happy holidays! NO! merry christmas… WAIT, what about us?!

I honestly didn’t think that I would be writing this post, but alas, here it is. I want to know why it is such a huge deal to say “happy holidays” as opposed to “merry christmas”. Now, I understand that Christians feel the need to focus on the holiday season as Christ-centric; but I would like to believe that in this day and age that the notion of Christmas, or whatever you celebrate during the holidays, has transcended just a 24 hour window (especially considering that Christmas pretty much starts 3 weeks before the actual day, and all culminates with the actual Christmas-orgasm of presents and turkey on the actual day). I do believe that it is necessary to focus on being all inclusive, and consider other world religions, many of which celebrate similar holidays around this time, and deserve the same consideration that Christians get; after all, they don’t get a day off of work for their religious celebration. I think that this is more than just being “PC”, I think that it shows the ability and desire to be considerate and understanding. I think that it shows compassion and togetherness; which, for those of us keeping score, is supposed to be what the “holidays”, and even Christmas, are all about.

A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, and I were talking about this very thing the other day, when he told me that he felt that denying people the right to say “merry christmas” was just wrong, and even more, that it was actually separating an already separate nation. While I do feel that this is a bit extreme, my question remains the same, what is the big deal with saying “happy holidays” vs. “merry christmas”? If someone says, “have a blessed day” to me, I don’t go all nuts on them and tell them to fuck off, I usually just nod, and silently wonder why they are trying to impart religious wisdom with the change they just passed to me. Same with “merry christmas”, I don’t get angry, but I do wonder why we can’t just focus on the holidays, so that everyone feels inclusive. I believe that we can all agree that it is a minor step towards being more considerate. While I don’t believe that you should be prevented from saying which ever phrase you should chose, after all that would go beyond consideration and into oppression, I do think that it is our responsibility to be more considerate of others. If we start small, such as saying “happy holidays”, eventually, it may foster an understanding and acceptance for other world religions, and maybe, we could eventually transcend the persecution that many use religion to create. Perhaps we could all just eventually let sleeping dogs lie, and we could just focus on what we want to celebrate ourselves; while others do the same. Those that are like you, come together, enjoy each others company and togetherness during your holiday season; but don’t begrudge others for what they believe or don’t believe. I am sure that you would appreciate if they shared the same bit of compassion for your religious celebrations.

I know that this is an extremely minor issue when you really dissect it, but it does have roots in other issues; which is why I believe it has an underlying importance. By showing that you are willing to be more giving, inclusive, and compassionate, especially during a time when that is supposed to be one of the main points, it does foster an increase in togetherness and understanding. Learning more about people, and learning to be more empathetic regarding their beliefs, shows that you are willing to grow as a person, and actually exhibit the love that you preach as a part of your religion (at least for Christians). This doesn’t mean that I don’t celebrate Christmas, and that I am an atheist, in fact quite the contrary; but I do believe that it is important to be more considerate and understanding, because I can think of at least one major part of my own life, where I would like to see a little bit more of that compassion, empathy, and understanding. (In case you didn’t get what I was subtly referring to, it is the gay part.) With that being said, I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season, and even a merry christmas; or happy hanukkah, happy kwanzaa, happy whatever, if that is what you celebrate. Just have a happy holidays.

[none of these images are mine, yo]

Non-Christmas music:
Lindsay Lohan – Edge of Seventeen
Cardigans – Good Morning Joan
Lightning Seeds – You Showed Me