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December 24, 2006
The War On Christmas
The whole "Secular Humanists are trying to destroy Christmas by insisting that people say "Happy Holidays"" thing is really driving my crazy, for several reasons.
I think that what bothers me most is that, let's face it, Christmas is observed by more secular humanists than any other holiday. I don't know anyone that is not Jewish that celebrates Hanukkah, or any non-Muslims that fast for Ramadan. I don't know anyone at all that celebrates Kwanzaa.
But I know tons of non-religious, even atheistic people that celebrate Christmas. I am about the most secular humanist that you will ever find, and while I don't have a tree or a nativity scene around, I have Christmas presents. For me Christmas has very little to do with the seizure of a pagan festival for Catholic recruiting (it's traditional meaning), and everything to do with separating the people I know into those who are worthy of a present,and those who are not. Really, isn't that the true reason for the season?
Personally, I started consciously saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" at least ten years ago. The reason, surprisingly, wasn't because I wanted to destroy the (apparently very, very fragile) foundations of modern Christianity. It was because what I was trying to communicate with this well wishing was not about me - it was about the person I was wishing well to. While I might be celebrating Christmas, when I wished well to someone, I had no idea what holiday they might be celebrating, and it seemed a bit, well, dickish to assume that I could impose my holiday on them. So I started saying "Happy Holidays". Because it's not about what I want - it's about what I am wishing for them.
And that, I think, is what people like Bill O'Reilly will never get - that, for a moment, it is not about them.
Posted at December 24, 2006 10:36 PM in General
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