Ah, the recurring "Merry Christmas!"/"Happy Holidays!" debate.
"I don't celebrate Christmas!" people grumble. "Why are you trying to force your holiday down my throat?"
Waah, waah, waah.
I don't understand why people are so sensitive about the word "Christmas". Perhaps if I explain it this way: "Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, I hope the day is a good one for you", they'll see that I mean no offense.
I should be able to use whichever greeting I wish without getting yelled at. If I want to specifically mention Christmas, I say "Merry Christmas!" If I want to include the entire holiday season, I say "Happy Holidays!" or "Seasons Greetings!" If I know that a certain person is of a particular faith or ethnicity, then I say "Happy Hanukkah!", "Happy Winter Solstice!", or "Happy Kwanzaa!". (Although, I've never met any Wiccans or people who celebrate Kwanzaa. But, if I ever do, then I might just indicate their faith in my greeting.)
An acquaintance of mine put it very well:
"I'm absolutely sick of that type of P.C. crap. I grew up in a country where the majority of people celebrate Christmas...It's great that people from other countries and backgrounds can come to this country and celebrate their traditions freely, but they (and people in government) need to realize that they need to respect the traditions that were in place before they came here. I'm not going to immigrate to Japan and expect a Christmas tree to be put up in public places. And the thing is, it's only a small percentage of people who bitch about 'Merry Christmas' and the like. Why we have to have the same boring discussion in the news each year is beyond me. Merry Christmas."
I am not trying to force my Christian faith down anyone's throat. It doesn't work that way. But people still complain. In my opinion, these PC folks just want attention. Can't they find anything more constructive to do?
I will continue to say "Merry Christmas!" whenever I want to. If someone doesn't like it, then they can stuff a stocking in it.
All entries, Copyright 2006
