Happy Holidays - And Response (8)

  • Wednesday, December 14, 2016

I am working very hard to recover from the choice to elect someone completely unqualified to hold the Presidency.  I swore I would not engage in verbal or written vitriol, however, I would like to mention that there is no war on Christmas and no war on Christians.  

I have been wished Merry Christmas by some very wonderful people and I have been wished Merry Christmas as if it were a verbal weapon.

I say Happy Holidays because I have a deep respect for all religions. Holiday is synonymous with Holy Days.  

Here are a few, just a few Holy Days being celebrated during December. Hanukkah, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Mawlid el Nabi, Feast of the Holy Innocents, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Rohatsu, Posadas  Navidenas, and Advent.  

So, if you know Donald Trump personally, please tell him when he claims we can now say Merry Christmas again, “thanks, but we never lost that right”. 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Feliz Navidad, 
Cecilia Lewis
Ooltewah

* * * 

Ms Lewis, I don't know where you work or if you have an employer, but beginning in 2005 things changed in America. 

Most big nationwide stores claim when questioned that they've never banned the use of Merry Christmas. Rather they say they just encouraged their employees to use other expressions like Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings. 

In 2005, Target "eschewed" their employees from using the phrase Merry Christmas, but later gave into pressure  (you know from the people they want to buy their stuff) and began using the word Christmas in their promotions. 

In 2007, in their catalog, Lowe's began using the word "family trees" in place of Christmas trees. Now you don't have to just take my word on this you can do as I did and check both and more on Snopes.com. 

As far back as the late 1980s public schools in Maryland and other states stopped having Christmas concerts and programs. Some couldn't even use secular holiday music. I know. I employed a band director from Prince George County at my school who was astonished that she could play Frosty the Snowman at her Christmas concert. 

And yes, Ms. Lewis, even though you don't think so, many thousands of employees and others felt they had lost their right to say Merry Christmas. And even though you wish Mr. Trump to be wrong, he's actually right. Many did lose that right or risk being fired. 

So to all who have been pressured to stop using the time honored phrase of Merry Christmas, Mr. Trump's words are welcome news. 

Ralph Miller 

* * *

Mr. Miller, 

I cannot find where Target ever "eschewed" their employees from saying, "Merry Christmas."  They did use the term "Holidays" for awhile in their promotional material.  When I went off to college and got one of those touchy feely degrees in business, we were advised to use the word "Holiday" in marketing due to the fact that there are several holidays celebrated this season. Sounded reasonable to me, from a business standpoint.

Went shopping at Target today, was wished a Merry Christmas, yet it wouldn't have mattered to me if it had been "Happy Holidays."  

Some of us don't observe Christmas in stores. What the advertisements for merchandise say isn't really all that important to those of us who don't equate Christmas with swiping credit cards.  

So, if you're going to chastise Target for what they say as they hand you your receipt, please be absolutely sure it's true. 

Melissa Cantrell
Signal Mountain 

* * * 

Well said, Mr. Miller! 

Today while I was shopping at Food City in Cleveland they made an announcement that children would be singing for us.  I went up front and listened to the sweetest voices ever wishing us all a Merry Christmas.  It was beautiful and actually brought tears to my eyes.  I don't think I've heard anything like that in the past 13 years. 

So yes, Mr. Miller, we can all say Merry Christmas with a big fat smile on our faces.  Merrry Christmas!  Merry Christmas!  Merry Christmas!!

Sue White 

* * *

Merry Christmas! 

What a joyous phrase. It seems one cannot help but to smile when uttering those two simple words, Merry Christmas. 

I do not know if it is the election of President Elect Donald J. Trump or not, but I have heard that sweet refrain, Merry Christmas more this season than in years. 

So many were stifled through the illness of political correctness. When one's rights are trampled in an effort to appease others, this is not what this Great Union is about. We are a melting pot, but we have come together as Americans. We should have a common thread stitching all of us into one cohesive fabric of a society. 

Yet we have allowed the lawyers and politicians to divide us. 

But we have a new man to lead our country now. This man is not a lawyer or politician, an outsider to the process. President Elect Donald Trump seems to be our light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not the light of a freight train racing down upon us. 

No longer do people seem stifled and burdened. I see people everyday in my line of work and so many more people seem to smile and speak. I notice people holding doors for others. It even appears they are walking a little bit brisker, as if filled with hope. 

And I hear that joyous phrase, Merry Christmas, so much more this wonderful season. It is music to the soul. 

If that simple, lovely phrase bothers you, just ignore it for these few weeks. Allow others to be happy. 

And in closing I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! 

God bless President Elect Donald Trump, our beacon to a great America filled with hope, promise and opportunity for all. 

Dwayne Cales
Hixson 

* * *

I have never stopped saying Merry Christmas.  There has never been a war on Christmas or Christians, and no one was ever denied the right to say Merry Christmas.

More fake news. I am fine with Happy Holidays as well because, believe it or not, there are other people that live in America besides so called "Christians" who are not so Christian-like and Republicans. 

John Fricke 

* * * 

Ms. Lewis, 

You through your opinion article made several welcome comments and one huge mistake. To state that President Elect Trump is unqualified shows you are unaware of the history of the United States.

You cannot name one person elected to that office that was qualified. 

Obama: Community Activist
Bush 2: Former Governor
Clinton: Former Governor
Bush 1: Former CIA Director
Reagan: Actor
Carter: Farmer 

On to salutations: 

Now "Christ" in Hebrew means "The Annointed One" so it is not Jesus's last name. Christmas is an American Christian Day to celebrate his birth. What are we supposed to do? Ask what you are (e.g., Christian, Jewish, Atheist, etc.) prior to trying to wish someone that is stuck in a politically correct world a wonderful day off from work or just say nothing? America has changed with immigration. But you come here, do as we do, don't use our freedoms to impose your agenda. 

Jack Varner
Chattanooga 

* * * 

On field exercises in the military a welcome command must come from leadership.  It goes like this: "Men, smoke if you got 'em... "  

Most of us did smoke because the others did and it was a way to forget what was happening and how close to 25 miles were we.  I liken that smoke em to Trump suggesting that it is now okay to say and celebrate the holidays as before.

Wonder, though, if there was a before and somehow we were restricted to say Merry Christmas or one of the many salutes to the holidays. Christmas has always been celebrated in many ways. Did that somehow change or have I been living in a cave?

The notes herein suggest that because of Trump we can now say Merry Christmas. He is now making suggestions that the debacle of the election and the influence of the Russians never happened. The same comment by one or two people that climate change is not happening.  The crowd gets bigger and bigger that Donald Trump may not really know all he thinks he knows despite his announcement recently that he is a very smart person and doesn't need to be told about the state of the world.

Oh, how I pray that we made the right choice in electing this man.

Robert Brooks 

* * * 

The claim that you cannot name one person elected to the office of the President that was qualified, in some unjustified attempt to add legitimacy to Trump, and claim that he is as politically experienced as any of our previous Presidents, is sorely misguided.  As proof, the author of that letter lists the experience of our Presidents.  His claim is...... 

Obama: Community Activist
Bush 2: Former Governor
Clinton: Former Governor
Bush 1: Former CIA Director
Reagan: Actor
Carter: Farmer  

I have no doubt it would surprise some, to know that is not the case. 

Obama:  Served for years as a state senator in Illinois.  During those years, he held the chairmanship of the Health and Human Services Commission.  Following that, Mr Obama also served as a United States senator.  So, he had extensive political experience, yet the author attempted to demean his experience by citing Obama's experience as a community organizer. 

Bush 2:  Did serve as the governor of Texas, which believe it or not, is a political position.  Prior to that, "Dubya" had attempted to run for Congress. 

Clinton:  Bill Clinton did serve as the governor of Arkansas, which is a political position.   

Bush 1:  H.W. Bush did serve as a CIA director, but he also served as a congressman, and an ambassador, before serving as the vice president of the United States.  

Reagan:  Yes, Reagan was an actor...but he also served as the governor of California, again a political position.   

Carter:  Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer, but he served as the governor of Georgia...a political position. 

The fact remains that Trump has never had an iota's worth of political experience, and will be the single least qualified individual to ever occupy the Oval Office. 

By the way, no one in the federal government has ever dictated, or even suggested, that individuals should say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".  With that said, Donald Trump, lacks the authority to order anyone to say "Merry Christmas".  Just like Barack Obama lacked the authority to dictate that we say "Happy Holidays".  

So, this Fox media storm about a "war on Christmas", is just pure garbage, meant to stir the ire of the uninformed.   

Rod Dagnan
Chattanooga

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