Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?
December 9, 2011“There is a war on Christmas!” At least that is what they say. “The culture is rejecting the Christmas season in the name of secularism and pluralism.”
That is an interesting perspective that may be driven more by propaganda than reality. I do not see the culture rejecting Christmas. I see the culture embracing Christmas, celebrating Christmas. I see the schools closing for two weeks. I see the Christmas lights everywhere. I see the Nativity on many street corners.
There may be a few very fringe people who do not want to celebrate Christmas, but to say there is a war on Christmas is probably a stretch. I have a friend who pointed to a northeastern state who is calling their state Christmas Tree a “Holiday Tree.” I responded that there are 49 other states that have “Christmas Trees!”
I would argue that Christmas is the still the most celebrated day of the year.
And then there are people posting things on Facebook like, “When somebody says Happy Holidays to me, I correct them. I say Merry Christmas!” Sometimes I wonder if we ever stop long enough to think about the backwards nature of that statement. Nothing could be further from the spirit of Christ than to rebuke and correct another person for saying “Happy Holidays.”
This Holiday season, I pray that we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Not politics. Not propaganda. Not someone else’s cultural agenda. Just Jesus.
Merry Christmas!
As an atheist, I get many glares. People just assume I am against saying ‘God’ in school or even the whole Christmas thing. Christmas has been the adopted religious holiday since….well- long before I was even born, and I must say it doesn’t bother me a bit if someone says Merry Christmas, vs Happy Holidays…..I take the thought of somebody wishing me well into heart and don’t get disgruntled about it. However I know that there are others like me out there who do….. We all have our beliefs, right? Who am I to stomp in and say anyone is wrong? So with that being said…..Merry Christmas to you too!!
I agree that the media likes to blow this out of proportion. Being a public school teacher, our calendar says ‘winter break’. Never had a parent/student complain about that. Though I refer to it as Christmas break to all my students as do many other teachers. We all wish each other Merry Christmas (among other Holidays) and parents wish us a Merry Christmas (usually). Being a teacher who has history, reading, writing, as part of his curriculum I’m able to talk about Christ and read about him anytime of the year, likewise students can do the same. Say Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad to all and to all a good night…or whatever time of day it is!
Very true, I just don’t see the big fuss… or see why anyone would be offended. I’m glad it’s mainly blown out of proportion, but even then I see those Facebook posts as well and think… who cares!? I even wrote on my wall saying the same thing, I don’t care, what form you put it in, I take it in that they wished me well, and to me, that is what counts…. not the formation they used in doing so. Its the thought that counts, and if someone wants to get snotty about it, I would suggest rethinking the friendship there.
In addition to the Christmas time, I also here many Christians complain about ‘prayer’ and ‘God’ being taken out of public schools. First of all, not sure its possible to ‘remove’ God. But anyways, instead of complaining I would encourage all Christians to be active in public schools. Encourage kids to pray at lunch, they are allowed to bring their Bible to school and read it when they have time. The constitution actually defends this. Want it doesn’t protect is enfocring your beliefs on others. Students can also meet before/after school. You’d be surprised how many teachers and staff would be willing to help, if you talked to them. Just something I think should be more proactive about.