There have been a huge number of letters to the editor written to my local newspaper from people who are livid that it is no longer a "Christmas" tree, that folks are now selling "holiday trees." Fundamentalist Christians see this as yet another way of the secular U.S. taking Christ out of Christmas.
The thing I don't get is why are we fighting about what to call a tree we put up in our home during this season??? I don't believe a pine tree was cut down and laid at the manger where Jesus slept the night of his birth. Instead this is a tradition we borrowed from German Christians who came up with the idea.
Fundamentalist Christians rail against the secularization of this holiday. And yes, it has been secularized because we are a secular nation. For those who want to argue that our forefathers came here to escape religious persecution, this is true. But our forefathers came here also to establish a state in which all are able to practice their own religion, whether it's Christianity or Buddhism or Judaism or Wicca.
When people become angry because a store greeter says, "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," they are exhibiting a severe lack of compassion for the other religions in this country. I do believe Jesus preached compassion for our fellow humans, to love our enemies as well as our brothers, and to love our neighbors as we would love ourselves. How can someone who professes to be a Christian ignore those central Christian teachings and become irate when someone tries to show compassion and simply say "Happy Holidays"?
There are those that say that Christ is the reason for the season. This is true, in that we celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th each year. But Jesus wasn't born in December; we celebrate Christmas in December because the early Christians wanted to make it easier for their pagan converts to remember the festivals, and a pagan holiday fell on December 25th. So if we want to get technical, we really should be celebrating Christmas in March.
Some believe that Christmas shouldn't be taken out of the schools. I think schools are taking too many festivals out of the school year in an effort to provide more time for learning. But "all work and no play" will make our students very smart but very dull. Not only Christmas is getting the short shrift. Halloween is falling by the wayside, as is Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day.
But how can I lump Christmas in with those other secular holidays??? Because a Christian holiday has no place being celebrated for religious reasons in our public schools. The conservative Christians are irate because they say prayer is no longer allowed in school. Ah, but this isn't so. I guarantee you every day there is a test in a school somewhere in the country, prayers are being said. But no, you aren't allowed to say prayers over the intercom and force people to pray at a certain time every day. If that is something that is important to you and your family, you should look into a parochial school, which will provide religious education to your child.
If you want to say "Merry Christmas" to me, I will smile and wish you a Merry Christmas as well. If someone offers a "Happy Holidays," I will respond in turn. It's just a matter of a few words, and for all I know I could be speaking to a Jew who may be sensitive to the words "Merry Christmas." The sentiment behind the words is what matters, which is simply someone wishing another person a happy few weeks in this madness we call the holidays.
I, for one, will take any small kindness wherever I can find it.