I got a good laugh the other day as an old aquantance of mine made a comment on his facebook page telling everyone, in his kindest regaurds to have a wonderful holiday. His post read as follows:
"Merry CHRISTmas! If you don't like it, you can kiss my Jesus loving a**. I'm sick of all these idiots taking Jesus out of the holidays."
As the wheels turned in my head, along with my eyes, I couldn't help but to remind him of the decorated tree in his living room, the Santa on his profile picture, the antlers on his dog and the many other "commmercial" things surrounding his "CHRISTmas" that he is contributing to. Christmas attacted many diverse groups of people, religious and not. Think about all the things that are NOT Christmas which fuel the "commercialism" of this holiday.
Christmas trees & decorations, lights, home decorations, candy canes, wreaths, mistletoe, snowman, a magic performing, psychic Santa Clause, elves, flying reindeer,
The only thing Christian about Christmas is the nativity and why you celebrate it.
I also couldn't help but remind him that Christmas is not the only holiday between November and January, and living in such a melting pot of what America has become it only makes sence to include everyone in this joyful message.
Hoidays such as:
Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Boxing Day (St. Stephan's Day), New Years Day and the Epiphany.
As I searched the internet for origins to such greetings as "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings" I noticed two common threads.
1. That the terms were meant to include EVERYONE as to not assume the person you are greeting observes any one particular day.
2. That the Christians seems to be the only ones offended by anything other than "Merry Christmas".
My personal opinion on holiday greetings comes from a point of respect and tollerance. I believe a "Happy Holiday" or "Season's Greetings" is an appropriate greeting if you are unsure of what they observe. A specific greeting such as "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" should be shared with those you know celebrate that holiday. Why would you just randomly say "Happy Kwanzaa" to someone who may be Jewish?
However you decide to greet someone this holiday season is up to each of us individually. Observing a day or time of year is special to us all as humans be it a birthday, aniversary, or religious day it's a time of reflection and rememberance. A smile and a wish for someone to have a happy day, whatever day they decide to observe is the point. There is nothing more to it than that...
"Merry CHRISTmas! If you don't like it, you can kiss my Jesus loving a**. I'm sick of all these idiots taking Jesus out of the holidays."
As the wheels turned in my head, along with my eyes, I couldn't help but to remind him of the decorated tree in his living room, the Santa on his profile picture, the antlers on his dog and the many other "commmercial" things surrounding his "CHRISTmas" that he is contributing to. Christmas attacted many diverse groups of people, religious and not. Think about all the things that are NOT Christmas which fuel the "commercialism" of this holiday.
Christmas trees & decorations, lights, home decorations, candy canes, wreaths, mistletoe, snowman, a magic performing, psychic Santa Clause, elves, flying reindeer,
The only thing Christian about Christmas is the nativity and why you celebrate it.
I also couldn't help but remind him that Christmas is not the only holiday between November and January, and living in such a melting pot of what America has become it only makes sence to include everyone in this joyful message.
Hoidays such as:
Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Boxing Day (St. Stephan's Day), New Years Day and the Epiphany.
As I searched the internet for origins to such greetings as "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings" I noticed two common threads.
1. That the terms were meant to include EVERYONE as to not assume the person you are greeting observes any one particular day.
2. That the Christians seems to be the only ones offended by anything other than "Merry Christmas".
My personal opinion on holiday greetings comes from a point of respect and tollerance. I believe a "Happy Holiday" or "Season's Greetings" is an appropriate greeting if you are unsure of what they observe. A specific greeting such as "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" should be shared with those you know celebrate that holiday. Why would you just randomly say "Happy Kwanzaa" to someone who may be Jewish?
However you decide to greet someone this holiday season is up to each of us individually. Observing a day or time of year is special to us all as humans be it a birthday, aniversary, or religious day it's a time of reflection and rememberance. A smile and a wish for someone to have a happy day, whatever day they decide to observe is the point. There is nothing more to it than that...
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