Happy “Holidays”?
One of the most frustrating things to me about Christmas is the government/business/media insistence on replacing the word “Christmas” with “holiday.” I will grant that in some cases there is just cause for doing so. If you ‘re talking about that period from the end of November through to the end of the year, then this can quite legitimately be called “the holiday season,” since it incorporates Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, sometimes Ramadan, and Christmas. This period is not all about just one holiday.
However, when it is clear that the holiday referenced is the one that falls on December 25th, and involves a man called “Santa,” and reindeer, and decorated trees, and the exchanging of gifts on that particular day… we’re not talking about Hanukkah, Ramadan, Thanksgiving, or even Kwanza. That’s Christmas.
Yes, for me, and other Christians, Christmas is about far more than our cultural trappings. But anyone who has lived in the West for any amount of time knows that you don’t have to be a Christian to celebrate Christmas. Like it or not, Western societies have adopted this Christian celebration and made it their own, imbuing it with their own meaning and significance. In other words, I think I speak for all Christians when I say that while we like to remind you that Jesus is “the reason for the season,” we understand that just because you celebrate Christmas, that doesn’t mean you’ve converted.
And that’s why I think all this replacing “Christmas” for “holiday” is getting out of hand–especially here in the States. I think people in government, the media, and business are far more sensitive to the religious connotations of “Christmas” than the people they are trying not to offend. I have yet to come across anyone–atheist, Muslim, Jew, or whatever–who takes serious offense at being wished a “happy Christmas.”
And it’s only Christmas that seems to get this kind of treatment. Christmas trees have now become “holiday trees.” And yet the menorah is not called a “holiday candlestick.” The logic behind that is… ?
Of course, the real irony is that the etymology of the word “holiday” is from the Middle and Old English meaning “a holy day.” You know, like a religious observance. So by replacing “Christmas” with “holiday” they’re not really avoiding the whole “establishment of religion” issue at all. Indeed, every atheist should take offense!
It is true that Christmas eclipses other “holidays” here in the West, but that’s because of the heritage upon which our nations were built. In the Middle East, I’m sure this time of year is not nearly so Christmas-oriented. But here in the US, and in Europe, even if we don’t embrace Christmas for it’s religious significance, we should embrace it as part of the fabric of our culture. We as a society show our tolerance not by eliminating that which makes us different, but by celebrating our distinctiveness while allowing others to celebrate their cultures unhindered. We celebrate Christmas, and invite everyone to join with us–or not–as their creeds and consciences dictate.
So, media, government, businesses–chill out! It’s Christmas. And I hope you have a very merry one.
How I love to hear the voice of a rational, thinking Christian. For some reason, most people still believe that the first amendment guarantees separation of church and state (and culture, apparently), when in fact it says no such thing and was designed purely to keep the government out of dictating religious doctrine, not trying to undermine its practice or obliterate any trace of our religious heritage. And I didn’t know about the etymology of “holiday,” though now it’s obvious. Is there nowhere we can hide from religion?
Oh, and this made me laugh out loud:
“And it’s only Christmas that seems to get this kind of treatment. Christmas trees have now become “holiday trees.” And yet the menorah is not called a “holiday candlestick.” The logic behind that is… ?”
Brilliant, Colin.
Thanks, Jessica! As a society it seems we’ve become so afraid of offending people, we no longer think rationally. Words don’t really mean anything anymore. And, as a writer, that really bothers me! I’ve been alive long enough that I can put up with the secularization of Christmas, and accept it as a sign of where our culture is now (just as “Thanksgiving” has lost its blatantly obvious religious connotations–but interestingly hasn’t undergone the same “holiday” name change). But things like this make no sense whatsoever.
It’s getting harder and harder to find Christmas cards that actually have the word ‘Christmas’ somewhere on them. Given that the same card will have pictures of Santa and reindeer or some other clearly Christmas-related thing on it, this seems a bit ridiculous. When I was teaching, I had many students of other faiths, predominantly Muslim. All of them wished me a Merry Christmas, and many of them actually decorated their houses with Christmas lights and exchanged gifts on Christmas day. Not one of them was offended by it because they understood the importance in our country of being able to observe one’s holy days. They don’t want to take that away from us because they don’t want theirs taken from them. It is getting seriously ridiculous how people are going out of their way to get around using the word “Christmas”, isn’t it?
It is ridiculous, Jaime, and so unnecessary. Of course there will be some who take offense–but that’s true of anything. Look at the various school districts and parents who took offense at the Harry Potter books, but he did not become “the boy wizard who must not be named” as a result. Indeed, the UK, which is far more secular than the US, seems to have no problem throwing the word “Christmas” around this time of year without fear of offense. So what’s our problem?