During a day of stops at several stores and two restaurants, I made a point of telling every clerk, associate and counter person; “Merry Christmas.” In the Christian bookstore, the person at the cash register was actually saying both “Merry Christmas” and “God Bless You.” Outside of a Christian book store these days, that person might be in jeopardy of dismissal because someone would most surely complain. With only one exception, all the people working at the restaurants and the other retail stores said only “Happy Holidays.”
If we have come to a point where saying Merry Christmas is politically incorrect, then I am all for breaking some rules. December 25th has always been Christmas to me ever since I was a child. There was no other holiday that we celebrated that day and the day before has always been Christmas Eve. A person can point out that the first six letters in Christmas spell Christ and that should be proof enough of the true meaning of the day, but no doubt, someone will argue that. Believe me, I have already heard the arguments.
A few brave retailers have stuck to mentioning Christmas in their commercials but most have caved and exclude those words altogether. In the next few years, it is unlikely that we will see the phrase Merry Christmas anywhere publicly. It’s not enough that the holiday has always been Christmas because it will be a distant memory before you know it. The only people who will still repeat the phase will be the people at Christmas Eve church services in the dwindling number of churches across the country. Do we really have anything to gain by eliminating “Merry Christmas” from the American vernacular?
Many of my Jewish friends over the years recognized Christmas alongside Hanukkah and were never offended by hearing “Merry Christmas.” You almost have to ask yourself who is swaying the retailers and municipalities and even the general public away from the American tradition of celebrating Christmas and recognizing it for what it is? And maybe more importantly, who is willing to take a stand to bring it back to what it was when I was a child?
Joy, Peace, Love, Giving; it’s all in those first six letters.
