Merry Christmas
Last year Carol and I spent Christmas in the United States where we were showered with season’s greetings – the Americans are a friendly people – but it wasn’t the customary “Merry Christmas” we are familiar with in Australia, instead, it was “Happy holidays”. “Merry Christmas” is no longer considered politically correct. “Happy holidays” is now proper.
I’ve noticed that here in Australia “Happy holidays” is also starting to gain momentum.
I’m not religious, but I’m a traditional person so I prefer “Merry Christmas”.
So in keeping with that Carol and I would like to wish our authors, admin team, commenters and readers a safe and Merry Christmas.
Whether you be with family, friends, or spending a quiet time with a partner, our best wishes are with you.
PS: Merry Christmas too to all the Facebook groups that support The AIMN.
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flohri1754
Return to home pageI blame the media here in Australia for introducing American customs , just like Thanks Giving Day which had a run in the media . I don’t want it , I had enough of Yanks whilst I was in Vietnam. To me and my family its Christmas and that’s all there is to it
Thanks Michael and Carol.
To you and yours in return.
Merry Christmas Michael, Carol and to all your family.
I don’t have a problem with ‘Happy Holidays’. Australia can drop Halloween though, preferably before the next one.
In my case it is far from an American custom! I am not a Christian I am an atheist and therefore say,’compliments of the season’! And for many people, women in particular, it can be far from a ‘happy time’ It is a time of unfulfilled expectations followed by brute force. Aside from that Compliments of the Season AIM!
It’s all about choice and there is no getting round the fact that the 25th of December is called Christmas Day….
So Merry Christmas to all (this is not a religious message)
Thank you for the many enjoyable hours spent together solving the problems of the world 🙂
May we all remember to be kind to each other
<
@Michael Taylor et al
I would be interested to know what you think about this :
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/politically-correct-spoil-larrikin-spirit/2494214/
My opinion is that it precludes any of what you and others are proposing at this time of year.
I discovered AIMN in 2014 and I am eternally grateful for your wonderful site Michael. Happy Christmas to you and all who may read this comment.
To everyone on AIMN……Merry Xmas, Happy Holidays, Greetings to all….
Thank you to Michael and Carol, Kaye Lee, John Lord, John K, Leticia, Victoria, Edward and all the other authors who have contributed to AIMN,
Your work is greatly appreciated and this site keeps me sane, the past year has been a test with Phony Tony and Co
and its here everyday that I come to read, to comment, laugh and sometimes cry at the injustices in the world,
there are a lot of Loving Logical Lefties who care about the people the world and our Earth we inhabit…
Stay safe everyone…..
MAINTAIN THE RAGE..
.
WORLD PEACE IS THE GOAL FOR 2015 🙂
Although the following two sayings are attributed to the person Jesus, they can be found in earlier writing.Regardless,they are, in there simplicity, deeply profound and worthy of both thought and practice in a world that practices injustice inequality and social disparity.
“It is far better to give than receive”
” Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
Have a thoughtful Christmas.
Have a very happy Christmas everyone.
<
Joe Cocker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ6MO6f7vc0
To Michael and Carol, thank you, and best of good wishes for a Merry Christmas.
To everyone :
Have a great Christmas, and a Happy New Year.
May 2015 be a far better year for all. .
I’ll say it my way . . . Seasons greetings everyone.
Kaye @ 10:28. I like your logic.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again;
To Migs, Min and all … right back at ya! 😀
A very merry Christmas CHEERS to all 🙂
Right back at ya, Truthy.
<
Exactly as I said to my Iranian cancer specialist doctor after he wished me a "Happy xmas" :
"I'm not religious so I hope you and your family have a happy and safe holiday"
Repeated here for all The AIMN contributors.
And for the others :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEEzbFxEbB8
Turn it up !
To the Micheal and all at AIMN a very Merry Christmas to everyone.
I cannot thank you enough for the incredible work you do.
I for one am indebted to the great research and witting skills of all contributers.
To all bloggers let’s make it so.
Best of the Season to all.
Thanks Michael and Carol. A Very Merry Christmas to you both as well.
Merry Merry Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Sorry about mistakes running around trying to finish the Christmas doings.
Merry Christmas AIMNers, especially Michael and Carol and the regular writers here.
“May 2015 be a far better year for all” EXCEPT members of the Abbott government 😉
Happy Christmas, every body. That way miss no one
Merry Christmas and a happy new year Michael.
Thanks AIMN, three cheers and seasons greetings to all you wonderful contributors who make this independent site the light on the hill.
Thankyou AIMN, I found you in 2014 and enjoy reading your articles. Have Good Christmas and
Happy 2015!
with you michael although with a scottish mother and a visit to relatives in ‘Sanquhar” merry describes new year better so happy xmas and a merry new year fits with ‘ne’erday’..
I am sure morrison agreed with your sayings, john especially with a slight modification in the second one by substituting ‘expect’ for ‘have’.
Merry Christmas and happy Yuletide(or southern hemispherical summer-solstice equivalent) to all who frequent these pages, and sincere thanks and blessings on those selflessly committed souls who enable this forum to exist.
PS. I hope the Krampus dumps an ICAC in Tones’ pillow-case and steals all his coal.
Merry Christmas back to you – it is our tradition, why do we have to change it to be “politically correct” ? Ridiculous. It’s not offensive, and I would be happy to wish any of my Jewish friends Happy Hanukkah if they wished me to. Or any other faith any other greeting as suits them. But I do not wish to change mine.
Well here we are. It’s Thursday already. Only two more days until the weekend. 🙂
To the friends I feel I have accumulated on AIMN thank you. To the few I know I have upset on occasion, my sincere apologies.
The work you have done Michael has created a care group with extraordinarily long arms which reach out to touch many lives, and wrap around to minister to pain we all feel as the Abbott government tries to change the “who” we Australians represent to the world.
We are not the people Abbott purports to represent. We really are a nation of the fair go. We have been a bastion of support for the less fortunate in our region, and as a people, it’s high time we returned to that place.
Call it what feels right to you and don’t feel you need to apologise for your view. Here at least you are accepted by a group who see Australia as more than just home. It’s where we want to be.
To our brothers and sisters who have read verse 2 of our anthem, we’ve boundless lands to share. For those who come here and are held like criminals we are sorry. To our First People, for the way we treat you via the government, we are sorry. To our gay sisters and brothers, for what the government does to you in our name, we are sorry.
Things will get better.
To Michael, Carol and the Australian Independent Media Network family, our thanks for providing a place where we can exchange views, support each other and together hope for a quick end to this thing currently posing as a government. And may the spirit of this time of year reach out and touch each one of us and bring us back together to maintain the rage in 2015.
Scotch
Merry Xmas to Neil of Sydney. I guess someone has to say it to him.
Merry Christmas, Michael and Carol, and thank you for your hard work during 2014. Your diligence and tenacity is an inspiration to everyone fighting for truth in reporting and social justice more broadly. Keep up your fantastic work.
EM,
I would say Merry Christmas to NoS except it would probably unleash a barrage about how John Howard spent Christmas as opposed to how Julia and Tim spent it.
Did anyone see Tony Windsor’s twitter to Julia and Tim. the last decent PM. Did get a few bites. should not have introduced politics. Not sure he did. Just stated a fact.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year where things can only go up, as they have reached rock bottom.
My wish for Neil is, that he develops a little wisdom by opening his mind.
We are giving away our roots & our heritage to become an a non identity, Like ‘political correctness’ the pendulum is swinging too far.
Merry Xmas.
No we are not. History has shown that culture is always changing. What we have and are creating is a wonderful, exciting culture, that seems to take the best from the waves of newcomers to this land. Would hate to return to the so called culture that we endured during the 1950s. Dull and constricting, where one seen the British Isles as the mother country. Where Irish seen as second class citizens. We have come a long way since then.
As for political correctness where is not considered OK to insult others that differ from you is wrong. I see nothing wrong in that perspective. Like a civil and just society for all. One does not have the right to act in a bigot way.
We have always been a mixed cultured country since the first fleet.
Well said, Florence.
Happy New year to you.
😀
Would that be “our heritage” where we demonstrated compassion, fairness, courage, empathy and open-mindedness….?
Mr Shevill Mathers,
Would that be our (collective) roots and heritage where acknowledge and respect the fact that we are all representatives of our (collective) ancestry back to the birth of our species(and beyond)?
Or would that be some narrower, more discriminatory version of ‘our’ roots and heritage that prejudicially excludes those of less prevalent ethno-geographic descent?
Ps. Happy 26th of December.
I would have liked to have said this in time for Christmas, but I hope you all had a happy day with your families and friends.
May we continue to value our ability to come together to plan and make a better world for ourselves and others.
United we stand, divided we fall.
Rabid Abbott and the LNP Degenerates are on limited time as our voices and resolution grow stronger.
AIM has produced many varied and thought provoking articles throughout the year, I thank the many contributors and the comments were also and interesting read.
I wish everyone a safe , prosperous and Happy 2015 and many more to follow.
Florence NFE … Very much agree with several of your answers to Mr. Mathers – –
a) we are indeed not giving away our roots and heritage .. and
b) History has shown that culture is always changing.
True ……..
However, I do think political correctness HAS gone too far. …. so I disagree in part with you on that – although you have specified bigotry and insult to others – and that IS a no-no ……. but I don’t think it has much to do with political INcorrectness. Bigotry / racial vilification and gross and demeaning insult is not to be tolerated; it has its roots in ignorance, anger and verbal violence, from many who know no better …….. ….
Political correctness on the other hand can become really quite silly – e.g. the ” Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays ” thing – so prevalent in the U.S. in particular these days, and creeping just a little in here. ………
Born of the fear that they just ‘ might insult people ‘ of other religions, who most likely couldn’t give a hoot if the word ‘Christmas’ is used or not. …. I know, and know of – many many Jews who are happy to wish a Christian friend ” Happy Christmas “, and enjoy so much the decorated trees and houses for the season … and likewise, I would wish them a ‘joyful Hanukkah / Chanukkah “….
On the other hand, I have an American friend who would no more wish an African American ” Happy Kwanzaa ” than fly to the moon – but THAT is because she is extremely bigoted against blacks ( now I think they are politically correctedly termed ‘browns’ ??? ) …. and she wouldn’t let herself near enough to a black American, to be able to utter any words, anyway !! …… Yet we are good friends …. I just do a fair bit of deleting and remain positive – ( she too is very positive in many aspects of her life ) – in our chatty, personal and friendly emails.
Super awareness of being ‘poltically correct’ can be stultifying and can even encroach on true freedom of speech ….. and action.
p.s. …… to Florence.
Interesting that you raised the 1950’s as an example of being dull and constricting, and tied to the apron strings of the British Empire.
I was in my pre teens to late teens in those years, and didn’t give a darn about politics, or a thought about what 2014 might be like, by comparison. The 21st century seemed almost impossible – and was not thought about. Maybe my parents gave it thought, but the young did not …. we were intent on getting jobs ( which were plentiful – unlike today ) ….. and living a full life – which also today is rather ‘iffy’ ……. especially in our country, under the present Government. ….. Robert Menzies was the PM at the time – and he was lauded by so many – yet today is often labelled as having been somewhat of a monster – by ALL parties / followers.
I can say this however ….. the 1950’s were in many ways safer, less stressed, far more care-free than the world of today. …. It was not long past post war .. .. so there was a kind of ‘release’ perhaps from that enormous worry and fear. …
But I could do then, what I could not or would not do now. ………..
While there was the ‘don’t accept sweets from strangers’ ……. and ‘don’t walk down back lanes by yourself’ warnings from Mum… at the same time, I was and felt safe walking to the Saturday afternoon ‘pictures’ alone to meet friends there…….. or walking to evening dance classes with a girlfriend ….. with no fear. ….. Once a year, with our saved pocket money, my friend and I would board a tram and go into Myers in the city, to shop for Christmas. …… A sheer delight. ……….. We began that caper at the age of 10.
The winds of change blow mighty.
Not sure what people believe political correction is. Maybe we need some examples. If one means legislation that prohibits racial discrimination and abuse, along with sexual discrimination and abuse, I have no trouble with the laws.
Yes, and back in middle last century, sexual abuse and murdering of children did exist. It was not an age of innocence but naivety.
Cars were rare for many. The locals rarely ventured out of their suburbs. When one walked to the local shop, they were among people they knew. Also there were extended family to keep a eye on things. A different world than today.
No, no way I want to go back to then.
Love concrete examples of PC that one finds disagreeable.
Florence nee Fedup.
I guess political correction ( not correctness ) …. wouid / does involve legislation against racial vilification / abuse / sexual discrimination / violence etc.
AND I AM ALL FOR THAT – 100% ……..
………..
I also guess that to be politically correct, is to say or do something that is not going to offend anybody whatsoever in any way, which is a very tall order. e.g. the example of the Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays hoo-hah. .. There wouid be countless other examples.
…………Yes, and back in middle last century, sexual abuse and murdering
…………..of children did exist. It was not an age of innocence but naivety.
Those two horrors ( in particular ) have existed for centuries ……. and in far worse manner than they have from the 50’s right thru to present day.
Not sure I would want to go back to any day, prior to today …… we live now – not before, and cannot see into the future ( although we can have a damn good guess at what might be around the corner if this Government isn’t given the heave-ho —– ultra quickly ).
…………
………..Love concrete examples of PC that one finds disagreeable.
Do you have any ‘ concrete examples of PC’ etc., by any chance ? …… I would be genuinely interested to know.
Annie, I believe I agree, As bad as things appear, today is better.
And, hopefully, an encouraging 2015 for us all. Thank you for the thoughts and comments of all the contributors to AIMN. I find that I am more and more turning to its entries to provide some clarity to Australian events in particular.