Merry Holidays

There have been a lot of comments in recent years about the so-called “War on Christmas.” I don’t want to downplay the legitimate components of these comments, but I think people need to calm down.

There actually is some truth to the claims that people are fighting Christmas. If you wish someone “Merry Christmas,” nobody should take offense. You are meaning well, and it is unlikely that you are saying it to ridicule those who don’t support the holiday. Similarly, nobody should be offended by people wishing them well for Hanukkah (or however it’s spelled today), Kwanzaa, Yule (more influential on Christmas than Christ), or numerous holidays that I don’t feel like researching right now. Like a lot of Christians are claiming, the other holidays are not treated as being nearly as offensive by those who do not celebrate it. I could go into more detail, but there are already plenty of people arguing this side of the debate.

I want to bring up the frequently overlooked side of the “Happy holidays” debate. Happy holidays is meant as an all-encompassing greeting. It is generally (but not always) meant to include Christmas. Much like “Merry Christmas” is not typically said with an intent to offend, the same can be said for “Happy holidays.”

A lot of obsessed Christians insist that it is offensive to wish someone “Happy holidays” because they view it as an attack on Christianity. This is not the same as walking up to someone and saying, “Happy anything but Christmas.” New Years is just a week later, and many Christians also celebrate that holiday. In fact, they have referred to the time of year as the holiday season for a long time.

I should also point out that Christmas is a secular holiday. Christians likely tried to take over a pagan holiday in an attempt to convert them (it is widely believed that Christ was not born anywhere near Christmas). Most of the holiday has pagan origins, and even some Christian components such as Santa Claus can be tied to pagan beliefs. Christmas is just a name. Celebrating Christmas does not make you Christian, just like celebrating Easter does not make you pagan.

Let me go slightly off topic for a little bit here. I am not religious. Historically speaking, religions have caused a lot of problems. Most major wars have significant religious influences. The issue with religion is not the belief in god. It’s intolerance towards those who maintain conflicting religious views.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because we are getting this huge debate around Christmas where both sides appear to be intolerant. Instead of debating which greeting absolutely every single person must use this time of year, why can’t we just accept that people can use the greetings of their choice.