The EU Wants to Cancel Christmas!!

Baby boomer

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From the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ve-language-withdrawn-after-rightwing-outcry?


"An internal European Commission document advising officials to use inclusive language such as “holiday season” rather than Christmas and avoid terms such as “man-made” has been withdrawn after an outcry from rightwing politicians."

Interesting framing from the Guardian too. Apparently you're now "rightwing" if you oppose this particular piece of stupidity. I would have thought words like "sensible" and "balanced" would be more appropriate.

But seriously folks, while the "War on Christmas" is always good for a regular dust-up, this is exactly what the EU shouldn't be getting involved in. The European ideal already has enough enemies, without gratuitously providing ammunition like this to its detractors. The EU, with its inbuild "ever closer union" is one of the great developments in international governance and doesn't need woke nonsense like this that risks eroding hard won support.
 
The Yanks, where God is everywhere, use Holiday Season etc and nobody dies.
I'm a believer is the idea that people should be a bit more think skinned, on both sides of this sort of thing. I'll use whatever pronoun you want etc but if I slip up and say the wrong thing don't lose your mind.
If it's Christmas for you then great. If it's the Holiday Season or Hanukkah or Winder Solstice or St. Santa's Day or whatever then that's cool too.
 
The Yanks, where God is everywhere, use Holiday Season etc and nobody dies.
I'm a believer is the idea that people should be a bit more think skinned, on both sides of this sort of thing. I'll use whatever pronoun you want etc but if I slip up and say the wrong thing don't lose your mind.
If it's Christmas for you then great. If it's the Holiday Season or Hanukkah or Winder Solstice or St. Santa's Day or whatever then that's cool too.
That reminds me... Season's Greetings.

Was that the 19th century version of 'Happy Holidays' but toned down for the Puritan types who didn't really 'celebrate' a 'happy' christmas as such?
 
The Yanks, where God is everywhere, use Holiday Season etc and nobody dies.
I'm a believer is the idea that people should be a bit more think skinned, on both sides of this sort of thing. I'll use whatever pronoun you want etc but if I slip up and say the wrong thing don't lose your mind.
If it's Christmas for you then great. If it's the Holiday Season or Hanukkah or Winder Solstice or St. Santa's Day or whatever then that's cool too.
That's fine. Live and let live. No problem at all. Call it whatever you want. I'm all for personal choice.

The issue isn't people slipping up and saying the wrong thing. The problem is when a deliberate decision is taken to stop people from saying their chosen thing. That's quite different.

When an employer advises (aka instructs) employees not to use "Christmas" - then you're way beyond personal choice and into interfering with someone else's personal choice. When that employer is the EU - effectively a supranational government - and does this in the name of equality, it's hugely problematic.

If you want to see why it's a problem, try the following thought experiment. Imagine if the EU issued an instruction that Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr were to be referred to as fasting season and blow-out party day respectively. How do you think that would go down? Equality works both ways, you know!
 
That reminds me... Season's Greetings.

Was that the 19th century version of 'Happy Holidays' but toned down for the Puritan types who didn't really 'celebrate' a 'happy' christmas as such?
Probably. And didn't holiday derive from holy-day when people got a day off work? As distinct from a vacation when you went on, er, holiday somewhere. Maybe the Americans have a point. Then there's staycation....
 
Anyway in case I forget, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Season Greetings/Happy Hanukkah/Merry Winter Solstice to all Men/Women/Transgender/Non-Binary/Intersex/Genderqueer/Gender-fluid/Gender non-conforming/Agender/Gendervoid AAM members.

Oh and Purple.....
 
When an employer advises (aka instructs) employees not to use "Christmas" - then you're way beyond personal choice and into interfering with someone else's personal choice. When that employer is the EU - effectively a supranational government - and does this in the name of equality, it's hugely problematic.
Did they instruct them not to say it or not to use it in an official capacity?
 
Anyway in case I forget, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Season Greetings/Happy Hanukkah/Merry Winter Solstice to all Men/Women/Transgender/Non-Binary/Intersex/Genderqueer/Gender-fluid/Gender non-conforming/Agender/Gendervoid AAM members.

Oh and Purple.....
You covered me with about 4 of the categories above. Oh, and my pronoun is 'it'.
 
Anyway in case I forget, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Season Greetings/Happy Hanukkah/Merry Winter Solstice to all Men/Women/Transgender/Non-Binary/Intersex/Genderqueer/Gender-fluid/Gender non-conforming/Agender/Gendervoid AAM members.

Oh and Purple.....
I'm offended. You left out Winterval and Hogswatch and Sol Invictus.

Hogfather.jpg

 
Not to mention Diwali, Kalikimaka and Kwanzaa, too. See, once you start down this path, it's a never ending top trumps in the offence and oppression games.
So maybe don't use any of them and just say Holiday Season? Oh, wait...
 
I don't wish any of my Muslim colleagues Happy holidays when it is Eid, or my Hindu colleagues Happy holidays when it is Diwahli so why should I expect someone to use Happy holidays for me when it's Christmas. It's Christmas, simple as that.

Sadly this kind of politically correct nonsense is already prevalent in Ireland with certain schools having "winter festivals" and companies enforcing the Happy Holiday route without actually considering how offensive some people might find it and how discriminatory it is.

I'm not wishing anyone Happy Christmas today by the way, it's not Dec 8th yet for this culchie !!
 
I don't wish any of my Muslim colleagues Happy holidays when it is Eid, or my Hindu colleagues Happy holidays when it is Diwahli so why should I expect someone to use Happy holidays for me when it's Christmas. It's Christmas, simple as that.
It's Christmas for me too. The time when we celebrate the culmination of a coercive impregnation of a minor by God :D. I maintain my usual religious observations during the period.
 
Only if you're a school teacher. ;)
Don't forget June, June is great.

And Terry Pratchett, Terry Pratchett is really great. I thought I had read all his books, then just last week I discovered The Thief of Time, a whole new TP, joy unbounded.

Actually Terry Pratchett is probably the most important author of recent decades. His wonderful humour works to obscure his profundity. Oscar Wilde had a similar problem.
 
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