Merry What?
This Christmas season I’ve noticed a greater than usual interest in the wording of festive greetings. Some Christians are outraged when they hear Happy Holidays and some non-Christians are offended when they hear Merry Christmas!
People are lamenting the commercialization of Christmas and are complaining that things aren’t like they used to be. They have a point. But not as much of a point as they think. Did you know that the famous Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, was a box office flop when it was first released in 1946? In fact, it only became popular in the late 70’s, after its copyright had expired and TV stations began airing it. Only after 30 years had passed did people really believe that things were that wholesome in the 40’s! The fact is, we always romanticize the past. Things are never like they used to be…
Anyways, back to the Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays thing. If you think about it, it makes total sense for businesses and governments to remove the Christ from Christmas. They are simply acknowledging the fact that Christians do not compose 100% of society. A business does not want to alienate non-Christian customers and a government doesn’t want to piss off non-Christian taxpayers so when they say Seasons Greetings, don’t be offended. Similarly, Christians are celebrating the birth of Christ on Christmas day so when they say Merry Christmas, you should accept it in good spirit.
When Person A wishes Person B a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, that’s fine. The big problem arises when Person B reacts negatively to the good wishes from Person A. I say, get a grip asshole! If someone is kind enough to wish you a Happy anything, you should be appreciative and thankful.
That said, I wish you, dear reader, a Merry Whatever, filled with good friends, family, song and drink. …and if this one sucks, you can always try again next year! 