Peace Be The Journey ~ Happy Holidays Everyone!

And so it begins again.  The annual onslaught of righteous indignation over whether we should say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas to one another.  Given my constant amazement at the lack of customer service in most stores, I’m happy if they say pretty much anything to me at all.  In a day and age where even eye contact seems to be too much to ask, should we really be bellyaching about these two little words?  According to the endless pictures I’ve seen posted recently, apparently it’s a VERY BIG DEAL. 

In a country that was built on cultural diversity and freedom of religion, I don’t get why, every time people are exposed to something different or unfamiliar, they feel the need to hit it with a brick.  This country is more culturally and religiously diverse than ever before.  Christians, like a family with many siblings, need to understand that we can have more than one religion and still love them all.  Isn’t that what parents of more than one child tell us all the time.  Just because there is more than one doesn’t mean that we love the others any less.   

And this is true with Christmas.  Just because there are other holidays during December, doesn’t take anything away from Christmas.  I’m baffled by Christians that not only reject the saying of Happy Holidays but have gone so far as to correct or chastise people when it is said to them.  How about you accept the Happy Holiday with a smile and a nod and return with a joyful Merry Christmas and be gracious in the fact that the person took the time to wish you happiness. 

This is a season of Hope, Love, Peace, and Joy.  And that is a theme in pretty much all the celebrations going on this time of year.  I don’t think that there is a candle of Bitterness on the Advent wreath.  Or a candle of Exclusion on a Menorah.  And last time I checked, there is no candle of Ingratitude in Kwanzaa.  Interesting that I was able to name three celebrations that all use candle lighting as a way to honor and remember the spirit of their holiday.   

So the Merry Christmas vs Happy Holiday debate that is not complicated and is solved with basic etiquette. If you know someone is a Christian who is celebrating Christmas you should say to them 'Merry Christmas.' Likewise, say 'Happy Hanukkah' to a person you know is Jewish, etc.  and please let your friends know that saying Happy Hanukkah does not turn you Jewish just by saying it and it doesn’t take away any of your Christianity.  I checked this on Google and Fox News so you can trust me on this one. 

Now the next thing that we need to settle is that, just as saying Happy Holidays doesn’t erase your beliefs, sanitizing religious symbols and then using them does not make you diverse.  It’s kind of like the rule I had with my kids with the names for body parts; in this house we call it by it’s real name.  A Christmas Tree is not a Celebration Tree, a Menorah is not a Holiday Candelabra, call a dreidel a dreidel and not a spinning top, etc… 

The trickiest part of the whole 'war on Christmas' is what to do about holiday celebrations in public schools, and on public property. Here again, inclusion is the way to go. We are a nation that has continued to welcome people of all religious backgrounds and no religious backgrounds. Simultaneous religious inclusion with separation of church is part of America's complex yet wonderful religious DNA.

So, let a thousand flowers bloom -- let's have Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs; Kwanzaa lessons, and Winter Solstice Songs -- let's do it all! It's so much more fun to cast a wide net where all can celebrate our traditions together rather than strip everything away to protect the delicate sensibilities of some very prickly few.

And now a special note to my fellow Christians who talk so much about the war on Christmas. I get it, for a long, long time Christianity was dominant in the United States and represented the civic religion of the country. But America is about the people who are here now, and that is a much more diverse group. And that's good! It is time to stop insisting that everything revolves around us. Instead, let's join the wider circle of the many traditions that make up our country. Besides, any Christian knows that Christmas is not about displays in shopping malls, or capitols, or schools, it is about a spiritual event that we honor most in our families and our homes.

So, Merry Christmas, Christians; Happy Hanukkah, Jews; Super Solstice, Pagans; Hurray, Human Light Humanists; Joyous Kwanzaa to African Diaspora and to everyone all together -- Happy Holidays. See you at the party!

There. The war on Christmas is officially over.  Peace be the journey.