy holidays? Except Easter, what do people say for Easter? Have a Nice Easter? I can’t think of many other holidays that don’t use Happy.
I just suspected owl started slugging back the eggnog too early, getting into the spirits and all that.
Unless they’re singing a John Lennon tune. 'Course that’s technically “Happy Xmas”.
Blimey you are a sensitive lot aren’t you? Boxes of frogs barely comes into it. Even the Hatter’s union wouldn’t let some of you lot in.
And to the webbed-toed idiot in Pompey - I may be a wanker but I don’t have the misfortune to live in the most inbred part of the country - burnt out any paediatricians recently? When people from Southampton look down on you, there really isn’t any hope
Owl - A Winchester lad so knows what he’s talking about, and is about to go back to playing with the monster robot toys…