The New Curse Words Of The Holiday Season?
It’s that time of year again. The time of year where being uber politically correct and being an outright pig headed douche come out in a seemingly full on war. Where saying the ‘wrong thing’ could cost you your job. Merry Christmas! Ha! Oh wait. It’s not Merry Christmas now. It’s Happy Holidays. Oh no, wait… THAT one isn’t good enough either! Umm… Happy Hanukkah! Oh Lord. Someone probably finds that tremendously, horrendously offensive. Ummm…. what about-
“Happy Merry Wintery Celebration That May Or May Not Be Filled With Religious Overtones Which May Or May Not Be A Part Of Your Faith And Holiday Celebration But Should Be Respected By All As It Is A Joyous Occasion Day, A Day Which We All Wish You Much Happiness In Celebrating Because You Should Celebrate It If You WANT To, But If You Celebrate Nothing Or A Different Holiday Please Note That This Festive Greeting Is In No Way Suggesting That You Do Or Should And Still Wishes You A Fantastically Fun Day Filled With Equal Amounts Of Awesomeness As I Would Wish A Person Who Was Celebrating Whatever Occasion They Are Celebrating This Season.”
Does that cover it all now? STILL not good enough? Goodness, it’s almost like some people will find any reason to be dissatisfied with something. Receiving a holiday greeting seems like such a joy to me. Truly. It’s somewhat shocking to me to find out that this is a real legitimate issue during this season. I understand that there’s a whole struggle of decorations on public or government owned property, but this? This seems to have gone horribly wrong. Am I the only one thinking that?
To me, a holiday greeting simply cannot be offensive. How could it? If someone is taking the time to wish me something pleasant, all I can imagine feeling is a little warming of the heart, not the hardening of it! I don’t celebrate the ‘mainstream’ holidays any more. I get a lot of ‘Merry Christmas’ type stuff. I either usually say ‘Merry Christmas’ right back, or if I’m feeling a tad cheeky I’ll grin and say ‘And a Happy Hanukkah to you!’ and we both grin and it’s good fun. Happy Holidays get’s the same thing from me. Sure, it’s a little bland because it’s taking into the whole ‘politically correct’ all encompassing aspect, but its still someone wishing you happiness and goodness!
If only we had more of that kind of attitude around during the rest of the year- am I right?
It bothers me that Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Winter Solstice- WHATEVER you might say along those lines- is some how taboo and not okay. Limiting others in wishing others well, or in receiving the well wishing of others, doesn’t seem like something we should be embracing as a society. These shouldn’t be as shocking as curse words, know what I’m saying? Now, if people are using them to be cruel, aggressive and to put others down… that is a problem and one I would hope would not happen during the holidays. When I think about that happening though, I realize that it’s not the words that are the problem. I could probably make someone feel bad by saying ‘Yeah. You go an enjoy that banana’ (swear to gawd that was the first example that popped into my mind, haha) or some other random sentence- if I wanted to.
The problem, is not the words if that should happen. And we should absolutely combat the attitudes of hate, bigotry, persecution, discrimination, etc. when those things rise up. I’m simply asking that we not turn well-wishing into a taboo thing, a thing we are scared to do, a thing we are scared to reach out and share with each other. I hope that for those of you who are wished a wonderful celebration of something that you don’t believe in, that you will remember first and foremost that this person was wishing you some goodness. I hope that you enjoy that, and I hope that you get to pass that gift forward- however you would like to express it.
Let’s fill this season up with goodness, love, and reaching out to those around us!
Image Credit : Identity Photogr@phy via flickr.com
So, I love this article. If there is one thing that I hate about the holidays, it’s that we are scolded for exercising our right to free speech. Especially when our intentions are just to wish someone well. Thanks for addressing this issue!
This article is so witty and completely accurate! I don’t mind if someone wishes me any of the typical holiday greetings and will respond in kind usually. I was raised a Christian, but no longer label myself as one, but I still celebrate Christmas with my family for tradition sake. The feelings and the memories will always be present and that is what is important. Making memories and feeling loved is so vital! My husband and our kids celebrate the Winter Solstice in our house and it’s fun to see them getting to know people through the holidays they can share with each other. We’re not talking about right or wrong, we’re talking about different. But those differences don’t need to separate us, they can actually help bring people together through understanding! Thanks for this article!