I'm sitting at work, I'm currently supposed to be answering phones and it might just be the most boring assignment ever. And I started thinking about something that happened recently.
Someone asked me if I thought saying "Merry Christmas" in a retail store was offensive. Now, at first glance those words look rather harmless, and I would be one of the first on the "tell everyone you pass to have a happy and joyous Christmas" bandwagon. But I started pondering why I would be asked that question in the first place. I remembered working at Target and how we were always told to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas but it was never really explained why we had to differentiate. Now I see the difference. Saying "Merry Christmas" only includes one holiday, saying "Happy Holiday's" includes all of them, and whether you like it or not, agree with it or not there are other holidays around this time of year besides Christmas. So really, its just good manners.
I told the person who asked me that I thought it would be better for a person working in that kind of environment to say "Happy Holidays" just to avoid offending anyone. This person looked at me like I had just sprouted a third arm out of my forehead. "But its Christmas time!" they replied. They were so angry by my answer, and so confused as to why I did not agree with them that they immediately launched into a lecture about how ridiculous it was for "us" to sacrifice our Christmas season and greeting just to accomodate a few people.
I considered explaining that the reason Christmas is at the end of December every year is because the early Christians needed a way to convert the pagans and so they combined their main religious holiday with the pagan's main religious holiday...the winter solstice. But I refrained and instead said that we weren't "accomodating" a "few" people, but a large percentage of the United States population, let alone the global population. And that they should be more considerate because I doubt they would like it very much if someone came up to them and said "Happy Hahnukah" or "Merry Kwanza" and then thought they were ridiculous for not realizing it was the same season.
My point is, we all need to be a little more tolerant of each other. Especially given what time of year it is, and why everyone keeps saying this season is all about.
Happy Holiday's everyone!!!!
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