Re: [tips] witch claims U. Nebraka fired her unfairly Maybe it's because, unlike the States, over the past century organised religion has increasingly taken a back seat for most of the population of Britain, it is really no big deal to continue to call the late December holiday season "Christmas". Here, for instance, from a Jewish Atheist (not to mention Marxist!):
"we in my neck of the woods have been celebrating a secular version of Christmas ever since our children were old enough to be aware of it. We enjoy doing so..." http://tinyurl.com/8k8chv >From this vantage point, why be bothered about the name of something all-and-sundry, in their own way, have been celebrating for so long under that name? Only small minority think Christmas is *essentially* Christ-mas -- it's just Christmas (or even Xmas). So when shopkeepers send you off (as they occasionally do at this time of the year) with a friendly "Merry Christmas!" they're not making a religious statement, they're just being pleasantly sociable. P.S. (Jewish) Nigella's "Christmas kitchen" on BBC TV: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/6193379.stm (That's Nigella Lawson, daughter of one-time Chancellor of the Exchequer [trans. Treasury Secretary] Nigel Lawson.) P.P.S. For those who care about such things, there are plenty of Christmas cards (and no one calls them anything else) offering "Season's Greetings". Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org **************************************************************** [tips] witch claims U. Nebraka fired her unfairly Christopher D. Green Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:42:07 -0800 Let's see if the people who scream "religious freedom" every time someone says "happy holidays" take up this case with the same enthusiastic fervor (or if, alternatively, they only mean freedom for their own chosen religion). http://journalstar.com/articles/2008/12/13/news/local/doc4942c95fa06bc55310 4199.txt Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
