Keep Your PC Hands Off My Christmas
Delle JacobsI've joined the War Against the War on Christmas. After far too many years in State Social Service, the world of the terminally politically correct, I've decided it's time to stand up for what I believe, not what a bunch of bureaucrats and judges think I ought to believe.
I believe in honoring the diversity of all human beings, not merely tolerating the differences between human beings and their cultures. What I have worked for and believed in for so many years is the honoring of differences, because there is no one right way of doing things. I have always found great beauty in the cultures of people all over the world as well as in my own back yard. And I took an active part in encouraging cultural diversity in every way I could.
But that doesn't mean I'm willing to let my own culture be destroyed that others might flourish. My culture is as valuable as any other. If all cultures are to be valued, then it must be all of them, not just a few. To take away vital aspoects of one culture diminishes al othersl.
Religion is a major part of most cultures. For some, religion IS culture. Where is the line drawn? I don't know. But I do know my religious roots extend far into the past through some very dangerous, dramatic and bloody history, and they color everything I do, every decision I make, no matter how objective I try to be. I think that's how people are put together. And Christmas, for me, embodies my most cherished heritage. It is my culture.
So I believe in Christmas. Whether it's manger scenes or carols or Santa Claus or shopping in malls jingling with Salvation Army bells and stinking of perfume sprayed at unwitting allergics like me, it's my Christmas. It's all a part of the traditions of the past and the innovations of the present, a wild, heady mix of religion, fantasy and crass commercialism. It's all Christmas. It's not Winter Break, Solstice Celebration or any other euphemism you might want to give it.
So fine, don't put manger scenes on courthouse lawns if it bugs you. But don't tell me I can't call Christmas what it is. Nor am I going to hide my celebration behind my own doors. It's my cultural heritage. Get used to it. I'm not giving it up.
So it's not Happy Holidays. It's MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!
posted by Delle Jacobs @ 8:30 PM
3 Comments:
Yep.
Yesterday on NPR's All Things Considered, the host wished a guest (who had been talking about his Jewish traditions), "Happy Hanukkha," and in return, the guest wished the host, "Thank you and Merry Christmas to you." It was joyous, civil, polite, and so nice to hear.
Holly
"Holiday"= "holy day". Christmas is a holy day; so is Hannukkah...
Different people have different holidays at this time of year, and that's okay. We don't have to feel threatened by each other =)
If I wish people a "happy holiday", it's not an attack on Christmas. It's a wish for happiness from my heart and a reach for union, not division.
big hugs!
Amen (no pun intended) to what Bridget said. There's nothing wrong with wishing people a happy holiday and letting them take it to mean whatever holiday they're celebrating. There are worse problems in this world -- in this country, in particular -- than whether your Christmas is being warred against. The whole "war" is just a machination by the right to create an enemy that doesn't exist and to pit people against each other so we'll ignore the fact that tons of dollars of Katrina money has never reached the victims or that our troops are dying unnecessarily daily in Iraq or that our own government has been spying on private citizens.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKHA, ENJOY YOUR KWANZA and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
;-)
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