Point of order: the “anti-whitey” sense came from the mouth of Al Sharpton, quoted in a 1971 New York Times article.
BTW: a 1978 Washington Post article supposedly quotes Maulana Karenga as saying, “I came up with Kwanzaa because black people in this country wouldn’t celebrate it if they knew it was American. Also, I put it around Christmas because I knew that’s when a lot of bloods would be partying.”
I just got the following in an email from my sister…seems pretty appropriate here:
Seasons Greetings To Everyone (regardless of gender, religion, political affiliations, etc, etc…)
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all …
And a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2005, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only “AMERICA” in the Western Hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.
A hearty :rolleyes: to the OP.
It finally makes sense to me now that I heard a man railing on women being allowed in some Morris dancing clubs when the whole point of it was getting away from ones wife and drinking to excess. Much like ice fishing.
So it functions like Oktoberfest and St Patrick’s Day? (ducks and runs)
Very much so. It was the attempt to create an ethnic celebration for a group that had had its ethnic history pretty thoroughly destroyed.
And contrary to exgineer’s disinformation, posted above, it was never “sold . . . as African because he didn’t think black people in the US would buy into an alternative winter holiday if they knew it was made up of whole cloth.” Marenga stated quite clearly when he invented it that he had invented an American holiday for Americans–aimed at those whose ancestors had been imported as slaves. There is a little bit of the “anti-whitey” aspect of Kwanzaa in the earliest celebrations, bit more in line with “let’s not simply borrow whitey’s holidays.” However, that passed pretty quickly and most (of the incredibly few) people who actually celebrate Kwanzaa are quite open to participation by people from other ethnic groups.
Two things:
(a) so I suppose your definition of “the offenderati” is “people who are offended by anything I don’t think they should be offended by, ever”? That’s useful
(b) At some point, what is polite and what is silly and what is offensive are DEFINED BY SOCIETY. And clearly, the US disagrees with you. So get the fuck over yourself and STFU.
Generalise much Dex? :rolleyes:
Useful information for our American posters:
Owl is posting during a UK** afternoon** in the run up to Christmas …
Good office party, Owl? 
See? Now you’re begining to get it - There’s another holiday in your repertoire! Congratulations! Now keep adding new ones until it becomes a nuisance to keep track, and you’ll naturally come 'round to “Happy Holidays!” See? It’s easy! All you needed was a good bashing about your virtual noggin. Hell, we had to grow up in this melting pot in order to come to that greeting. How much easier you’ve got it, with all of us to show you the error of your ways! A few more rants like this one, and we’ll turn you into a international cultural sophisticate yet!
So Violet, you’re suggesting Owl is an instant arse - Just add alcohol?
Nope - I’m suggesting Owl is indulging in a favourite British pasttime in times of merriment - The Art Of The Windup.
(Sorry if I’ve got you all wrong here Owl, and you really are an arsehole 
)
Ah!
In which case, carry on Owl. You, of course, are doing your fellow countrymen (and women) no favors, but by all means - have your fun.
I say “Happy Holidays” quite a bit. I work at a large, urban university in a large, urban area. My best guess is that 50% of the people I see at work celebrate Christmas. The other half celebrate a variety of holidays, including, I suppose, Life Day, for those that self-identify as Jedi.
However, I will confess that I am so in the habit of saying Happy Holidays that I have found myself saying it to my family, which is a little odd as it’s fairly clear to me that we’ve been celebrating Christmas for a number of generations now. My aunt is a NUN, and I’ve said “Happy holidays” to her, which gets a strange look. Maybe she would want to commiserate with Owl on this one.
I say “Happy Everything,” because it’s clearly all-inclusive. 
John Cleese in Fawlty Towers is pretty much the embodiment of the English sense of the word.
Am I the only one who’s just sitting here wondering if owlstretchingtime actually talks the way he’s posting here?
‘Mad as a box of frogs’? ‘Mad as cheese’?
Huh?
Your sister forgot to add “Have a cookie.”
I say “Merry Christmas” because I believe Christmas is a rather secular holiday. You don’t have to subscribe to any particular religious doctrine to enjoy it, and just because you are an Atheist doesnt mean you have to sit out exchanging gifts and propping up some dead tree in your house 
If anyone is offended, it is their problem, not mine.
Well, good to know there’s some point to it.
I thought it was a reaction to being bitten by tarantulas.
That got a laugh!
You mean Happy Everything.
So, did you actually write this ridiculous OP or is it just anotho Anglo affectation designed to make you look a bit daft?