Holiday Village, Not.

Merry Christmas to all my Christian friends.  I say it sincerely to my in laws, I say it sincerely to my patients, I say it sincerely to the cashier while I am out shopping.  When someone says it to me I say thank you or Merry Christmas in return.  I am not offended and I am happy that this joyous holiday exists for them.  We all need more love and understanding in our lives and the message at Christmas mass (yes, I go) is to maintain the spirit of giving and peace throughout the whole year.  Who could argue with that?  I don't think I have always felt this way (aren't most young people rather militant in their philosophical outlook?) and if I had not married into a Catholic family I don't know if I would have arrived at the same place in my outlook.  But the first step in understanding others is to understand ourselves.


While I do cringe when I read about things like removing the word Christmas  from the "Christmas Village"
or PCing the season down to "Happy Holidays" I understand the intent.  It is to be more inclusive.  We do pride ourselves, after all, on being a multicultural society.  So if Christians feel like there is a frontal assault on their holiday, or take it as a personal insult of their right to express their joy at the birth of Christ, when someone pushes back against the relentless onslaught of the "Christian Right Wing" movement in America, I wish they would realize several things.  First, and most importantly, this struggle is not new in America.  The dialogue about the role of religion in American public life has been raging since before the Constitution, thus the honor of being mentioned in the first amendment.  Secondly, the obvious assuming attitude many devout people feel toward those who might not adhere to a Western religious view of the world can seem judgmental and even hurtful.  It is possible to be a good person without believing in a God who is specifically concerned with the affairs of man (credit to Albert Einstein).  Thirdly, no one can deny the fact that Christmas has become more of a commercial retail onslaught than a season of spirituality and Light.  That is why retailers dropped Christmas from their stores and circulars.  They want to encourage all Americans to spend money on their goods.

So I agree with the bumper stickers.  Let's keep "Christ" in Christmas and remember His was a message of tolerance and peace, and not one of feverish excess.