My Thanksgiving pet peeve....

People with a chip on their shoulder, unhappy people, envious people, mean people, and mostly STUPID people.

Oh my!!! Did I just call the OP stupid?

Oh and, enjoy that day off work whether you are a Christian or not.

/me rolls eyes again for extra good measure.

Any city that gets in trouble for it needs to have their judges go back to law school. The exact text of the first amendment is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;". Putting up Christmas decorations is not making a law endorsing Christmas. The interpretation of the law has been warped to include things that are not "making laws or prohibiting the exercise of". (btw - I am not religious, not do I believe in any of the religious stuff surrounding Christmas).

Christmas, for many people, is not a religious holiday and any city is usually free to put up Christmas trees, lights, santa, the reindeer, etc... The problems comes about in the interpretation of the amendment when applied to city decorations including religious items, like the Manger scene. If that is the only religious decoration, then some have interpreted that as them 'endorsing a religion', though there is not law of such endorsement involved. Many cities around here have dealt with the issue by putting up decorations for different religious celebrations of that time of year -- Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.

.

Strange how people with an agenda can dismiss important parts of sentences in order to further their position. It's even stranger that intelligent people (or so called intelligent people) don't challenge it. Being politically correct seems so much more important.

But, to continue this derail a little more. I wonder how many non Christians profit from this holiday that is so offensive to them? I mean how many businesses (owned and operated by non Christians or atheists) make money from sales generated directly by the Christmas holiday? More than a little hippocritical.

So, as I understand it, the Catholic Church can fund the putting up of a manger scene at my City Hall and no one is going to gripe? Good luck with that.

Festivus for the rest of us.

The point I was trying to make was it seems it's only Americans that assume I'm observing their holidays, therefore they assume I'm American..I never meet anyone from any other country doing that..

Goodwill doesn't equal assumption of nationality. I have seen it again and again traveling and living in other people's countries.

Maybe those others from other countries are not celebrating a holiday on the day you happen to meet them?

Yes, but I'm not traveling or living in America right now, I'm in my own country thanks.

/me laughs and points at the thread

Sniggering now!

Friday today I think....0.o

Thanks for this whole post, Ceka. I read it to my family and they were quite interested, in particular by the exclusion of the Native Americans and the menu.

But those that are kind enough to give you a greeting do not know that to be fair.

Just accept it in the good will its meant and go about your day, its nicer then people being rude to each other

Many pre-Christian cultures had a holiday around the winter solstice, usually to celebrate the fact that thereafter, the days began to get longer, heralding the fact that the sun had not abandoned the people and would soon return warmth and a bountiful harvest. There is also psychological benefit in making merry during the darkest part of the solar cycle, when many people experience seasonal depression.

The Roman Catholic church piggybacked onto this tradition by setting a date near the winter solstice as that of Jesus of Nazareth's birth. Most biblical scholars today say it's more likely he was born in the spring. Christmas is only the third most important holiday on the Christian calendar. But the choice fit rather well, since Jesus's birth was said to portend the coming of a new and more humane world, just as the sun's return promised a new lease on life for agricultural people.

The fact that the Christian appropriation of this holiday "stuck" does not entitle Christians to claim ownership of it. It is a time worthy of celebration apart from all religion, and in any place where people have a variety of beliefs, that is how it should be publically celebrated. (I think it was Jesus who said something to the effect that people who insist on publicly exhibiting their religious piety are usually guilty of the sin of pride.)

Goodwill doesn't equal an assumption of nationality. I am not traveling in nor am I living in America. It is astonishing how many TG wishes I got from non-American nationals, despite being a dual national expat of dubious origins.

I would send you a care package to get you in the spirit of things, but suppose you would say, "No, thanks."

Just tell everyone, in person, that you hate good wishes. It should solve your problem better than coming to some forum to complain about it?

I believe your assumption is incorrect. I don't believe anyone wished anyone else a happy whatever on a particular holiday/season thinking that the person they were wishing well was of any particular nationality. It's merely an expression of well wishes.......for anyone and everyone. If you believe otherwise then you are mistaken.........severely mistaken. If you really think it's only Americans that do this dispicably offensive deed then perhaps you only take notice when it's "Americans" doing it. And sometimes it's not even Americans doing the wishing. I've wished Mexican nationals Happy Cinco de Mayo, French Happy Bastile Day..........and I'm not either of those natianalities (nor, as far as I know, even dessendant of those nationalities). It's nothing more than friendliness toward fellow human beings in a sincere way.

Take it for what it is........and stop looking for reasons to be offended. Unhappy people evidently can't stand the presence to happy people........makes the world a little sadder place to be.

Geeze, why do I feel like a mom lecturing a child?

I have folks wishing me Happy Boxing Day every year, yet I am American -- and I don't get upset at all about it.

I have a Chinese friend that always wishes me Happy New Year for the Chinese New Year as well as Happy New Year on Jan 1 each year . This also does not phase me and I wish it right back at her.

I work with guy that wishes me Happy Ramadan at the beginning of his fasting month every year, and I am polite enough to wish it back at him, without taking an offense even though it is not my religion.

Get it -- wishing someone else happiness based on something special to you is not a bad thing and does not necessarily have any hidden meaning or agenda or assumptions in it.
.

Because we naturally want the best for everyone, being American. But since you aren't American, you have my condolences.

I think some of them forget there *are* other countries.

Heh.

Thanks for the history lesson. But you know my point was not that at all. Regardless of how Christmas came to be what it is or when it came to be when it is, it is what it is. A Christain Holiday celebrated by Christains all over the world. It has become a little more corrupted as a commercially centered "holiday" for financial gain........but the unlying purpose of the holiday is religious base. Particularly the Christain faith of the religions of the world. So, yeah, Christains DO OWN Christmas. Winter Solstice does not enter into the discussion of Christmas..........it's a distraction put out by people who take offense to others religious beliefs (in this case Christains). You don't hear Winter Sostice brought up when discussing any other holiday celebrated during this same time of the year........only Christmas. That in itself, shows your agenda........your offense to something that is anything but offensive.

But we are talking about Thanksgiving.......my bad for starting this derail a while back in the thread.

No we don't, we waste way too much blood and tax money defending them with our military to forget them. And don't forget letting them have a free ride on our medical innovation. No way we could forget there are other countries.

Gee, I wish the idea of someone wishing me well during a holiday, even if I didn't celebrate it was the something I could get my panties in a bunch over. It would mean the rest of my life was pretty stress free.

Oh Chris.

Psst...

/whispers I wasn't being serious.