Merry Christmas!!!!

There has been a lot of furor over 'Christmas' vs. 'Holiday' this year. Lowe’s got slammed for having fresh cut Christmas trees available for Spanish speaking customers while English speakers got fresh cut Holiday trees. (Lowe’s has since changed their signage.)

The American Family Association has urged people to boycott every store that doesn't have 'Christmas' in their signage, which shakes out to a big chunk of major retailers in the U.S. I thought that was excessive, since people are out buying gifts not only for Christmas, but also for Hanukah and Kwanzaa. People with no religious affiliation whatsoever buy presents and put up trees and lights. Some strong Christians refuse to celebrate Christmas because of the pagan beginnings of so many of our traditions, and because there is a strong leaning that Jesus was not born in December, but more likely March or April.

When I was in retail (Lord, thank you thank you thank you I'm not in retail this year) I tried to tailor my greetings to the customer as much as possible. If they were wearing a cross, they got Merry Christmas; if they had on a Star of David, they got Happy Hanukah. (I usually got a big smile after that one.) If I wasn't sure, I usually used Happy Holidays because I know that if this was a gift giving holiday affiliated with, say, Ramadan, I'd be sick and tired of hearing about it. Jesus told us to treat everyone the way we wanted to be treated, so if they weren't obviously affiliated with a Christian faith, I erred on the side of political correctness so as to avoid offending a person (not a customer; that was secondary).

Having said that...

I'm not a historical scholar, so I may be very wrong, but here's my take. Gift giving was started by Christians. Over time, it has snow-balled into what it is today, but it was a Christian idea to give gifts at Christmas. Since it was originally for Christmas, I feel like everyone who celebrates it, regardless of religious belief, should be prepared to hear Merry Christmas for a good six weeks at the end of every year. If they don't want to hear it, or if they're going to be offended, they shouldn't celebrate it. Don’t shop before December 25^th; take advantage of the after-Christmas pre-New Year sales. Retailers who don't have 'Christmas' in their signage are biting the hand that feeds them. That doesn't mean I won't shop there necessarily, but it won't stop me from wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone in the store. What are they going to do, kick me out?

I know people like to say that one person can make a difference. I think that's idealistic, but I'm willing to run experiments. I pledge that this CHRISTMAS season, I will use only 'Merry Christmas' and not some watered down version. I will wish a Merry Christmas to my customers at the restaurant (the few that I have since I only wait tables in times of extreme desperation), and I will use it whenever possible in social and shopping situations. The only exception will be if someone is wearing the Star of David, since Hanukah is rapidly following in the footsteps of Christmas. If you'd like to join me, please feel free to leave comments and let me know how it's going.

We'll see what happens.

Merry Christmas!