Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Christmas / Holiday Wars

Okay, so here's my thoughts. I'm not 100% opposed to "Happy Holidays" because there are so many holidays at once. In addition, in the old British sense, "Holiday" could refer to vacation from work, in which case there are multiple "holidays" at this point. But there are some times I think it is carried past nonsense. For instance, why say "Holiday Ham?" If you "holidays" is meant to include Jews, then they would not eat a ham for the holidays. And at this point of the year, (I admit I don't know much about Kwanza, I don't wish to know much, I think it's made up) Hannukah is done and over with! So unless you are referring to Christmas AND New Year's, then Holidays doesn't seem as applicable. I mean, we are two days from Christmas, what other holiday could they be talking about?

But here's another thought - is there really any way to win this? I mean, Christmas has been so commercialized, that even saying that doesn't really mean much. And we now have the "Christmas spirit" instead of Christian giving to thank for charitable contributions and general good cheer around the holidays. In a way, "holiday" is almost more appropriate because the word comes from "Holy-day." If you are fighting a Christmas vs. Holiday war, it's almost like you have to come around from the right flank and say, "I am throwing a Christ-child party." Or "I am going home to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ." It sounds a little fundamentalist but it at least keeps the real meaning of Christmas alive whereas the word Christmas doesn't necessarily do that anymore.

One last thought, though. Even though Christmas itself has been so commercialized and taken away from the purpose, it is interesting to note that the word is under attack. That means there is still enough of Christ in Christmas to make someone upset. As long as there are carols and ancient symbols (Christmas trees) there will always be opportunities to explain the true meaning of Christmas

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