In a multi-faith Country we should not be wishing everyone a Merry Christmas but rather we should follow the Americans in wishing Season’s Greetings. Should we be celebrating ‘Christmas’ when most of our population no longer practices Christianity? It is however still a tradition and while we are no longer practicing Christians we still think of the UK as a Christian country. Anyhow does the naming really matter, Christmas is today as much a promotion for commercialism as it is for Christianity.
All the Yes points:
All the No points:
- ‘Merry Christmas’ has come to represent tradition just as much as religion
- No practical use and will cost money.
More honest/accurate.
Yes because…
If you are not a Christian and your celebrations are not related to an actual belief in Christ, you are not celebrating Christmas and you are not technically wishing someone a happy Christmas. Something like ‘Season’s Greetings’ is a good way for people to express what they really mean when they wish people well and invite them to celebrate at a certain time each year. People already often prefer religion-neutral Christmas cards or blank messages where they can write what they really mean.
No because…
‘Merry Christmas’ has come to represent tradition just as much as religion
No because…
There’s no denying that Christianity’s role in Christmas has become less important as the years have gone on. Despite this, a recent survey has revealed that as many as 80% of Brits still consider the celebration of Christ’s birth to be an integral part to the holiday . Sure, many do not practise the faith on a regular basis, but it seems the traditional aspect of Christmas still holds it in high regards.
Arguably, it has become more about what you buy, how much you spend and who gets the best gifts, but underneath the vast shroud of consumerism, there lies a core that preaches of spending time with loved ones, a time for bonding and a time for making amends. Although this may not specifically relate to the religious aspect of the holiday, it comes close. For us to take away ‘Merry Christmas’, and replace it with ‘Season’s Greetings’ would mean removing what is considered by many to be the heart and soul of the festive season. After all, Season’s Greetings could be used at any time of year and what would be special about that?
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23378647-brits-reject-secularising-christmas.do
Why should it be known as something else? The thing i find wrong with the world, especially the UK is that it is substantially sensitive to other ethnic minorities. I was told that, in a town in the north of england, it was forbidden to put up christmas decorations in the centre and around the area. Now come on? You must agree, for a country that’s been celebrating christmas and all that comes with it for hundreds of years, it would be non-sense for the saying “Merry Christmas” to be known as something else. Religiously, the UK is a christian country. It’s only recently that this country has grown, a little ashamed of it.
Yes because…
No practical use and will cost money.
No because…
The amount of money that is spent on Christmas each year, it would cost far too much to change the words ‘Merry Christmas’ to ‘Season’s Greetings’ on all cards, public displays, shop signs etc. We cannot afford to make impractical changes in the middle of a recession. It will not make that much of a difference to the UK, it will not lessen racial intolerance or promote multiculturalism, it will take much more serious changes to do that.
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