COEXIST: Poetry, Books, and Essays by Diane Vogel Ferri
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Happy Holidays v. Merry Christmas - COEXIST
Coexist with all holidays.
As a Christian I do not understand why some people of my faith insist that everyone wish them a Merry Christmas. I really don't get it. As a Christian, or just as a sensitive human being, surely we realize that everyone in the world doesn't celebrate Christmas - whether we want them to or not. The Bible is full of directives to love everyone, and in loving others we respect them. It matters not whether we agree with them.
Romans 14 says "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."
It also says " The man who eats everything must not look down on the man who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn. Who are you to judge someone else's servant?"
To me that says it all. We are to respect other people's choices and not judge. "Christians" who insist that everyone acknowledge only their chosen holiday are being disrespectful, insensitive and offensive themselves. It is not, in fact, everyone's holiday! Live in the real world.
If someone says Happy Holidays to you - is your faith so small that it somehow would change your beliefs or your celebration of them? Of course not. So why force your beliefs on others. God gave all of his creations free will - and that goes for everyone, not just Christians.
I follow a group called "Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented" on Facebook and that is how I feel almost everyday.
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7 comments:
Thanks for this common-sense and reasonable explanation. It reflects my feelings exactly.
This is what I've been thinking secretly in my head for years but too afraid to say it out loud. Thanks for letting me. I always felt funny saying "Merry Christmas" to someone I knew was Jewish and never expect them NOT to tell me Happy Hanukkah. To me it's just wishing everyone, no matter what their beliefs, happiness and love. That's the bottom line. I am just being respectful and covering it all when I wish someone "Happy Holidays"...that's way better than wishing them nothing at all or forcing my beliefs on them. At the same time, when I do wish someone Merry Christmas I do not mean any disrespect if they are not Christian...again, just merely wishing them happiness and love. This whole thing has gotten way out of hand...thanks for being the voice of reason. Merry Christmas Diane! Thank you for posting this!
This makes a lot of sense to me, too. Thanks, Diane.
My only issue when it comes to greetings are the people who try and stop christians from using the phrase Merry Christmas all together. I don't know who celebrates what so I say Merry Christmas and they can wish me a Happy Hannukah or Kwanza. Whatever it is that they may be celebrating. I've always viewed happy holidy's as a phrase that highly offended people force people of various religons to use because they are afraid of faith. I won't stop celebrating my holiday because someone has gentle feelings. For me personally not being able to say Merry Christmas is like taking christmas away from me. Perhaps that's why I haven't felt in the christmas spirit for some years now.
I love the verses you posted and it makes a lot of sense. I tend to agree with the above poster who is more against the idea of not being able to say MC because it might offend someone. I don't mind being wished Happy Holidays or whatnot, not at all. I wish someone would wish me Happy Hanukkah, I think it would be neat as I have Jewish roots. :) I don't like the political correctness that is forced on everyone when a large percentage of folks in the U.S. put up a tree, stick presents under it and call it Christmas, no matter the religious affiliation.
Great post, Diane! I might just have to post those verses to challenge my "strict" Christian friends. See how they handle that. lol
I've never encountered a time when I was told I could NOT say Merry Christmas. I understand why businesses & government may choose a more generic greeting, but that doesn't stop me from saying Merry Christmas in return. I'm just grateful that someone is wishing me happiness. My faith is strong enough that whether or not that wish contains my belief system is of no consequence.
Also, if you look into the history of why we celebrate Christmas when we do and the origins in the festival of Saturnalia/Winter Solstice, it's really not such a holy time.
The dates were chosen as almost a sort of marketing tool to help early Christians feel like they didn't have to give up the pagan Saturnalia celebration in order to be a follower of Christ.
Totally agree! As Christians we need to keep our faith in our hearts moreso than defensively wearing it on our sleeve.
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