The inevitable, but sincere, post on the "War on Christmas"
There's a lot of talk about this next song, maybe...too much talk.
It's true that conservative columnists and talk show hosts have made the debate over the "war on Christmas" one of this season's most sought-after subjects, and the movement has been at least successful enough to cause a number of flare-ups at the organization where my parents volunteer, as angry Christians demand that the greeting cards say "Merry Christmas" and not "Happy Holidays."
I can't help but think that it's been liberals that have partially given birth to this, or at least to the approach if not the actual belief. It's not just that this is a backlash against extreme PC¹-ism; it's that, in the last 20 years, liberals have created an environment that attaches cultural credibility in relation to suffering. So whether conscious or not, conservative Christians have begun playing the same game, attempting to gain cultural and political power by trying to convince the country that they're being oppressed and marginalized because of their religious choice. And, again taking a page out of the liberal book of non-argument, any attempt to argue the point is branded as hateful and intolerant, which then allows license to get outraged and not allow anyone to say anything in opposition, ending any debate.
But in spite of the hysteria and ridiculous exaggeration in the term "the war on", I think there's a little something to the argument. There's no need to villanize (as a few extreme voices have done) the right of Christians to celebrate Christmas, and it would be rightly outrageous and offensive to demand that people celebrating any non-Christian holiday carefully monitor their language so as not to expose Christians to their beliefs.
A lot of this comes down to my personal bias and beliefs, and it doesn't seem that difficult to accept our own biases as what they are, to not force them on others, but just acknowledge them as things we want in our lives but don't expect others to share, but just to allow.
So...I enjoy saying "Merry Christmas", and while I'll happily say, "Happy Holidays" to most people, being able to use the phrase that means something to me and my faith is heartening. While I would never demand that anyone else celebrate Christmas, and would never look any way but favorably on any other religious holidays, the expressions and traditions mean nothing to me personally. "Merry Christmas", on the other hand, brings me a good deal of joy, nostalgia, happiness and cheerful faith, so it's something I look forward to saying.
The bottom line is that none of this is at all difficult for anyone. If you know someone shares your Christian beliefs, say "Merry Christmas". If you're not sure what they believe, say "Happy Holidays". If you're a person that doesn't celebrate Christmas and someone tells you "Merry Christmas", they're just trying to be nice, so shrug it off. You're in the minority, and getting upset over people celebrating Christmas around you is like going to Palestine and getting upset about not being able to find a lunch date during Ramadan.
Or you can all just say what I say: Merry Christmas, if you're into that sort of thing.
¹ I only use "PC" for convenience, since this is a term I absolutely hate. Most of what's branded as "PC" is a simple matter of manners. There's no question that there's plenty of people who go WAY overboard, but it's pretty disgusting and disheartening that the attempt to not offend or upset people (which, again, is just simple good manners) has had such a strong stigma attached to it.
2 comments:
I've gone back to saying Merry Christmas to pretty much everyone. It's not like saying "praise Jesus" or insisting someone submits to your beliefs. It's simply an expression of goodwill, wishing someone well during a particular time of the year. If someone said Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Solstice, or Happy New Year to me, I wouldn't be offended, I'd actually be flattered that they're thinking good thoughts about me. Nobody's saying Merry Christmas or Happy Hannukah "but only if you believe in and celebrate it."
What gets me is how the generic "happy holidays" trend is being extended to things that are associated with only one specific holiday. Best example is the "Holiday Tree." Sorry, but Christmas is the only holiday of this season with a tree as one of its symbols. Calling it a Christmas tree is simply being accurate, not oppressing anyone. What's next, the holiday minorah? How ridiculous can we get here?
Anyway, I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Reid. And to everyone else reading this, I hope you have a Merry Christmas as well, whether you celebrate it or not. Which just means I hope you have a good day tomorrow, regardless of whether you're opening presents or going to the movies and eating Chinese food.
Sounds like someone's been listening to talk radio ;-)
I'm definitely in favor of Christians being able to openly celebrate Christmas in the way that anyone of any religion should be able to.
BUT...saying "Merry Christmas" to someone that doesn't celebrate it isn't offensive at all; it's just wrong. It's like saying "Happy Fourth of July" to an Australian or "Happy Birthday" to someone who's not celebrating a birthday. You can mean all the goodwill in the world, but it means absolutely nothing.
There's also the conservative problem of failing to take into account what it's like to be in a minority. It's all fine and well to say that if someone said Happy Kwanzaa to you that it wouldn't bother you, but what if it came with constant, annual pressure to give money to a secret Kwanzaa gift at work, and that any lack of excitement for a holiday that you don't celebrate or care about gets you grief for not having enough spirit? And what if you spend the year being Christian in a majority Jewish area with people both subtly and openly trying to convert you, and then telling you "Happy Hannukkah" and trying to pass it off as an expression of goodwill with no religious intent? That really wouldn't bother you?
It's just not that hard to say "Happy Holidays". Yes, calling it a "holiday tree" is ridiculous (though I should point out that the "Christmas tree" started from pagan traditions). But if you're addressing a wide audience whose religious and holiday beliefs you don't know, why tell them something that will likely mean absolutely nothing to those people?
In this way, I think that saying "Merry Christmas" to non-Christians cheapens the real sentiment. It's a day and a gretting whose real, religious meaning is important only to Christians. It's just pointless to say it to someone who feels absolutely no feeling of faith or joy over the day. If you want an expression of goodwill, try "Have a good day."
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