What's wrong with "Merry Christmas"? (long)

[sistermagpie]

> Potioncat:
> > It [Ramadan] fell around Christmas time a few years ago. Caused
> quite a stir in our school because some of our students were fasting,
> yet it was tradition to have winter parties. Some parents were still
> smarting that it's winter parties, not Christmas parties, and now they
> were being told not to have food at the parties. The administration
> was just  trying to be sensitive to everyone's needs.
> >
> Carol responds:
> 
> And ended up being insensitive to the majority, apparently. It
> remeinds me of the controversy about pigs on coffee cups in the UK
> awhile back.

Magpie:
Or baptists who insist weddings can't have any liquor because their 
sect doesn't drink.

Basically, I think this kind of thought goes against the religion 
itself. If kids are fasting for any religious reason, it's not the job 
of the society at large to fast. The point is that they're going 
without, so having food for other people isn't being insensitive to 
their needs. It's supposed to be hard to fast and non-Muslims aren't 
supposed to be doing it for Ramadan.

As opposed to the Walmart change in greeting despite the "majority" of 
its customers being Christians--the key word there being majority. They 
idea being that it's really bad for a Chrsitmas-celebrator to 
get "happy holidays" that includes Christmas but doesn't priviledge it, 
but a non-Christmas celebrator should naturally be fine being greeted 
with Merry Christmas. If Walmart had changed their greeting to only 
Happy Hannukkah throughout the whole holiday season, I admit I don't 
think that would be considered acceptable by the same people. In fact, 
I think it would be considered just as much of a War on Christmas--
while the Merry Christmas isn't a "War on Hannukkah" or whatever 
because Christians are the majority.

-m