Happy Holidays

What a beautiful day it was today. After a week of bitter cold and a fair dumping of snow for November, today was like a postcard. Just slightly below freezing, and gently falling snow. With the city already blanketed by the accumulation of snow, and the Christmas lights started to appear in earnest, it made for a perfect holiday scene. And though the temperature is supposed to rise over the next few days and all this snow will soon be gone, right now it looks a lot like Christmas.

Which bring me to one of the silliest manufactured "issues" that concerns dozens of people, particularly in the U.S. - the "War on Christmas". I confess that as a Jew, I'm not the most qualified to talk about people's sensitivities about this, but I think it's ridiculous. John Gibson, Fox News anchor, has written a book on the subject titled The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought. (Fair & Balanced Faux News strikes again.) But he's not the loudest voice at Fox News on this topic. Bill O'Reilly is championing this cause. He is keeping track of all the major retailers who do not mention the word "Christmas" in their advertising, or who greet their customers with "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" instead of "Merry Christmas".

Let's get real for a moment. I am not offended in the least when somebody wishes me a Merry Christmas. I realize that about 85% of North America is of Christian background, and it's part of the culture. I happen to like many aspects of the Christmas season, which were actually borrowed from various solstice celebrations pre-dating Jesus - it's the reason why Christmas is in December in the first place. (In some ways, it's unfortunate that they were usurped by Christmas and there isn't a secular Winter celebration, but that's a topic for another day.) I can't say I know of that many people who are greatly offended by Christmas greetings. But, honestly, how can anybody be offended by Happy Holidays? It might be bland and generic, but offensive? When there are trees and reindeer and Santas and red trim everywhere in a store, can you really say that they aren't recognizing Christmas or they're anti-Christian? I suppose there are a few people who won't shop at those stores. They'd rather shop where they are greeted by "Merry Christmas" and can buy goods that were made by 6-year-olds for ten cents a day.

There are some legitimate arguments about whether public displays of Christianity are suppressed where other religions are represented. I think that's wrong too, and have no problem with a nativity scene appearing alongside a Hannukah menorah. But to suggest a "War on Christmas", or that the holiday is somehow dying out, is more than a bit over the top. The fact that O'Reilly has taken up the cause is another indicator that it's a bogus issue. If anything, true Christians should be happy if retail stores don't exploit the word Christmas to encourage sales and commercialize the sacred holiday. I don't think there was anything capitalist about Jesus.