There are many phrases and greetings that are traditionally associated with the holidays. It used to be common to hear ?Merry Christmas,” ?Happy Holidays,” ?Season’s Greetings,? and like sentiments, and they were all acceptable and all assumed to mean the same thing, which was ?Merry Christmas.” ?So when and why did ?Happy Holidays? come to be viewed as anti Christmas, anti Christian, even anti God?
The so called war on Christmas seems to be made up of people determined to find something to be offended by. It may have started as backlash against political correctness when people were encouraged to say ?Happy Holidays? in place of ?Merry Christmas? in order to include everyone. The religious right would have you believe that the phrase ?Happy Holidays? was coined specifically to destroy Christmas. How, exactly, giving a cheerful greeting to strangers or coworkers to enjoy their holiday (whatever it may be) would accomplish this destruction is unclear.
The folks who are convinced that there is a malevolent force at work here refuse to see the basic flaw inherent in their criticisms. They insist that using the phrase ?Happy Holidays?, calling a school celebration a winter carnival rather than a Christmas carnival, or referring to a Christmas tree as a Holiday tree are all an attempt to destroy Christmas. The ridiculousness in that belief is obvious for anyone who can employee a modicum of logic.
First of all, the phrase ?Happy Holidays?, ?Winter Carnival? and ?Holiday Tree? aren’t fooling anyone. Christmas, like it or not, is an embedded part of American culture.? Many non Christians celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday. So, you see, ?”Happy Holidays”, here in America, mainly refers to Christmas. Sure, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa also occur in December but face it; they are the ugly step sisters of Christmas in mainstream American culture.?According to Gallup, at least 93% of Americans celebrate Christmas, including 80% of non Christians. So if there is a war on Christmas, it’s failing miserably.
Christmas would seem to be in excellent health if the retail industry, which kicks into high gear the moment Halloween is over, is any indication. ?Most Americans love Christmas, even the non religious ones. So just where does the idea that there is war on Christmas come from? Can it really be from something as simple as the phrase “Happy Holidays?” ?Complaining about Americans not specifically mentioning Christmas in their greetings is a bit like Caucasians complaining during Black History Month that there is no White History Month.
Secondly, those who believe in using “Happy Holidays” over “Merry Christmas” aren’t trying to end Christmas. They are simply trying to be more inclusive. The celebration of Christmas during the month of December is pretty much a given. Having a winter carnival is a way to cover everyone. Far from trying to exclude Christians, it is an attempt to include those who might otherwise feel left out. Unless they have been living under a rock, every child growing up in America, be they Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan, or Atheist, knows exactly what Christmas is. ?How does it feel to be Jewish when your school sponsors a Christmas party but not a Hanukkah celebration? ?Having a winter carnival lets everyone be included.
Finally, intention should count. ?All other considerations aside, anyone who greets you in a loving way, should have that greeting returned in kind. Perhaps ?Happy Holidays? should be taken in the spirit it was given and returned in that same spirit. After all, how Christian is it to look for offense in everything and to be petty and unkind to others?
Edited/Published by: SB
