On Friday 11/17 the Xmas lights go on in the Bx Zoo, and the Model Train show starts in the Botanical Garden

Wait a minute dbob. Xmas is no longer proper. You need to say Christmas. Since the Zoois a public place, maybe they are Holiday Lights.

Herb, you have many problems with Christmas, why is that?

Barbarallen, I have no problem with Christmas. It seems that many people have a problem with using Xmas instead of the proper name. It also seems that some people have a problem with Happy Holidays. It seems to me that it is those people that have a problem trying to get everyone to agree with their line of thinking.

I agree that people should be able to celebrate Christmas, but that does not mean that everyone needs to celebrate it like they do.

Xmas and Christmas are the same thing. Xmas is the abbreviation of Christmas, just like, for example, NYC is the abbreviation for New York City, etc. etc.

By writing Xmas you are writing the short version of Christmas. Capisci???? It's merely an abbreviation.

You're right Herb, no one is asking everyone to celebrate Christmas like we do, but I would love it if those people who choose not to, would leave the rest of us alone, like it used to be in America. The holiday is Christmas, it's one day in the year, don't balk at the word, and demand that it not be used, that's all I am asking for, I mean the population in general who do....thanks

Mary Linn, the promble in using Xma is that it leaves out the purpose of the name, Christ.

Brbaraallen, you seem to forget that the stores are marketing their good to people who do not celebrate Christmas and people who have holidays about the same time as Christmas.

Merry Christmas should only be said to Christians.

I think you are missing my point. There are nice things happening in the Bx.
I cant spell very well and my typing is just as bad. I take shortcuts, not trying to offend

dbob, go and sit in the corner and think of what you just done. You have created a very heated thread, how dare you talk about model trains, don't you know how people are offended when someone talks about model trains. Next time make sure you direct your posts only to other model train enthusiasts, so other people who do not believe in model trains won't be offended. This is a common mistake made by people who belong to the model train beliefs, they think we all should listen to this model train junk.


Joke

quote:

Originally posted by dbob:
I think you are missing my point. There are nice things happening in the Bx.
I cant spell very well and my typing is just as bad. I take shortcuts, not trying to offend

dbob you do not need to explain yourself.We understand what you are saying. He who is without sin shall cast the first stone!

LMAO Yvonne that was funny!

I don't think anyone was offended.

dbob, I was making a point and not trying to ridicule what you said. It is good to see nice things happening in the Bronx.

Herb,stores are not marketing their goods to anyone in particular, they market their wares to everyone at all times......please stop being offended - the name of the holiday is CHRISTMAS....that's it, Herb.

Actually, dbob and anyone else who uses the term X for Christ might not be all that wrong.

I think that X is used for the word Christ in old Greek orthodox. I think that the X was the symbol for Christ in the old Greek and it was us today use the word Christ. I think that the X was the original term for Christ in the old Greek. I heard this from a guy who lives down the block from me.

Barbaraallen, the name of the holiday is Chanukka, Kwanza, Chbristmas, New Years and even Thanksgiving. They are all part of the Holiday Season. Christmas is only one day.
So, the name of the Holiday is not just Christmas. I have said enough on this subject.

Yvonne, I think you are correct about Xmas, but there are many Christians ythat object to the use.

For the record, The BRONX ZOO refers to its festivities as the HOLIDAY LIGHTS!

Well then Herb, perhaps this won't offend you too much, pretend it is December 25th: Merry Christmas to one and all..............

BA, I am never offended. I just present my opinions.

Sorry this is a late post, but I had to take my time and breathe before I posted this - please notice that I hardly used any caps and appreciate my self-restraint.

In my opinion, saying Happy Holidays is a shop keepers way of Covering Their Ass-ets! I know it, they know it, and I'm fine with it. To me - it's just a greeting of acknowledgement. When a person walks into a store the day after Thanksgiving, (and for the next 6 weeks or so) the retailer is hoping the person is buying a gift for one of the holidays that by ancient calendar, religious persuasion, or invention occurs sometime between November and January.

If I were in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood wearing dark and modest clothing, a kipa/strimel/wig or payees, and proceeded to go into a local shop during Nov/Dec – the retailer probably wouldn’t say Merry Christmas. I’d be celebrating the “ Miracle Of The Oil” – not the birth of “Our Savior.” And this year Chanukah starts in November.

The same would happen if I went shopping at the local K-Mart in a predominantly black neighborhood, buying items I could use to make Kwanzaa gifts – maybe some Kenta cloth, ****es and herbs for sachets & potpourris - given on the last day of Kwanzaa, January 1st. Kwanzaa, created in 1966, is a celebration of the African commitment to tradition, heritage, and history - again, not the birth of “Our Savior.”

Saying “Merry Christmas” is “exclusive”. The words “Merry Christmas” are the verbal affirmation that I am happy God's son, Jesus Christ became human and was born – that’s it – nothing else!

It’s also my opinion, that Wal-Mart and every other store that is saying Merry Christmas is trying to attract Christians to their stores by apostatizing everyone else who isn't Christian.

According to the LA Times/11/12/03 - “Last year, groups such as the American Family Association and Liberty Counsel organized boycotts of stores with generic "holiday" campaigns.” That’s coercion and Wal-Mart is advocating it!

If I'm giving a friend gelt, I'll say Happy Cahunkah; to my African American friends that celebrate Kwanzaa, I'll wish them an enjoyable Kwanzaa; to my Christian friends, I'll say, Merry Christmas; and with my South American and German Christian friends - I won't exchange presents until the Epiphany or St. Nicholas Day.

I won't disrespect anyone by lumping them altogther under the blanket of Happy Holidays. I’ll also choose where I’ll buy my gifts for Chanukah, Kwanzaa, or Christmas – AND IT WON’T BE WAL-MART!

ps - Yvonne's friend is correct – according to Wikipedia ~ The word "Christ" and its compounds, including "Christmas", have been abbreviated for at least the past 1,000 years, long before the modern "Xmas" was commonly used.

Hi there, Very well written, very well thought out, and I get your point and agree. What you say makes sense. My big beef with the Christmas season, in particular, is it's all about buying "things". I see so many people who, for instance, mistreat their kids all the time, curse at them, and generally treat them worse than they would a stranger. Meanwhile, when Christmas comes, I guess, to assuage their guilt, they buy a ton of toys on their credit cards, and resent it for the rest of the year. Nuts, isn't it?

quote:

Originally posted by dbob:
On Friday 11/17 the Xmas lights go on in the Bx Zoo, and the Model Train show starts in the Botanical Garden

Oh WOW! The Bronx Zoo....Sundays used to be free there, and I don't remember them putting up Christmas lights back then in the fifties and sixties. Nevertheless, it was a magical place. I think it was and still is, one of the best zoos in the country. Last time I was there was in 1967, and I remember a little animal, in one of the dark houses, called a mouse deer. I walked many, many miles in there, and lived nearby. Sundays were free, so a bunch of us kids went often. Another magical Bronx spot! God bless. Kris