Are you kidding me? That’s like saying you find it laughable that Christians claim ownership of Easter. The fact that it has been co-opted into a sort of generic, secular winter holiday doesn’t remove or replace its original meaning, or how it came to be named Christmas in the first place.
And besides, historically there has been no need to ‘claim’ it until recently when other people started trying to suppress it or remove it from public view.
Ain’t you never heard of the Depot of Home Security?
I thought celebration of the solstice was its original meaning. It was Christians who co-opted it first, if we’re to take co-opting into account.
The root word of Christmas is “Christ”. By that simple criteria alone Christians have the exclusive right to claim ownership of Christmas.
I don’t think you meant to say what you said in quite the way you said it.
Exclusive seems to be going too far the other way. It doesn’t seem reasonable to claim either that Christmas is entirely without or entirely within the ownership of Christians.
Cite? I haven’t seen this. Even if it were true, it doesn’t infringe on your rights. You don’t have a right for people to like your religious expression.
This is your best example of Christian persecution? That target markets “Holiday Trees?”
I haven’t seen it, and I think you’re imagining things, but even if that were true, it wouldn’t be an example of Christians being persecuted and discriminated against. It doesn’t stop you from being able to do anything. You don’t have a right for people to like your religious expression.
You wouldn’t find anything regardless. I read every religious thread and every “War on Christmas” thread. I’ve never seen anyone say that Christmas inagery should only be expressed in people’s homes.
Actually they did it in order to sell more trees, not to be “more palatable.” The marketing idea is not to limit the use of the product to Christian celebrations, but to make it more generic. No one gives a shit if stores market “Christmas trees,” or say “Merry Christmas.” There aren’t any “nonbelievers” com[laining about it. Stores are simply trying not to narrow their customer base. the only people putting pressure on these stores are butthurt, arm band Christians who can’t stand it that a store has a “Holiday sale” instead of a “Christmas sale.”
Yes, Bill O’Reilly is the leader of this bullshit, and he’s completely full of shit.
I know quite a bit about it. That’s why I know it’s bullshit, and why I know that you can’t back up any allegations about Christians being victimized.
Bill O’Reilly has specifically said that saying “Happy Holidays” to a Christian is “offensive.”
Also, why are you offended if somebody doesn’t want to say “Christmas?” How does that hurt you?
This is an absolutely asinine statement. That’s like saying the fact that some people are afraid of Jews is evidence that Jews are conspiring against them.
There is no movement to suppress Christian imagery. It doesn’t exist. Morons like Bill O’Reilly are making it up. Witness your own inability to actually cite a single example.
Nobody thinks twice about it now. The only difference is that nobody thought they were being oppressed back then if somebody told them “Happy Holidays.”
Christmas movies still get shit out by the boatload, by the way. Name a holiday from any other religion that gets as much lavish adoration in the commercial and media arenas as Chjristmas does.
Show some examples (and you misused the phrase per se).
That’s quite a vivid imagination you have there. It doesn’t have the slightest basis in reality, though.
I’m both conservative and Christian, but I can’t really get behind this guy…we’re not supposed to make a showy display of religion:
Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matthew 6: 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
No, you misunderstand. Anything can be on December 25th. Christmas happens to fall on that date, but that does not mean that the religious holiday of Christmas has the exclusive right to be celebrated on that day. Don’t conflate the date with the celebration.
What other group has an interest in “Christmas” but “Christians”? Take my family, for example. For my wife, Christmas is nothing more than another day. For me, Yom Kippur is nothing more than another day. It would be silly for us to attempt to claim something that we have no vested interest in.
So, how did this become about Christmas, anyway?
This is fatuous. For one thing, it was “Saturnalia” before it was Christmas. For another thing, that’s like saying “thursday” comes from “Thor’s Day,” therefore only Thor worshippers have exclusive ownership of thursdays.
It’s original meaning was as a Pagan celebration of the winter solstice. Christans coopted the holiday because pagans were celebrating it anyway.
Easter is named after a pagan goddess, by the way.
Christmas doesn’t just “happen” to fall on that date. The celebration existed before Christianity. Christians just tried to make a pagan celebration into a Christian one. They’re certainly allowed to interpret and celebrate the Saturnalia however they want, but they have no special ownership of it.
It was a business decision. They want to sell to everybody. If an employee bothers some customers with his button ,they may not come back. The company6 should not allow it. It is not anti religious. it is pro business.
Blowin’ up Home Depot real good? 
But guys, efforts are afoot to suppress Christianity! Efforts are afoot!
Efforts! By … some people… and they’re afoot!
What more possible proof could you need?
I’m not confusing Christmas with December 25th. Take my family; we exchange presents, we eat a Christmas dinner, we see relatives and friends. Already plans are in motion for what’s to happen this coming Christmas. Christmas holds considerable interest for me and my family. Yet, none of us are Christians.
Hey, i’m one of those people that grumbles about places having their decorations up this relatively early. Don’t blame me. 
Any other concerns of fatuousness (fatuity?) aside (wrt the “debate” here), I’d like to congratulate the OP for using the term “tenets”, rather than the depressingly ubiquitous “tenants”.
There is a real war on Christmas, and it’s being waged by precisely those people who claim to be standing in defense. Think of all those people who bemoan the commercialization and secularization of Christmas: If it’s secular for them, that’s their own fault. It doesn’t stop me from going to Christmas church services, and getting together with family and friends, and singing religious Christmas songs, or any of the rest of it. I never complain about Christmas being secularized, because I’ve chosen not to secularize it.
I love stupid quotes like this. Yup, every patriotic American should wear a button-badge to work.
It sounds like everyone is over-thinking this thing. Based on what has been reported, the guy was a total PITA. He was probably one of those employees that was a cancer in the workplace and they really, really wanted to get rid of him so they could go about their business and try to establish a harmonious workplace. The managers were probably looking for anything to get rid of this worthless, self absorbed, sanctimonious POS. When he started pounding his Bible the other employees were probably begging their bosses to can this guy’s sorry ass so they could get on with their jobs and not have to be subjected to his insufferable annoyances.
Therefore, the managers finally pulled the trigger on this asshole. It’s not about Home Depot, discrimination, anti-Christianity, or any other trumped up agenda. They got rid of the idiot for everyone’s benefit. The Home Depot store will be a better place without him. End of story.
Exactly. It’s not a left or right wing issue. The guy was a douche and got what he had coming to him.