'Tis The Season

It's that time again folks. Time to pull out the winter coats; chop down a a tree (or prop up a fake one) and cover it and every other thing that holds still for more than 5 seconds at the time with lights, colorful ornaments, and garland; drink hot chocolate and eggnog; and bitch about whether people say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays".

Best I can remember, this whole rigamarole got started because some store decided to use "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" as a greeting.  Which makes sense.  Not everyone who walks through their doors celebrates Christmas.  There are quite a few holidays that take place this time of year.....Jesus is not the reason for the season for everyone. 

 I have never, EVER, heard anyone complain that someone said "Merry Christmas" to them.  But every year, shortly after Thanksgiving, my inbox/Facebook page/message boards blow the fuck up with shit like this:

 WHAT A CROCK OF S***..... We can't say Merry Christmas... now we have to say Happy Holidays. We can't call it a Christmas tree, it's now called a Holiday tree! WHY???....Because it might offend someone...Well.... If you don't ike our "Customs" and it offends you so much, then LEAVE.... I will help you pack. Why do we have to change our "Traditions" because of you??? We already have changed enough of them to support "Your Traditions" ....If you agree with this...please post this as your status!! I AM A PROUD SOUTHERN AMERICAN CITIZEN... MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR :) !! Do you have what it takes to repost this?

 ~No, random citizen who started this bullshit chain, you do not have to say Happy Holidays just because other people do.~

And this:

I DO NOT CARE IF THIS DOES OFFEND SOMEONE… AND IF IT DOES, DELETE ME PLEASE :) THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE…I AM SICK AND TIRED OF EVERY YEAR WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND; THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS BECAUSE IT MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE…WELL, HOW ABOUT ALL OF THE CHRISTIANS?...WHAT ABOUT OFFENDING US BECAUSE YOU ARE TAKING OUR CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS?...CHRIST IS CHRISTMAS!...IF YOU AREN'T CELEBRATING CHRIST THEN WHY ARE YOU CELEBRATING?...CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR!...CHRISTMAS IS ONE OF A FEW HOLIDAYS LEFT THAT CELEBRATE "MY" CHRIST!...LEAVE "MY" HOLIDAY ALONE!...AND TELL EVERYONE MERRY CHRISTMAS, NOT HAPPY HOLIDAYS!...

~This one might be the most infuriating, because it is the dumbest.  Please, please, explain to me how saying Happy Holidays is "taking Christ out of Christmas"?  Again, Christmas is far from the only holiday celebrated this time of year.  So piss off.  ~

The best response I have seen to this was on a debate board on Cafemom.  A member by the screen name of "romalove" posted this:

 

 I continue to think people have this all wrong.

 Giving greetings is not supposed to be a declaration of what is happening with you, but what is happening with who is being greeted.  Do you go around wishing other people Happy Birthday on your birthday because you are celebrating?  How about Happy Anniversary on your special day, do you wish that to others?

So, in that vein, if I know what a person is celebrating, I wish them to enjoy the holiday they participate in.  That means Jews get Happy Hanukah, Christians get Merry Christmas, and anyone else or someone I don't know about gets a Happy Holidays.

People are sometimes to bent on clinging to things they feel are important to themselves that they forget what the real meaning of something like a holiday season is.  It's to be kind to each other, no matter what you celebrate, that's the bottom line.

 ~ Bravo!  Thank you for being a rational voice in an otherwise completely irrational argument.~

I always buy cards with "Happy Holidays" on them rather than "Merry Christmas" because quite a few on the people on my "I like you enough to go out of my way to mail you something" and "you're family and even though I never talk to you any other time of the year, one of my closer family members guilted me into sending you a card" lists celebrate Christmas.  But now, I get a little thrill of passive aggressive rebellion every time I mail one off to anyone who has emailed or posted some of this Christians are the Poor Persecuted Majority bullshit.  I'll call it an extra Yule gift for myself.