Christmas vs. Holiday
I have to throw my opinion out there on this topic, mostly because it just seems so simple to me. I don't know if the same debate is going on elsewhere, but the Fox 25 news has been talking a lot about the "politically correct" debate between Christmas and Holiday. I think it stems from Boston's "Holiday Tree Lighting," but they're also talking about wishing people "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays." Now, calling it a holiday tree seems pretty silly, because it's meant to celebrate Christmas, and I can see how Christmas-celebrating folks could be offended by having it called a holiday tree. As someone on the news pointed it, it's akin to calling a menorah and candlestick, which also seems offensive. Now, if the tree is being used to celebrate another holiday, call it a "whatever-holiday-it's-celebrating tree."
I find this whole argument interesting since I grew up in a household that celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah; my mom's Jewish and my dad's Catholic...if you ask my mom I'm Jewish because she's Jewsish, but at this point, I pretty much consider myself agnostic. (It's really complicated, and I'm sure some of you know at least some of it; if you want the full details, let me know.) We always lit the menorrah, and we always had a little artificial tree, which my mom insisted on calling a "Hanukkah bush." It always kinda irked me, because a tree that's covered by little Santa ornaments and candy canes is a Christmas tree, and there's no tree or bush involved in Hanukkah from what I've always known about the subject. (As a sidenote, I saw Christmas/Hanukkah cards in Walmart yesterday...as in, one card celebrating both holidays. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen in a Walmart.)
On the subject of what greeting to wish people....while the guy from Romney, West Virginia that was on the news last night thinks that people should be wished Merry Christmas, I really think you have to know what holiday a person celebrates before you say "Merry Christmas," or "Happy Hanukkah," or "Eid Mubarak," or whatever else. Unless it's someone I know well, I generally wish people "Happy Holidays." It also seems to me that New Years could be included in "Happy Holidays," and pretty much everyone celebrates the new year, so most everyone's celebrating more than one holiday this time or year.
Another anecdote from my mom. Last year we went to the post office so she could mail a few presents, and she started chit-chatting with the post office guy behind the counter. She asked him if he was all ready for Christmas. They chatted back and forth, and when we were leaving, they guy said, "Merry Christmas!" When we got out to the car, my mom was all offended, saying, "how dare he assume I celebrate Christmas?"....until I pointed out that she was the one who made the first assumption about him, asking him if he was ready for Christmas. I think it made her think for a minute.
I find this whole argument interesting since I grew up in a household that celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah; my mom's Jewish and my dad's Catholic...if you ask my mom I'm Jewish because she's Jewsish, but at this point, I pretty much consider myself agnostic. (It's really complicated, and I'm sure some of you know at least some of it; if you want the full details, let me know.) We always lit the menorrah, and we always had a little artificial tree, which my mom insisted on calling a "Hanukkah bush." It always kinda irked me, because a tree that's covered by little Santa ornaments and candy canes is a Christmas tree, and there's no tree or bush involved in Hanukkah from what I've always known about the subject. (As a sidenote, I saw Christmas/Hanukkah cards in Walmart yesterday...as in, one card celebrating both holidays. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen in a Walmart.)
On the subject of what greeting to wish people....while the guy from Romney, West Virginia that was on the news last night thinks that people should be wished Merry Christmas, I really think you have to know what holiday a person celebrates before you say "Merry Christmas," or "Happy Hanukkah," or "Eid Mubarak," or whatever else. Unless it's someone I know well, I generally wish people "Happy Holidays." It also seems to me that New Years could be included in "Happy Holidays," and pretty much everyone celebrates the new year, so most everyone's celebrating more than one holiday this time or year.
Another anecdote from my mom. Last year we went to the post office so she could mail a few presents, and she started chit-chatting with the post office guy behind the counter. She asked him if he was all ready for Christmas. They chatted back and forth, and when we were leaving, they guy said, "Merry Christmas!" When we got out to the car, my mom was all offended, saying, "how dare he assume I celebrate Christmas?"....until I pointed out that she was the one who made the first assumption about him, asking him if he was ready for Christmas. I think it made her think for a minute.