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Original poster

to find "Merry F*******g Christmas cards offensive ?

113 replies

ConferencePear · 13/12/2013 09:07

Apparently Urban Outfitters are selling cards with this on. I looked at their website and they also have cards which say "Tinsel tits".
Am I being unreasonable or am I turning into my Grandma ?
I am not a Christian, but I try not to offend other faiths.

OP posts:
LegArmpits · 13/12/2013 20:28

The thing is, nothing HAPPENS when you're offended.

BackOnlyBriefly · 13/12/2013 20:29

Well we do have to call it christmas because that's become the traditional name for the winter festival AND for the birth of Jesus. It would have been better if Christians hadn't moved the birth of christ to Dec 25th in the first place.However I see a possibility here.

Imagine if Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus around about the likely date it happened or even just picked a date that didn't clash with any other religion. They'd be able to use that date for proper worship and celebration without the distraction of gift giving and trees. It could be a time of respectful fasting and prayer with no commercial aspect whatsoever.

We'd still have a name problem, but if Christians picked a day (perhaps in March) and said they really wanted that to be Christmas I think it would be only fair for us to have to call Dec 25th something else. We'd get used to it in the end.

PeriodFeatures · 13/12/2013 20:39

www.moderntoss.com/cards/xmas/partridge-in-a-swear-tree/

So I'm guessing you would be offended if you were sent this card then ^^ .

I would love it.

LittleMissGreen · 13/12/2013 20:40

Smile no harm in going back to the old pre-Christian name. Moving Christmas is fine with me, it's only a church service - Christ's Mass. However, guessing here, but didn't the earlier festivals actually get celebrated on the 21st on the Solstice? Maybe they could just be reintroduced as an alternative.

Alisvolatpropiis · 13/12/2013 20:41

I don't find them offensive, though I can easily see why people would. For a variety of reasons, not all relating to religion.

Like many things Urban Outfitters do, it's just awfully try hard and not particularly funny.

LivelySoul · 13/12/2013 20:41

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't send it to my Gran but if I got it from my brother (given what my birthday card said I wouldn't be surprised) I would find it funny.

LittleMissGreen · 13/12/2013 20:44

PeriodFeatures - that is certainly not a a card I would display in my home. I don't want my children to think it's fine to swear. So offended that such a card exists - no, but I'd be a bit Hmm if received i I'd think you didn't know me very well.

BackOnlyBriefly · 13/12/2013 20:44

LittleMissGreen good answer and you're probably right about the solstice. Why did it creep forward to the 25th?

It wouldn't be enough separation though I don't think because the eating/drinking/gift giving festival can be up to a week. It would still be awkward for christians who wanted to celebrate both. Which you could of course.

FetaCheeny · 13/12/2013 20:46

My husband got one with a picture of Jesus, at the top it said 'Jesus loves everyone' at the bottom in small writing 'except for you, you cunt' I did have a chuckle Grin

PeriodFeatures · 13/12/2013 20:52

littlemissgreen i would not have a card like that up where DC could read it! I have a puerile sense of humour.

PeriodFeatures · 13/12/2013 20:53

FetaCheeney Fantastic!

funkybuddah · 13/12/2013 20:56

I think these are by the singer Beans on Toast, he did valentines ones too.

Yabu if you don't like them don't buy them.

funkybuddah · 13/12/2013 20:59

Oh and the reason its ok to put this for xmas and not ramadan etc is because those other religious festivals ha e not been paganised and able to be celebrated with no reference or smidgen of belief in the original religious meaning

fiverabbits · 13/12/2013 21:09

My NDN sent us a Christmas card, the verse was about getting pissed, I found this offensive as all four of us don't drink and as in all the NINE years the woman has lived next door she has never even said Hello to me or my grown up children. The card went straight on the fire and I am not sending them one.

LittleMissGreen · 13/12/2013 21:13

Grin Period Features

Probably should add, I don't actually have a problem with non-Christians celebrating Christmas, just rather they didn't complain that they had to Wink.

Sallyingforth · 13/12/2013 22:57

Imagine if Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus around about the likely date it happened or even just picked a date that didn't clash with any other religion. They'd be able to use that date for proper worship and celebration without the distraction of gift giving and trees. It could be a time of respectful fasting and prayer with no commercial aspect whatsoever.
???
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the giving of presents was a traditional celebration of the gifts brought to the infant Jesus.
So whatever date had been set for the Christian festival, the commercialisation would have followed it.

BackOnlyBriefly · 13/12/2013 23:17

Well I expect like most things it was a combination. I'm no expert, but there were other festivals where people exchanged gifts and really you'd think the christian one would be more about giving to the church for the poor than to each other. Like harvest festivals.

The eating and drinking is more Roman Saturnalia and they used to give gifts to each other with that.

Anyway, if Christians actually wanted to have a non commercial celebration just for Jesus now they could simply leave the gift giving behind and make up any rules they wanted.

Not that I think they will, but if I were Christian and wanted to bring the dignity back into it that would seem a reasonable way.

AMumInScotland · 14/12/2013 15:50

BackOnlyBriefly - Lots of Christians do have a much less--commercial celebration, but it's pretty unfair to children to not give them presents when everyone else will be going back to school talking about what they got, the fun they had going to Santa's Grotto, how they got to stay up late, etc, etc. So, once you have children, it's difficult to combine being a kind and decent parent with being a stickler for a sombre, presentless, completely-religious celebration.

BackOnlyBriefly · 14/12/2013 16:44

It's difficult to combine being a kind and decent parent with being a stickler for a sombre, presentless, completely-religious celebration.

Absolutely. Which is why I thought that Christians might be happier celebrating the birth of jesus on another date, but then also celebrating Dec 25th with family get-togethers and gift giving without feeling they were compromising their belief.

I came up with that idea to make a point, but actually I think many Christians would be happier that way.

DropYourSword · 14/12/2013 16:56

I don't see why there's a problem with this, as long as people pick who they send it to wisely! I'd never send this to my gran, but my DH or BIL would love it. In fact, BIL loved his Happy Birthday Cocksucker wrapping paper last year. Each to their own!

redshifter · 14/12/2013 18:14

but didn't the earlier festivals actually get celebrated on the 21st on the Solstice

No. About 2000 years ago the shortest day of the year or solsitice was the 25th. In another 2000 years it will be on 17th.

- but then you don't have to call it Christmas either, because it isn't.

Why do christians call Easter after the pagan goddess of fertility? They don't have to.

redshifter · 14/12/2013 18:17

The card went straight on the fire and I am not sending them one

Not a very christian atitude. Have you said hello to her in nine years?

BackOnlyBriefly · 14/12/2013 20:21

redshifter Glad you knew that about the 25th as it did puzzle me. I'd read that Mithras was born on the 25th but then I thought "ok, but why did they pick that day for his birthday?"

gordyslovesheep · 14/12/2013 20:30

Oh periodfeatures that's my new fave website !

LittleMissGreen · 14/12/2013 21:21

Thanks RedShifter, that makes sense :)

Name of Easter - very true.

Name of Christmas - I merely meant that Christ Mass is the name of a service, (along with being a Church season of celebration, following the fasting of Advent), as opposed to the mass consumerised day that it seems to have become.

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