I encountered the following headline in the San Francisco Chronicle: Fundamentalists mad at Bush for wording of holiday card ‘Christmas’ appears nowhere on White House greeting.
I’m not sure what to make of this one…
I know people are saying “Happy Holidays” because not everyone celebrates the same holiday. I think that’s nice.
Some cities are putting up “Holiday Trees” with “holiday ornaments” and all that… that’s not very cool. That says to me: “we want to celebrate Christmas, but you’ll be offended…so we’ll pretend we’re just celebrating “the holidays” and you’ll never be the wiser.”
Personally, I don’t understand why people would be offended to receive a Christmas card, or at being wished a Merry Christmas…
If someone wishes me a Merry Christmas, I usually wish them a Merry Christmas. If someone wishes me Happy Holidays, I usually wish them Happy Holidays.
If you walked into a big store, say at the mall, and the greeter was wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah… would that bother you? What about if Hanukkah decorations were up, and Hanukkah music was playing?
What about if Senator Lieberman sent everyone in his contact database a “Happy Hanukkah” card. Or a “Happy Holidays” card. Would it make a difference?
To me this whole “controversy” about the “war on Christmas” is overblown.
Comments (4)
Xmas
Stephen Colbert concluded his very funny Xmas commentary Monday night with the observation that all this would be very significant to Jesus, "because nothing was more important to Jesus than…[wait for it]…semantics."
You’re Getting a Happy Birthday Jesus card
Andrew,
I totally agree with you! I’m slightly insulted by people that try to sugarcoat things like that. On the other hand, the insult is only slight and I know they’re doing it for the stupid people that would really be offended. And there are people out there that would really be offended. God only knows why. Which is why our Christmas cards say "Happy Holidays." Except yours.
Everyone is happy if we’re… agnostic?
Religious freedom exists when each person I meet feels free to wish peace upon me in whatever manner befits his beliefs. I may not agree with his worldview, but I appreciate his gracious intent. Stripping all religious content from our expressions doesn’t make them neutral. It makes them secular.
Happy National Brownie Day
I don’t know if it’s really always an issue of being offended if somebody wishes you a Merry Christmas and you don’t celebrate it. But I know that if I encountered somebody who wished me a Happy Hanukah, I’d find that slightly odd. The same way I’d find it odd if somebody wished me a Happy Rosh Hashana.
(Not to pick out only Jewish Holidays, but I don’t know any other non-Christian holidays).