I had hoped that we could “get away with one” this year, but alas . . . already on Facebook and Twitter the skirmishes are beginning.
Don’t write “Xmas” – don’t take Christ out of Christmas.
Post this to your status: Merry Christmas, not Happy Holidays!
Boycott X retailer – they had all kinds of Hannukah stuff but hardly anything for Christmas.
Never mind that the entire store (at least the one I visited) was covered in reindeer, Santas, snowmen, poinsettias, wreaths, candles, angels, holly, lights, and they had nativity sets for sale. I guess nothing short of a life-sized infant Jesus in a manger who tells the story of his own birth when you push a button on his chest will suffice. Perhaps millions of those are rolling down assembly lines in a Chinese manufacturing plant right now (a very depressing thought for so many reasons).
I understand the importance of Christmas to Christians. The birth of Jesus is hugely important and is a wonderful inspiring story that speaks to lots of people, not only Christians. I love the biblical Christmas story, and I cannot hear that Christmas classic “The Little Drummer Boy” without welling up in tears. The lines “I am a poor boy too” and “I played my best for him” just kill me. See? I’m getting teary just writing them!
But, the above protests are silly for the most part, and just stir up trouble at a time when all of us could use a stronger dose of peace, joy and goodness in our lives.
The demographic facts of our country call for a more generic holiday greeting like “Happy Holidays” since we’ve got the faithful of every living religion residing in the U.S. and they all have holidays this time of year. From October through late January runs a gamut of religious and cultural holidays from several different traditions, including Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Wicca, Bahai, the African-American culture, and the American tradition of Thanksgiving. So, it’s not safe to assume that those who say “Happy Holidays” are part of a secret agenda to strip Christ from Christmas. They’re probably just trying to cover all the bases. Most certainly, that’s what retailers are trying to do: they want everyone’s money, not just the Christian’s.
And why, if your goal is to express meaningful greetings, would you want to wish someone Merry Christmas if they aren’t Christian? Of course, Christians should wish other Christians “Merry Christmas” – that makes perfect sense. But, why not say “Happy Hannukah” to your Jewish friends, or “Eid Mubarak” to your Muslim friends? Or “Happy Holidays” to people in general because you don’t know their faith? This is just being courteous and well-meaning.
Plus, in the age of twitter and texting, there’s not much space to express greetings, so typing “Xmas” instead of Christmas leaves you 5 more characters in which to link to your favorite video of cats destroying an expensive Christmas tree (itself a problematic symbol for Christian purists . . . I’m just sayin’).
Maybe we all could just drink a little decaf on this issue.
