Holiday Plates/Platter Instead of Christmas!

[jrstephens]

I see that PC is also calling Christmas items holiday items. I am not happy with this at all and I am going to email HO.

The plates/platters have Christmas trees on them, so, they are clearly for Christmas and if anyone is buying them they are getting them for that Holiday.

I do not know if the Holiday Desserts book contains recipes for other holidays since I have not seen it, so, I cannot comment on it until I know it's contents.

This is something that bothers me to the core that Christ is taken out of Christmas when without Christ there would be no Christmas. Other holidays do not get named something else to pacify all other religions, so, why should Christmas be discriminated against.

I am sure I will be opening up a can of worms, but if Christians do not stand up to keeping Christ in Christmas then who will?

 

[chefann]

There are other holidays in the cookbook.Frankly, I wish the plates were winter instead of Christmas, since there are a LOT of people in the US who adhere to other faiths or none at all.

 

[redsoxgirl]

There are other recipes besides Christmas in the book.

I agree with the plates. When they showed them at NC, I whispered to my neighbor "What if you don't celebrate Christmas?". It's not like they're just trees with snow or snowmen - they're clearly decorated trees.

It doesn't bother me so much that it isn't geared towards the Christ portion of Christmas, but I can see how it would bother some. I'm just glad they aren't Santa plates or something!

 

[jrstephens]

I just sent an email to HO.

 

[babywings76]

I agree that if it's a Christmas themed plate, it should be called Christmas, not holiday. Wasn't it Walmart or Target or something that tried calling it Holiday, and people blasted them for doing that? I do think it's better to appeal to as many people as possible, so I think if they want to call it a holiday plate, then there should be other holidays showcased as well, and maybe they will in the future. I also think a winter-themed plate would've suited many other faiths and been more useful for the whole winter season and not just December. Just my 2 cents.

 

[lacychef]

I can see where you're coming from. Sometimes it does bug me that people won't say 'merry Christmas' because they're afraid of insulting someone. I do respect that people do celebrate other holidays; and there are recipes for those in the book like Ann said. You're right though, they do have Xmas trees on them. (& I love 'em!) To call them "holiday plates", I do think that snowflakes might have sold more. Maybe these are the first in a series....

 

[pkd09]

In the business world, Holiday is the politically correct term. I work in an office FT and we are not allowed to say Merry Christmas only Happy Holidays.

 

[peichef]

I need to keep my mouth shut b/c I have very strong opinions on this topic & wouldn't want to offend anyone. I'll just say that I (as a Christian) wouldn't be insulted or offended if someone said Happy Channukah (sp?) or Happy Kwazaa (sp?) to me.
Seems to me that a majority of American & Cdn citizens celebrate Christmas (whether as a religious or commercial occasion) & so we should have to "water it down" for those who don't.Guess I didn't keep my mouth shut after all. But I tried not to build too big a soap box!

 

[susanr613]

Jennifer - thank you for e-mailing HO. I agree with your point that they are not "holiday" plates -they are clearly trees decorated for Christmas.

Even though I am not Christian, I totally agree that "Christ is taken out of Christmas when without Christ there would be no Christmas." It's just as disrespectful, to me, as people who try to convince me to put up a Christmas tree because "Christmas is a fun holiday for everyone." It isn't a "fun holiday for everyone," it's the anniversary of a miracle.

As for the cookbook, as far as I can tell there's one recipe for a "menorah cake" which is a white block with some candles stuck in it. What a joke!

Anyway, thanks again for bringing up the topic and escalating it to HO.

 

[peichef]

Up here (Canada) there has been a huge movement to rename Christmas Trees "Holiday Trees", esp in public places like airports & govt buildings. Sigh.So Susan, may I ask you -- would you, as a non-Christian, be offended if someone in a store wished you Merry Christmas? Or would simply say thanks & offer them a Happy Hannukah?

 

[jrstephens]

In the business world, Holiday is the politically correct term. I work in an office FT and we are not allowed to say Merry Christmas only Happy Holidays.

Then I would not say anything at all. I am not "politically correct" when it comes to Christ's birth.

 

[jrstephens]

Up here (Canada) there has been a huge movement to rename Christmas Trees "Holiday Trees", esp in public places like airports & govt buildings. Sigh.

Either Lowe's or home Depot ( I forget which one) tried that last year and when it blew up in their face, they issude an aology and said it was an ERROR in their paper, WHATEVER!!!

As you can tell this makes my blood pressure rise!

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Its a great point. I mean, clearly there is a Christmas tree on the plate, so why not call them Christmas Plates. If they wanted to brand them "holiday" plates then they should have considered using a more generic theme (such as snowmen, snowflakes etc).

While I agree that many other faiths use different items to represent their religious holiday, it is no mistake that a Christmas tree is for CHRISTMAS!

I hope HO clarifies or you get some type of reply from them. Surely its going to ruffle a lot of feathers and I especially would like to know what the non Christians think about selling them.

 

[pamperedharriet]

I haven't seen the plates but going by what Jennifer said that they have Christmas trees on them I definately feel that they are Christmas plates and not Holiday plates. Thanks for letting me know before I do my sample order. I too wish it was something generic to sell to all.

 

[susanr613]

Hi Charity, thanks for asking. When someone offers me greetings, like Christmas or Easter, I thank them and usually say something like "you too." I figure they are being friendly, so why correct them? People who know I'm Jewish will offer me greetings for my holidays or at least ask about them, which I appreciate. To me, saying Merry Christmas or Happy Easter to a Christian is like saying Happy Birthday to someone on their birthday - you're acknowledging their special day. Is that ok with Christians, or is it disrespectful? Please let me know.

 

[christinaspc]

Do you guys think that the holiday cookbook will go over well ?

 

[wadesgirl]

Hi Charity, thanks for asking. When someone offers me greetings, like Christmas or Easter, I thank them and usually say something like "you too." I figure they are being friendly, so why correct them? People who know I'm Jewish will offer me greetings for my holidays or at least ask about them, which I appreciate. To me, saying Merry Christmas or Happy Easter to a Christian is like saying Happy Birthday to someone on their birthday - you're acknowledging their special day. Is that ok with Christians, or is it disrespectful? Please let me know.

I'm glad to see that you can take such a positive approach to this!

I do agree that those are Christmas trees and something like snowflakes would have been a better choice for "Holiday" except there are a lot of areas that don't get snow at the holiday season, should they be offended if it had snowflakes on there! Just being funny and sarcastic!

 

[susanr613]

Not to mention that there are many holidays that don't take place during winter ;-)

 

[pamperedharriet]

Not to mention that there are many holidays that don't take place during winter ;-)

Very true! We need an all purpose holiday plate. I wonder why they discontinued the Celebration Plate--anyone know?

 

[janetupnorth]

I guess if you wanted to be PC (politcally correct) not Pampered Chef, you would have come out with "seasonal plates".Holiday plates is the PC way of celebrating the Holiday formerly known as Christmas.I too have a problem (no personal offense to you Lacy since you first mentioned it) with the watering down of Christmas. It started with X-mas - I was taught that was taking Christ out of Christmas and replacing Him with a generic X or who you wanted.I personally will celebrate Christmas and not the gift-giving parts of Christmas...we don't even do a tree each year. We celebrate his birth and the wonderful gift of his son. More important to us though is Easter because the birth was only the beginning, His death is what saved us.Anyway, I don't like the "Holiday" term either. The trend is to not offend, but I find we can talk about any other religion in the name of tolerance BUT Christianity.Sigh...this is quite a long, touchy subject...

 

[janetupnorth]

Susan - although I liked the cookbook and the recipes, I too thought the Menorah cake was kind of cheesy!

 

[susanr613]

Glad I'm not the only one! Besides, Hanukah is all about latkes (potato pancakes) not cake ;-)

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Hi Charity, thanks for asking. When someone offers me greetings, like Christmas or Easter, I thank them and usually say something like "you too." I figure they are being friendly, so why correct them? People who know I'm Jewish will offer me greetings for my holidays or at least ask about them, which I appreciate. To me, saying Merry Christmas or Happy Easter to a Christian is like saying Happy Birthday to someone on their birthday - you're acknowledging their special day. Is that ok with Christians, or is it disrespectful? Please let me know.

It's not disrespectful in the least. And - knowing you are Jewish, I wouldn't wish you a Merry Christmas, but I would wish you a Happy Hannukah (or is it Chanukah? That does always confuse me!?)

And - the term "Holiday" doesn't really bother me. It's a marketing thing for sales. They want to include all of the celebrations around that time....so use a generic term....but incidentally, "holiday" is derived from "Holy Day"....so it can apply to Christmas. And, in the Christian faith - the highest holy day is not Christmas, but Easter...

 

[chefann]

I hope HO clarifies or you get some type of reply from them. Surely its going to ruffle a lot of feathers and I especially would like to know what the non Christians think about selling them.

I know one non-Christian who is very upset about them. It's not my place to point out who, so that's all I'll say.

Susan - although I liked the cookbook and the recipes, I too thought the Menorah cake was kind of cheesy!

I did, too! You'd think HO would be a little more sensitive to Jewish holidays, since at least one of the NEDs is Jewish (Randy Weiss).

Glad I'm not the only one! Besides, Hanukah is all about latkes (potato pancakes) not cake ;-)

mmm... yum!

 

[janetupnorth]

I've never had latkes, but a couple in the church I was growing up in both grew up in Israel. I remember 2 distinct years where they made a Seder meal and demonstrated the entire thing for us along with the readings. It was pretty fascinating! We got to try the matzo and I don't remember what else.

 

[janetupnorth]

It's not disrespectful in the least. And - knowing you are Jewish, I wouldn't wish you a Merry Christmas, but I would wish you a Happy Hannukah (or is it Chanukah? That does always confuse me!?)

And - the term "Holiday" doesn't really bother me. It's a marketing thing for sales. They want to include all of the celebrations around that time....so use a generic term....but incidentally, "holiday" is derived from "Holy Day"....so it can apply to Christmas. And, in the Christian faith - the highest holy day is not Christmas, but Easter...

Thanks for the history lesson Becky!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

And, even though they may try...even by saying Xmas they are not taking Christ out of Christmas.

X (although I can't draw it correctly on this keyboard) is the Greek symbol for Christ. In Theology and Bible classes during college, I often used an X in my notes to signify Christ.

 

[kitchenfun2day]

This is something that bothers me to the core that Christ is taken out of Christmas when without Christ there would be no Christmas. Other holidays do not get named something else to pacify all other religions, so, why should Christmas be discriminated against.

I am sure I will be opening up a can of worms, but if Christians do not stand up to keeping Christ in Christmas then who will?[/QUOTE]




WELL said!!!! :thumbup:

 

[pamperedlinda]

And, even though they may try...even by saying Xmas they are not taking Christ out of Christmas.

X (although I can't draw it correctly on this keyboard) is the Greek symbol for Christ. In Theology and Bible classes during college, I often used an X in my notes to signify Christ.

Oh, I didn't know that! I always got offended by it because I though people were just too lazy to spell the entire word! (I still think most of the people who do that really are lazy though, but glad to know about the greek symbol)

I lived in Hawaii for several years and there are a lot of non-Christian religions there that do have some sort of celebration during Christmas. I worked in retail at the time and I did get in the habit of saying Happy Holidays because more than likely I was talking with someone who was buddist or some other religion. I've never taken offense when people I do not know wish me Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, to me it's still the same sentiment and they are being polite.

I agree too: Christmas Trees = Christmas Plates!

 

[janetupnorth]

Another good lesson Becky - thank you! I know the symbol you were referring to, but not what it meant.