Why do they hate Jesus so much?

In Terrebonne Parish, La., an organization is petitioning to add "Merry Christmas" to the red-lighted "Season's Greetings" sign on the main government building and is selling yard signs that read, "We believe in God. Merry Christmas." And a Raleigh, N.C., church recently paid $7,600 for a full-page newspaper ad urging Christians to spend their money only with merchants who include the greeting "Merry Christmas" in ads and displays.

(That's from this AP story.)  Now, I'm (somewhat) religious, and I don't understand all this brouhaha.  Nor do I like it.  A merchant's using "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" isn't displaying some sort of evil, anti-Christian intent.  They're a.) making a smart business decision, in trying to avoid alienating the non-Christians out there, and b.) simply being polite.

I know this offends the nutjobs out there, but this is not a monotheistic country.  The majority is Christian, yes, but there are certainly lots of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, what-have you.  How does coercing stores to display "Merry Christmas" signs further the Christian message?  Instead, it says "We're going to jam this down your throat, and we don't give a damn how you feel about it." 

Which brings me back to the title of this post.  See, the Christian message (to me, at least) is a beautiful expression of love, forgiveness, and peace.  These activists' attempts, like the conservative/fundamentalist hatred of gay people, the insistence on the death penalty, and the close-minded stance regarding anyone who doesn't believe exactly what they believe, seem to me to be a perversion of that Christian message.

More from the AP:

In California, a group called the Committee to Save Merry Christmas is boycotting Macy's and its corporate parent, Federated Department Stores, accusing them of replacing "Merry Christmas" signs with ones wishing shoppers "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays." The organization cites "the recent presidential election showing political correctness is offending millions of Americans."

To which August Pollak has the best response:

So let me get this straight... a Christian group is boycotting Macy's because it won't say "Merry Christmas," as a means to protect the... commercialization of Christmas?

I get the deal with feeling free expression is repressed and all that (even if I don't agree with that rhetoric), but this is ridiculous. Granted, I'm not religious, and I think "Happy Holidays" is as much decent marketing sense as it is cultural sensitivity. But amidst this culture of "protecting religion," Christians are now angry that secular concepts like Santa and "Merry Christmas" banners are being removed in favor of a generic tiding of good cheer for all people, allowing Christian (and all other religions') concepts to be placed at a more private, personal level? As if that's not, you know, a good thing?

They're not defending Christmas... they're defending Christmas-themed merchandising. Wow.

Man, here I was thinking that the holidays were about unity and the celebration of family with those you love. No, turns out it's about who gets what sign of their preference over the $7.95 DVD Bargain Bin. Silly me.

What Would Jesus Buy?

Comments

[alan taylor]

I heard some Right-winger on the radio last night (I think it was Sean Hannity) bemoaning the use of "Happy Holidays" as a casual greeting at this time of year - he suggested that you respond "Merry Christmas!", in a most snotty way, intoning "You meant to say Merry Christmas!". What an ubelievable prick. Why in the world would one contravent an innocuous happy greeting into a generalized "Fuck You".

[Vidiot]

Exactly. People are giving you their good wishes. It's beyond rude to correct them.

My girlfriend (who is Jewish) says "Happy Holidays" all the time. If someone "corrects" her, telling her that she meant to say "Merry Christmas" instead, they'll get an earful.

[Jason Whong]

I'm finding in Elmira that if someone I deal with on a weekly basis says "Happy Holidays" it's because they don't know me well enough to know whether I celebrate Christmas. Perhaps my unusual looking last name has something to do with that. In any case, I don't get snotty about it... I can sense their trepidation at selecting the right greeting, so I just laugh and welcome them to wish me a Merry Christmas if they would like to.

However, it does worry me that people feel nervous about whether they can mention Christmas to anyone but their closest friends.

As for Macy's taking "Merry Christmas" out of their ads, I would prefer to see both Christmas and Hanukkah greetings. If they feel the need to put a Kwanzaa greeting, they should do that, too, but without context (or a community nearby that cares about it) it is meaningless.

At work someone took it upon herself to post "the history of Hanukkah" and "the story of Kwanzaa" on the wall... but not the history of Christmas. It actually got me somewhat upset.

[Vidiot]

However, it does worry me that people feel nervous about whether they can mention Christmas to anyone but their closest friends.

That's a good point. I think that Christians are called to be good people, and I think that assuming the best intentions of people, trying not to anger anyone, and being slow to anger ourselves are the least that we can do.

I think one of the reasons "Happy Holidays" sounds so canned is that it's been overused, and it has been used by merchants -- who may be sincerely trying to express good wishes without offending any potential customers -- so it may have some sort of commercial air about it.

I'm not saying we need a new way to say "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings", because then that new way will go the way of those other phrases. But I have looked people in the eye, and genuinely wished them a very happy holiday season, without knowing their faith.

It's interesting, what you say about someone posting the histories of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. In one sense, it's kind of insulting, as you allude. In another sense, I can see the motive behind it -- almost an "affirmative action" sort of approach, to provide the context that far fewer people know (as compared to the Christmas story, at least.) I think it may have been a good-hearted gesture, but it still strikes me as a clumsy one.

[Jason Whong]

Yeah, I'm sure they meant well. I guess nobody told them that inclusiveness was fine as long as it was really inclusive.

It also ties in to something else I ranted about recently - are you who I think you are at gmail? If not, I sent the rant to the wrong person...