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[Christopher]

Does anyone remember a few years ago it was happy christmas, hanauka, and kwanzaa? It just seemed to have dissapeared and retailers seem to be all over Christmas again after the whole political correctness phase.

Did anyone celebrate it? Will anyone miss it?

 

[this guy]

 

[elrechazado]

It was made up BS and never caught on. Unlike the madeup holidays that did catch on.

 

[RevDM]

I still have Kwanzaa on my holiday roulette wheel.

During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said that it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas, that Jesus was psychotic, and that Christianity was a white religion that black people should shun

 

[Divvy]

First post nails it yet again.

 

[teruterubozu]

I am more familiar with Festivus.

 

[Rafa=FedKilla]

We got a Black President.

 

[Guevara]

It turns out that most people were perfectly happy celebrating Christmas.

 

[J-Roderton]

Never really understood what Kwanza was all about in the first place.

I am more familiar with Festivus.

Have you set up your Festivus pole yet? I have.

 

[Kaladin]

I am more familiar with Festivus.

It's for the rest of us.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

It turns out that most people were perfectly happy celebrating Christmas.

this. my fam never bothered with it at all.

 

[Tenks]

Fictional Jesus won out on his imaginary birthday


Actually I honestly don't know. Maybe back then everyone was pretending to be tolerant and accepting of all faiths but we realized we're not.

 

[spindashing]

We're allowed to celebrate the white people holiday after all these years.

 

[Qwomo]

There was a pretty good segment on NPR about it a year or two ago: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98922953

 

[Gaborn]

Kwanzaa is the Esperanto of holidays. Nobody cares about a made up day.

 

[elrechazado]

Kwanzaa is the Esperanto of holidays. Nobody cares about a made up day.

nobody cares about christmas or thanksgiving??

 

[TheMan]

always thought kwanzaa was imported from africa. guess not.

 

[Gaborn]

nobody cares about christmas or thanksgiving??

I think the difference is Kwanzaa isn't actually based on an event. Kwanzaa is a celebration of traditional African practices (I think that's what I remember at least) invented by a college professor. I think if it was an actual African holiday that people were trying to celebrate that's one thing, but just like, say, no one listens to L Ron Hubbard (no one sane anyway) people are resistant to made up holidays.

 

[Plasmid]

PERFECT SCOREEEEE.

 

[Dartastic]

There's a war on Christmas, apparently. Obviously that takes precedence over... whatever this is. And this is coming from a JEW.

 

[Tenks]

Kwanzaa is the Esperanto of holidays. Nobody cares about a made up day.

Tell that to my girlfriend when Sweetest Day rolls around

 

[LQX]

nobody cares about christmas or thanksgiving??

Christmas was given to us by Jesus...

 

[HomShaBom]

I give no fucks about either one.

 

[Gaborn]

Christmas was given to us by Jesus...

Or the Romans

 

[Centurion]

I'm gonna totally get shat on for this, but I would say the presence of Jewish people in hollywood had something to do with kwanzaa being given so much attention.

Back then, only christmas would be brought up. I could see them wanting to also mention their holiday which took place in the same period, but to prevent the backlash from the christian community, kwanzaa was lumped in as well.

totally just a thought, and I have no problem with people mentioning other religious festivities. But let's face it, who the hell celebrates Kwanzaa in america?!

And honestly, if I was jewish, I'd be sick of hearing merry christmas all the time and avoiding/ignoring my religious traditions.

 

[Sye d'Burns]

I'm gonna totally get shat on for this, but I would say the presence of Jewish people in hollywood had something to do with kwanzaa being given so much attention.

Back then, only christmas would be brought up. I could see them wanting to also mention their holiday which took place in the same period, but to prevent the backlash from the christian community, kwanzaa was lumped in as well.

totally just a thought, and I have no problem with people mentioning other religious festivities. But let's face it, who the hell celebrates Kwanzaa in america?!

And honestly, if I was jewish, I'd be sick of hearing merry christmas all the time and avoiding/ignoring my religious traditions.

*blink, blink* So Kwanzaa was propagated by the Jews? Did I read that right?

 

[I H8 Memes]

It's always the Jews.

 

[IamMattFox]

*blink, blink* So Kwanzaa was propagated by the Jews? Did I read that right?

 

[Pollux]

Wow, it actually IS a made up holiday

 

[wonderkins]

Kwanza just ain't as fun to say as cha-cha-chanukah.

 

[Trojita]

Wow, it actually IS a made up holiday

You didn't know that lol?

 

[Centurion]

*blink, blink* So Kwanzaa was propagated by the Jews? Did I read that right?

eh, sorta putting words in my mouth, I'm not really gonna try and go too far trying to justify my point. They didn't create the holiday, but what population of people in america celebrate it? Would you not agree that there are likely other traditions that different cultures celebrate as opposed to kwanzaa?

 

[Power Glove]

It was installing malware to people's computers so everyone moved on to other clients. Now it's all about torrentz.

 

[Schmitty]

Or the Romans

Romans had it right. Seven non-stop days of partying.

 

[Ripclawe]

And the guy who created it was a violent nutjob.

In 1971, Karenga "was sentenced to one to ten years in prison on counts of felonious assault and false

imprisonment". [10] One of the victims gave testimony of how Karenga and other men tortured her and another woman. The woman claimed to have been stripped and beaten with an electrical cord. Karenga's former wife, Brenda Lorraine Karenga, testified that he sat on the other woman’s stomach while another man forced water into her mouth through a hose.

A May 14, 1971, article in the Los Angeles Times described the testimony of one of the women:

"Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis' mouth and placed against Miss Davis' face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga, head of US, also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said. They also were hit on the heads with toasters."

 

[TooManyCircles]

We got a Black President.

As comical as this may seem, it may be true. I noticed what OP is talking about too and it coincided with Obama getting elected.

 

[Sye d'Burns]

eh, sorta putting words in my mouth, I'm not really gonna try and go too far trying to justify my point. They didn't create the holiday, but what population of people in america celebrate it? Would you not agree that there are likely other traditions that different cultures celebrate as opposed to kwanzaa?

I would say the presence of Jewish people in hollywood had something to do with kwanzaa being given so much attention.

Come on man. I was teasing but don't go saying that I was putting words in your mouth. You said it.

edit: Such as what? Sinterklaas?

 

[Centurion]

and as to why it's not mentioned anymore, probably because the backlash from hardcore christians in recent years, makes it sort of a liability.

Come on man. I was teasing but don't go saying that I was putting words in your mouth. You said it.

well i didn't say they created it, just helped push/promoting the holiday ;p

 

[Arrowgigantic]

And the guy who created it was a violent nutjob.

Keeping in mind that the guys who made Christmas and Hanukkah were probably worse.

 

[DominoKid]

Kwanzaa is a stupid "holiday"

 

[OJdaKiller]

and as to why it's not mentioned anymore, probably because the backlash from hardcore christians in recent years, makes it sort of a liability.



well i didn't say they created it, just helped push/promoting the holiday ;p

Most people/organizations/politicians/whoever do not care what hardcore Christians think.

 

[truly101]

Hannukkah is also a minor Jewish holiday compared to Passover, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanna. Somebody thought it was a good idea to promote it as a Jewish alternative to Christmas I guess.

 

[Centurion]

Most people/organizations/politicians/whoever do not care what hardcore Christians think.

really? you think in the south, it's not a liability (at least to a small extent) to hear Happy holidays, as opposed to just merry christmas in advertisements? Some go out of their way to point out those companies, and avoid buying from them.

 

[Sye d'Burns]

and as to why it's not mentioned anymore, probably because the backlash from hardcore christians in recent years, makes it sort of a liability.



well i didn't say they created it, just helped push/promoting the holiday ;p

What do you think propagate means? Here are a few synonyms:

Synonyms:
spread - disseminate - multiply - breed - diffuse

 

[Centurion]

What do you think propagate means? Here are a few synonyms:

Synonyms:
spread - disseminate - multiply - breed - diffuse

ok fine, I'm saying they helped propagate it, you happy now!?

just coming out and directly saying it like that without any context though, makes me sort of seem like an asshole lol

 

[Sye d'Burns]

ok fine, I'm saying they helped propagate it, you happy now!?

Yes, I am. Good day, sir. You have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

just coming out and directly saying it like that without any context though, makes me sort of seem like an asshole lol

To your stealth edit: Well, of course. That was the teasing part.

 

[truly101]

bail out gif

 

[Shanadeus]

.

 

[OJdaKiller]

really? you think in the south, it's not a liability (at least to a small extent) to hear Happy holidays, as opposed to just merry christmas in advertisements? Some go out of their way to point out those companies, and avoid buying from them.

Southern sentiment/attitudes about really almost anything does not run/significantly impact the US. But yeah, I'd doubt there was ever a high outpouring of support for Kwanzaa in the South, but that's more due to the fact that Kwanzaa was marketed as a black person's alternative to Christmas, which was viewed as a white holiday....You know...Don't like white people? Then don't support their holiday...Support this one...The day after Christmas...Probably wouldn't fly as well in the deep south, but it doesn't have much to do with Christian attitudes...It's a racial issue.

 

[Sye d'Burns]

really? you think in the south, it's not a liability (at least to a small extent) to hear Happy holidays, as opposed to just merry christmas in advertisements? Some go out of their way to point out those companies, and avoid buying from them.

It's not just in the South though. The was recently a Rasmussen poll with said:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 70% prefer that stores use signs that say “Merry Christmas.”

Details are sketch on the Rasmussen site. These come from a much more biased article that google turned up.

A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 70 percent of American adults prefer retailers to use “Merry Christmas” signs. Twenty-four percent of those polled would rather see “Happy Holidays.”

According to the survey, many adults across almost all demographic groups prefer “Merry Christmas,” with young adults feeling as strong as older adults. The poll showed that men have slightly stronger feelings in regards to seeing “Merry Christmas” than women.

The Rasmussen report found that 61 percent of black adults want to see “Merry Christmas,” and 75 percent of white adults agree. Meanwhile, 49 percent of all other races would also prefer “Merry Christmas.” Only 40 percent of those surveyed would rather see “Happy Holidays.”

The Rasmussen Reports survey, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC, polled 1,000 adults nationwide Nov. 20-21. The report has a 95 percent level of confidence, with a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Surveys of past Christmas seasons have revealed that 70 percent of Americans, in the polled group, recognize that Christmas is a “religious holiday celebrating the birth of Christ.”

Southern sentiment/attitudes about really almost anything does not run/significantly impact the US. But yeah, I'd doubt there was ever a high outpouring of support for Kwanzaa in the South, but that's more due to the fact that Kwanzaa was marketed as a black person's alternative to Christmas, which was viewed as a white holiday....You know...Don't like white people? Then don't support their holiday...Support this one...The day after Christmas...Probably wouldn't fly as well in the deep south, but it doesn't have much to do with Christian attitudes...It's a racial issue.

Gee, a holiday created as a black person's alternative to a white holiday (what? no black Jesus?) couldn't catch on in the region of the country with the largest segment of black people? I fail to understand your logic.