It’s that time of year again. We’re eating way too much. There are those commercials featuring cars sporting red bows. We’re running from one store to the next trying to find the perfect gift.
The checkout clerk in some of those stores will wish you “Merry Christmas.” In other stores, you’ll be sent on your way with “Happy Holidays.” And with the predictability of the return of the Hess truck, there will be some in the Christian community, egged on by Fox News' perennial "War on Christmas" segments, who register their outrage over the latter seasonal greeting.
I just don’t get the need for the annual Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays battle. Why are some so impassioned over this? Is this a hill really worth dying on? Are we who are Christians so insecure that we are driven to force everyone to recognize our holiday and ours alone? Is hearing a sales clerk wish us “Happy Holidays” really so offensive?
It is often argued that “Jesus is the reason for the season;” therefore, we must say this time of year is Christmas, not merely a holiday season. But as I drag those seven bags of indulgent consumerism out of the mall, is Jesus really the reason for that? If not, why then should I demand that His name be invoked by the clerk while assisting me with my purchases?
Don’t mishear me. I’m quite alright with sales clerks wishing me “Merry Christmas.” But I’m no more or less alright when they kindly wish me “Happy Holidays.”
Hanukah, Kwanza, Mawlid-al-Nabi, Martin Luther King Day, Eid al-Adha, Diwali, Yalda, Zoyal, Pancha Ganpati (to name a few) are all winter season festivals and holidays, So, if you want to wish someone "Merry Christmas" go ahead! And if you want to include people other than Christians, say "Happy Holidays!" No big deal. Fox just needs SOMETHING to talk about on a slow news day.
Further, insofar as the initial topic is concerned, I don't get my panties in a wad over "Happy Holidays" ... Cmas isn't the ONLY holiday during the season...there are others you know. And quite frankly instead of blaming Bush (as someone did here), perhaps you need to go wayyyy back to the 30's or maybe even earlier where "Happy Holidays" was a big part of Cmas music because it was alliterative and easier to incorporate into some lyrics than "Merry Christmas" Goodness, if this is all people are worried about then perhaps they should catch up on the real issues going on in this world. PS: I'm not a liberal. lol
(And don't say "about 30 days...")
If you accept the tenet that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are represent one and the same deity, then yes, Jesus DID write the 10 commandments.
So, blame the constitution of the United States for this "war on Christmas!" The so-called war is not anti-Christian; it's ant-governement-sponsored-religion. And why do those on the right who complain so bitterly about overeaching government involvement feel that it's OK to use tax dollars for religious displays? Never quite understood that. And by the way, the same folks would complain if the state sponsored Muslim or Hindu devotional displays, too. Which is generally doesn't do.
Happy Saturnalia everyone!