This morning I received an email from someone in Dubai who besides wishing me a Happy New Year also wished me a "Merry Charismas."

I like to think the spelling was on purpose although it could have just been a mistake or a little trick performed by Auto-Correct, or the Adversary himself messing with us. Regardless---made me smile broadly, this Charismas! Felt so all inclusive--something beautiful and warm to wish anyone and everyone with no need to take sides in the War for or Against Christmas. No need to load the cannons with neither Creches nor Bah Humbugs. Put a star on your tree or a bunch of grapes. Serve up some nog, baklava, tamales, or crepes. Because they all go nicely with Charismas as long as you have enough style to share.


Cha·ris·ma:

Compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.

Synonyms: charm, presence, personality, force of personality, strength of character--or in other words: Charismas Cheer!

Merry Charismas to everyone on the planet. We could all use a little Charisma, right this very minute. No?

Toward whom or what did you feel a surge of devotion?




(There's probably no wrong answer...)

I was hoping to inspire others to have devotion to me! ;)

See. There is a wrong answer. Haha.

...Not wrong, just wrongish...

Me to Conservative aunt: Happy Holidays!
Aunt: I THINK YOU MEAN MERRY CHRISTMA....
Me: IT'S ADVENT! IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE OBNOXIOUS, AT LEAST FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR!

Protestants don't really do "advent"...:)
So she's still offended!

You don't know what the hell you are talking about. Many Protestants, such as Episcopalians and Lutherans, "do" Advent.

If you knew anything about The Book of Common Prayer or the Liturgical Calendar you would know better. But you don't know about these things, you just pretend to, and as a result make totally uninformed statements.

Oh, and just try to question an old school Lutheran about whether they are Protestant or not.

Pew Research reports that in the US, 90% of Catholics observe Advent, 72% of Anglicans do, 38% of Lutherans do, and about 4% of all other "protestant" denominations do.

So while I didn't go into specifics, and I did "generalize," for the most part US Protestants "don't do advent."

And you don't have to be an insulting ass when offering a contrary opinion.

What if it makes me feel good to be an insulting ass and I cackle gleefully as I hit "Post message" and then I waddle over to the mirror and high-five myself? Would you deny an old man his joy in life?

I said you didn't have to be...
I didn't say you couldn't be :)

"...waddle over to the mirror..."

Now I can't get that image out of my head! Damn!

hietokolob, don't worry about it. While a lot of older Protestant denominations might RECOGNIZE Advent, you are correct - some simply view it as a countdown clock to Christmas. I'm the type of Lutheran that is almost Catholic in some of my practices, so I'm part of the 38% you mentioned. Most traditional Lutheran churches do make an effort to celebrate Advent, but there are some that have no idea what it is.

Thanks for the clarification :)

Mine does with the lighting of advent candles each Sunday leading up to Christmas Eve but you might be right with many. There is no war on Christmas from my perspective. People either believe in the Christmas story or they don't and those who don't do not in any way shape my observation of it or my celebrations of it. There is nothing to stop me Happy Christmasing all I want.

Yep.
Imagine how "offended" Jews should be all these years, using the "war on christmas" idea, that all non-Jewish Americans haven't been wishing them "happy hanukkah!" every time they walk into a store...

:)

Possibly. Personally I would not be offended by being wished "Happy Hanukkah" or "Happy Holidays" for that matter. How can I be offended by the good intentions of others toward me?

I actually say whatever seems appropriate to the individual. If someone is christian I wish them a Merry Christmas even though I am an atheist. It's about hoping they have the kind of holiday that they want. I'll wish anyone almost anything they would like to hear for their holiday. That is what Charismas is all about.

I agree, but I wish we could take out the guess work.

Recently an atheist wished me Merry Christmas and I said Merry Christmas back. We both assumed that was what the other person wanted and didn't want to offend. We found out later in a different conversation that neither of us are celebrating Christmas.

I wish we could just express our own sentiment instead of trying to match the person we are talking to. If someone says Merry Christmas to me, I should be able to say Season's Greetings back. If I say Season's Greetings they should be able to say Happy Kwanzaa back or whatever is their preference. (Never mind that Season's Greeting's includes them all.)

I hate that moment when someone says Merry Christmas with that "you better say it back" look.

It's all so stupid.

"It's all so stupid." Yup.

I dunno. What can you do besides find it funny? Why find any good wish offensive? I find two atheists wishing each other Merry Christmas to be hysterical. Stupid. Yes. But amusing.

I guess I'm lucky. Around here in So Cal no one seems to care one way or the other. Apparently the war front is somewhere else. The main discussion around here right now concerning Christmas is how much the bonuses are going to be.

It doesn't bother me what they say and my boyfriend is Jewish and he isn't bothered either. He just wishes the mormons would quit inviting him to the ward Christmas parties.