I was reading an article on CNN.com this morning (see it here) about how to wish people good tidings no matter which holiday they celebrate around this time of year. According to this article, conservative groups are planning boycotts and lawsuits against retailers who don't have "Merry Christmas" as part of their holiday display. There's even a book titled, "The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse than You Thought." I do like the quote from Jon Stewart on the Daily Show this article had: "Every time you say 'Happy Holidays,' an angel gets AIDS." That's satire at its finest!
Are people really being serious with this crap? Shouldn't this be a time of year when people put aside petty bickering and just be nice to one another, no matter what religious beliefs you have? Are people who don't celebrate Christmas going to be terribly offended if a person who works in retail wishes them a merry Christmas? Maybe we should all wear buttons identifying which holiday we celebrate so that when someone sees it they know how to wish people happiness during their holiday. Or maybe we should all just smash together all the holidays at this time of year, as I've done with the title of this post. But, even there, I'm probably leaving out millions of other religious holidays that might occur around this time.
You know, nothing pisses me off more than petty bickering like this during a time when we're supposed to be celebrating. The holiday season, in my mind, is about getting along with your fellow people no matter what religion, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, or whatever other distinction they have. And yes, Christmas itself is for celebrating the birth of Jesus. The other holidays that fall around this time of year probably also celebrate something else that is significant in that particular religion. I'm not certain of what they celebrate, which probably makes me a little ignorant, but if people who might read this want to comment on other religious celebrations, I'm more than willing to learn.
I know that it's hard to get along with your fellow humans when doing Christmas shopping because everyone seems to think only of themselves. Trust me, I hate going to malls/department stores around this time of year because large crowds of people annoy me. But still, what I'm saying is that, instead of bickering about saying either "Merry Christmas," "Happy Hanukkah," "Happy Kwanzaa," or "Happy Holidays" is just plain stupid. It really shouldn't make a difference. If people are going to be offended because of which holiday other people wish them, they should take a long, hard look at why they're offended, because the spirit of the message is the same.
OK, I'm done and stepping off my soapbox now.
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2 comments:
I totally agree with you.
Check out this dude's rant
I hate how we always walk on eggshells, afraid of saying the wrong thing. If someone said to me "Happy Kwanzaa!" or something other than Christmas, I'd gladly say it right back to them, realizing that they are just getting into the spirit of things. Hey, I think Valentine's day is a crock, but if someone says Happy V-day to me, I'll say it back (haha I'm not sure that's a comparable example or not, but whatev...)
One of the reasons people are bitching about not using Merry Christmas explicitly is because 40% of profits are made between Black Friday and Christmas. Coincidence? Definitely not. Shoppers who are contributing so much to stores' success want to be properly acknowledged (or something like that). Hey, sometimes with how manners are going down the tubes anyway, we should be happy for whatever moderately pleasant greeting we get!
No kidding. Manners are going downhill very dramatically, it seems. And I'm all for people getting in the holiday spirit, no matter what they celebrate. I just think that of all the things that are going on in the world, how you greet other people during this season should not be a big deal. Especially considering that this made a headline on CNN.com. I'm thinking it's all a Republican plot to get America to quit thinking about the war.
But, seriously, does it really matter? Just be happy people are pleasant, especially in retail. They have to put up with Christmas stuff from Halloween on till after Christmas. I'm surprised that they even want to look at people at this point. Hell, even I hate going to the mall after Thanksgiving because the general public has no manners whatsoever. So, when someone is pleasant to me (which seems rare outside of salespeople), I rather enjoy it.
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