Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas Or Happy Holidays To You

(My family when they were young - 16 years ago.)

Do you say Merry Christmas
 or
 Happy Holidays or both?

You may have heard about the controversy
concerning those who want to force a change 
with Christmas from
the religious holiday that it always has been to a secular
holiday.

(My family now, 16 years later!)

There is pressure to use the word holidays rather
than Christmas.  I read someone's blog and listened
to a clever song about not patronizing stores who
want to take Christ out of Christmas by substituting
Merry Christmas 
with Happy Holidays. (Sorry, I can't
remember who had it on their blog!!)
(Rett from the Gazebo House reminded me that
it was her post.  Thanks so much!  Click on the above
to listen to the song.)

So yesterday I was shopping and a clerk said,
"Happy Holidays."  I replied, "A Merry Christmas
to you too!"  I pondered on this and loving to look
up in the dictionary the etymology of words and being
quite certain what I would find, I looked up the etymology
of "holiday".

(A forever family!)

What do you think it means?  
Holy Day!
That's right - even with all of the political pressure
that they think they are wielding, they can't take God
out of the equation.  

When we say Happy Holy Days, we are admitting
that Thanksgiving is a day for giving thanks to God,
that Christmas is a day we celebrate mass or a
religious service in honor of Christ and His coming
to earth, and that The New Year rings in a new 
beginning for the earth which rotates and begins
a new cycle according to God's laws and order.

(Most everyone's favorite shot - all taken in Hawaii for Thanksgiving.)

So try to force us to say Happy Holidays - or shall
we say
Holy Days! 

It all says the same thing - that the world is happy
to celebrate that
God lives and that He sent His son 
Jesus Christ
to earth.

What good news!

This is my e-card to each of you, my wonderful
blogging friends!  We had a hard time deciding.
Most everyone chose the last one.  We just set up
the tripod and I kept running!  Now I really should
have gotten a remote for the timer (next time!)  I
chose this last photo and
sent for a reprint in a 16x20 from 
It came in 3 days and is just stunning.  My
professional photographer friends use them for
their prints.  Give them a try. (You do have to upload
their uploading program, but it just takes a minute!)

I will be posting this with
Jacqueline
Jacqueline

Chocolat - French for Chocolate. I adored chocolate from a young age when I had to sneak in the cupboard to find where my mother had hidden the Nestle's Chocolate Chips. Having read about the famous chocolat shoppes in Paris, when I finally got there I was determined to try a chocolate from every Paris shoppe. I invite you to share my adventures in creating, in travel, and in life.

27 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Jacqueline!

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  2. Dear Jacqueline,
    Ha! I'm so glad you posted this. Mr. Glen Oaks can't stand it when someone says 'Happy Holiday' now, the "new" correct thing. He will always say back, "Merry Christmas". Wait until I show him your post about the etymology of the word holiday.
    I think it's a shame to pick apart such a beautiful day and I will always say Merry Christmas. I actually heard everyone in my doctor's office leaving saying 'Happy Holidays' and getting a reply from the doctor and staff.
    I left and said 'Merry Christmas' to the staff and doctor and NO ONE replied anything back to me! Well!!! (that's me huffing and puffing)
    Anyway, have the merriest and most happy Christmas to you and your loved ones.
    Susan

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  3. Dear Jacqueline,
    Your family photo is gorgeous. I desperately need a new camera. Besides being broken it never took
    clear shots. I will certainly check on the link you provided for the reprint. Thanks so much!
    Susan

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  4. Jacqueline, you have such a beautiful family! Lovely shots of them. It was nice seeing you yesterday -- you and Kirk are too funny. We are off to the canyon to take our "holiday" picture. Good post. There will always be people trying to deny or take away from Christ, but in this instance they are duped. Love, Joni

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  5. You Have a lovely family! I heard that song, too. I try always to say Merry Christmas but do realize that Holiday is not all bad.
    I love the photo of you children at a young age in the manager.
    I just posted a similar one of our grandchildren.
    Merry Christmas to you and your family, Jacqueline!

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  6. This is a great informative post. I still just love the sound of "Merry Christmas" and love to say it! You have a beautiful family. Merry Christmas to you and your family Jacqueline!

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  7. Merry Christmas, Happy Holy Day - Alleluia, the Saviour is born - surely a day for celebration!
    Your family photos are all beautiful. Isn't it wonderful to have everyone in one place at one time? At the top of my list for the wedding weekend in May is a family portrait or two!

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  8. Great post! Love the family shots and how it has grown ;) A very, Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family!

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  9. Love the Nativity picture and you have a wonderful family!
    and have the Happiest Merry Christmas Holiday!!

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  10. Your pictures are beautiful. I love the nativity. Merry Christmas!

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  11. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas Jacqueline-enjoy:@)

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  12. Merry Christmas, J! Beautiful family!

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  13. Merry Christmas!!! The Nativity scene with your children is so sweet. I know you will treasure this photo forever. The recent family photos are wonderful. You have such a beautiful family......all 16 of you with a few more to arrive next year.

    Blessings to you and your family,
    Katherine S.

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  14. Fantastic family photos, Jacqueline! Thanks for the info on "Holyday" I think that is great!! People are honoring HIM even if they don't know it. LOL

    I think that it was my blog with the song on it, BTW, buy maybe others had it too.

    Merry CHRISTmas!!!
    Hugs,
    Rett

    p.s. would you believe i fell down the garage steps yesterday with a glass vase in my hand.
    shattered it & cut my hand badly.
    DH thought my foot might be broken.
    it got progressivly more swollen & painful as the day went on.
    He wanted it AND my hand x-rayed to make sure there wasn't any glass left in it.

    ER said no fracture but poss torn ligament in foot; got air cast and crutches plus 6 stitches in fingers
    hurt like heck...on Percodan
    foot is less swollen & painful this today but fingers hurt worse now that lidocaine wore off
    hurts my hand to use crutches due to many cuts across palm & stitches

    DH is getting a work out, following all my directions.

    DD is bringing Chinese take out for Christmas meal & we're going to sing Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra!

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  15. What a wonderul Christmas post; I'm glad I read it TODAY:). What beautiful family photos! I think my favorite is all of you on the beach:) Next year we will be taking a family photo, I don't know how I let Thanksgiving slip by without one. We won't all be together again until next Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family Jacqueline!

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  16. Wonderful ecard Jacqueline. I am wishing you and your family a very Merry, Merry Christmas.

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  17. Your expanding family is beautiful, Jacqueline, and the photos really capture that! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.

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  18. Merry Christmas.. and Happy Holy Days to you and yours! Loved this post. What a lovely family! God's blessings over and over again. Love the last shot!
    xo marlis

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  19. You honestly believe that the first of January starts a new cycle for the earth every year, or did I mis-understand you?

    The first of January is merely a calendar change, a man-created invention. It has nothing to do with the earth's cycles.

    Apart from that, I agree with everything else you said, and I hope you and yours are having a very merry Christmas!

    Lucy in VA

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  20. You have a beautiful family!
    But seriously I think the only controversy is that made up by fox news. Stores say Happy Holidays because they are concerned about their bottom line and they tell their clerks to do it.
    They want to appeal to all faiths and really are only concerned about the money they can make.
    Out in the general public I hear Merry Christmas everywhere I go.
    Merry Christmas,
    Kacee S.

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  21. I TOTALLY say "Merry Christmas" because Christmas is the holiday (Holy Day) that we are celebrating. If I'm referring to Thanksgiving, the entire month of December, and New Year's, though, I may say "holiday season." After Thanksgiving, though, that pretty much becomes "Christmas season" as a rule for me. I know that people are trying to be politically correct about things, but Christmas has nothing to do with politics. And they keep crammin' that ol' "separation of Church and State" thing down our throats, so politics needs to take 2 steps backwards right on out of Christmas! That's my 2 cents on the subject. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Jacqueline! P.S. - Great family photos!!!

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  22. Merry Christmas, Jacqueline!
    Love the family photos!! Enjoy your family and the holiday season!!
    Andrea

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  23. No matter what they try, Christ will always be in the world! A lot of the controversy enters the elementary schools, and I noticed no matter how hard people try to silence "Christmas", it will NEVER happen. All down our hallways, the children told the story of Christmas in their school work, their drawings, their essays, their letters to Santa where they remembered Jesus. It's AWESOME!

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