It seems to be a trend lately to replace every mention of the word Christmas with "holiday". It's becoming more and more "politically correct" to say "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas, and to remove nativity scenes from pblic areas.

I'm pretty tolerant of these anti-Christmas (as I call them) advances, but lately its been getting so bad I can't just remain neutral. I've seen trees labeled as "Holiday Trees" instead of Christmas trees. People want Santa to say "Ha, ha, ha" instead of "Ho, ho, ho" because it sounds degrading to women. Groups have ralied together to get rid of candy canes because of what they symbolize (The red stands for the blood of christ, the white for our cleansing of our sins, and the cane shape to symbolize the canes of the shepards).

Personally, I'm getting kind of sick of this nonsense. Yes, am I a Christian, and yes, I celebrate Christmas so I may be a bit bias, but the last aggressive advances taken upon Christmas are, in my opinion, immature and uncalled for.

When people say Happy Holidays to me I tell them Merry Christmas. If your offended that I wished you a merry Christmas then really, you need to get a life. I don't jump down people's throats when they share their holiday with me by saying "Happy Kwanza" or "Happy Hannukah".

For me, changing the "Christmas Tree" to "Holiday Tree" is like calling the Menorah a candlestick. I don't find it particularly offensive, but it's a stupid generalization. Christmas Trees are the symbol for Christmas. They go hand in hand. Generalizing christmas trees into holidays trees is a horrible idea.

I could go on and on, because the crap never stops. I frequently go into a small elementary school to mentor (or teach) kids in the first grade. Last week they were learning about holidays. Not once did they mention "Christmas". They mentioned Kwanza and Hannukah, Menorah's and "Holiday Trees", but not once Christmas, except for when the kids brought it up, at which point the teachers just silenced them for "going off topic".

I drive down the street at night during the Christmas season and see almost every house with a lighted Christmas tree and glowing Santas in the front lawn, and I have to ask myself, why aren't more people standing up for this? The vast majority of American's celebrate Christmas, yet they just tolerate this blatant attack on the culture of the holiday.

Discuss.

I am a Christian, as well, so I wish everyone Merry Christmas. Anyone who doesn't who gets their panties in a bunch if I wish them that can kiss my ass.

Political Correctness amounts to censorship.

Things change. Even the holidays must change to accommodate people who feel uncomfortable.

In truth, everything must change, everything must evolve.

Also, Merry Christmas everyone.

To add to what Duel said, Christmas is the EPITOME of the evolving holiday. From pagan origins to Christian usurpation to Victorian tradition, to 20th Century secular commercialism, Christmas is all about variety of holiday expression as a function of the time and place.

While it is honorable that you don't push it down people's throat's when they wish you a Happy Kwanzah or Happy Hanukkah (how often does this happen to you now?) it is less honorable to tell us that we need to 'get a life' if we are offended by what you say. It is also immature and you don't like immaturity right?

It is not that you need respect any of us that are offended. It is just that we if offended also not need respect YOUR holiday.

I still call the tree a Christmas tree as that is how I myself relate to it. I also usually wish Merry Christmas before saying Happy Holidays.

Christmas is very secular as well as Christian. Any attacks agains Christmas are usually also an attack against a secular holy-day as well.

EDIT: I am not offended by you saying to 'get a life'. I myself would not celebrate X-mas at all (I am pretty much against the idea of a holiday) if it did not mean so much to my girlfriend and family all of who say "Merry Christmas". My point is that no one can judge for SOMEONE ELSE what is the proper basis to be 'offended'. One simply need not THEMSELVES respect that someone else gets offended either but adding the antagonistic "get a life" is what I was saying turns the (mature) lack of respect into (immature) disrespect.

Pleasant non-denomination 24 hour period.

i heard they were thinking of banning public nativities somewhere because they were religous. which seems silly to me simply given that christmas is a christian holiday o.O

Turns out I heard "Merry Christmas" way more than "Happy Holidays" this year so I guess the pendulum is shifting back.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE WORLD!?!?

Yeah, but unlike saying "happy holidays" instead of Merry Christmas, I've never once heard of this happening. I wonder if it is really all that common.

Christmas isn't evolving at all, it's the world around it that's changing. In actuality it's not even entirely correct to say Christmas was originally a pagan holiday, Christmas is Christmas, and it is originally a Christian holiday. Christmas was placed over the original pagan holiday, and borrowed some of the pagan themes, but in actuality it is a completely different holiday.

Christmas has not evolved since it was created. It has changed. It is natural for things to change as time goes on, new technologies are created and new customs are started. As the people celebrating the holiday change, so do minor parts of the holiday. It's no surprise that in America, a consumerist country, the practice of gift-giving on Christmas has been made a major emphasis.

Despite the atmosphere surrounding Christmas changing, in reality the holiday has not evolved into something different. The reason it is celebrated has always been the same. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and it always has been. As times change the way in which we celebrate the holiday may change, but Christmas is still Christmas, it's not another holiday.

I only say Happy holidays to people I don't know. If I know you do the tree thing. I send a Merry Christmas.

And a Happy Hanukkah and New year to my Jewish friends.

Yes, as time passes on and as our own technology seems to evolve, holidays become a bullseye for businesses and corporation. Not say that isn't a bad thing.

@Phoenix

Do you know how many people celebrate "Christmas" (you know santi claus and ma boy Frosty) and could care less about Jesus. Plenty. It is also a secular holiday and it has been for awhile.

I am talking about the winter solstice holiday that only relatively recently (like within the past few hundred years) really took on the whole Christ's birth thing (do you have evidence of its origin that I don't now about?), but if you are only talking about that then maybe it is best understood that not everyone who says "Happy Holidays" is actually celebrating the birth of Christ. If your Christian friends refuse to say "Merry Chistmas" take it up with them otherwise, the rest of us are really only talking about the holiday season.

EDIT: While Christ's birth may have been celebrated since the middle ages or earlier, the modern Christmas tree wasn't there. It has it's origin in the 1500-1600's Germany. (This is evolution). Most of the traditions that you, your parent's and grandparents practice probably come from within the last couple hundred years, not 200-400AD (this is evolution). Again maybe yours is a special case of tradition, but most people that celebrate Christmas are concerned with more than Jesus's birth (if at all) so the holiday has evolved from the ancient/middle ages, or you are talking about a holiday almost no modern person actually recognizes. The modern mind groups Santa Claus, Frosty, and the Christmas tree with the Nativity scence. A better example is that Christmas is not only about "O come, O come Emmanuel" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" but also "Jingle Bells" and "Rockin around the Christmas Tree" where Jesus is not even an after thought.