Merry Christmas
For the last couple of years, wishing people a "Merry Christmas" has made me feel a little bit awkward. There are two very different reasons behind the awkwardness: first, what if the person I just wished a "Merry Christmas" to doesn't celebrate Christmas? and second, I don't want people assuming I'm one of the "War on Christmas" people who feel it's necessary to wish everyone Merry Christmas because otherwise Christians are losing teh war...
I know there's the standard "Happy Holidays!", but I feel that's really impersonal. I do celebrate Christmas; I do believe in Jesus (though I'm sure some fundamentalists would say I don't); and when I tell someone "Merry Christmas", it's because that's the holiday inspiring the kindness in my wish. Telling someone "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" makes the exchange feel generic and emotionless. I do, of course, wish everyone to have a happy-whatever-holiday-they-may-celebrate day, but Christmas is the holiday I connect with.
Christmas has become a weird holiday for me, much like Easter. I don't really believe that Jesus was born on December 25th. I'm not even sure if I believe He was immaculately conceived or not. I do, however, believe deeply in Jesus as mediator and my connection to God, and I believe deeply in Jesus's teachings. How or when He was born doesn't really matter that much to me; what matters is that I *do* believe He lived. When I celebrate Christmas and Easter, I celebrate His life and His teachings, not His birth and death/resurrection.
When I wish someone a "Merry Christmas", I'm not telling them "I hope you have a good Holy Day and if you're not Christian, too bad for you!" I'm not saying, "I hope you spend a good day with your family celebrating Jesus's birth" (though I do wish that as well, of course, if your family celebrates that event). What I am saying, the sentiment behind the statement, is that Jesus's love inspires me every day and I hope that you'll know that kind of love (not Jesus's love specifically, but the feeling of loving and being loved) and that you'll know happiness and peace.
That's what Christmas is to me: a sacramental, formal reminder of love, which is something I wish everyone in this world, regardless of religion, would have the chance to experience.
So, I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas.
I know there's the standard "Happy Holidays!", but I feel that's really impersonal. I do celebrate Christmas; I do believe in Jesus (though I'm sure some fundamentalists would say I don't); and when I tell someone "Merry Christmas", it's because that's the holiday inspiring the kindness in my wish. Telling someone "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" makes the exchange feel generic and emotionless. I do, of course, wish everyone to have a happy-whatever-holiday-they-may-celebrate day, but Christmas is the holiday I connect with.
Christmas has become a weird holiday for me, much like Easter. I don't really believe that Jesus was born on December 25th. I'm not even sure if I believe He was immaculately conceived or not. I do, however, believe deeply in Jesus as mediator and my connection to God, and I believe deeply in Jesus's teachings. How or when He was born doesn't really matter that much to me; what matters is that I *do* believe He lived. When I celebrate Christmas and Easter, I celebrate His life and His teachings, not His birth and death/resurrection.
When I wish someone a "Merry Christmas", I'm not telling them "I hope you have a good Holy Day and if you're not Christian, too bad for you!" I'm not saying, "I hope you spend a good day with your family celebrating Jesus's birth" (though I do wish that as well, of course, if your family celebrates that event). What I am saying, the sentiment behind the statement, is that Jesus's love inspires me every day and I hope that you'll know that kind of love (not Jesus's love specifically, but the feeling of loving and being loved) and that you'll know happiness and peace.
That's what Christmas is to me: a sacramental, formal reminder of love, which is something I wish everyone in this world, regardless of religion, would have the chance to experience.
So, I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas.