Taking A Stand: Christ should come first in Christmas
Maybe I’m just confused from all the eggnog I drank over Christmas, but when did we take the “Christmas” out of Christmas?
Hey, I know the marketers took Christ out of Christmas long ago to save a few inches on their “Sale” signs so they get more bang for their buck. For years, I’ve refused to do business with places who use the word Xmas in place of Christmas. I feel if you, as a business owner, feel it’s okay to take Christ out of Christmas, then I, as a consumer, will take my money out of your profit margin.
However, the most recent trend doesn’t appear to be so much market based as it is aimed at being politically correct. And, it appears the masses are following right into this trend, based on what I’ve seen and heard.
I’m referring to the common use of term “Happy Holidays” in place of the traditional “Merry Christmas” greeting. In case you haven’t noticed, almost every television commercial, especially those recorded outside the Nashville area, almost never say Merry Christmas. Their greeting has commonly been replaced with Happy Holidays.
This year, I not only saw it on television, but I’ve begun hearing the greeting from people in these parts. This is especially disturbing when you consider this is the Bible Belt. It appears the mass media change in how we refer to Christmas has taken hold.
Why has this happened? It’s part of a concerted attempt to be all-inclusive. The national media and big retailers don’t want to risk offending any certain set of people seeing there are several holidays this time a year in additional to Christmas, these include Hanukkah and Kwanza.
The thing which is lost in this change in reference is the fact Christmas is not a secular holiday, it’s a religious holiday. New Year is a secular holiday, Kwanza is a secular holiday, Christmas and Hanukah are not. They are based on religious beliefs. Hey, it’s hard to miss when Christ’s name is in the name of the holiday.
There’s no reason for political correctness when it comes to the name of Christmas. For us Christians, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, therefore we are celebrating something religious for which we’ve historically marked a holiday. It just so happens even those who are not believers can take part in a secular portion of the day, that being the tradition of giving, Santa and sitting on the couch watching football. However, to try to strip this time of year of its religious importance in the name of political correctness is just plain wrong.
There’s been places which have boycotted businesses which use the term Happy Holidays the way I now boycott Xmas businesses. This may not be such a bad idea. And, given the fact the religious right came out of its hibernation during the past election, maybe it’s time the silent majority again spoke up, this time to save Christmas. However, contrary to the old story of saving Christmas from the Grinch, this time we need to save Christmas from the politically correct. Hey, economic impact is the only way you get the attention of the mass media and big corporations.
I, for one, will greet you with “Merry Christmas” next season. If you are Jewish, I will try to remember to say Happy Hanukah. However, the neutered reference of Happy Holidays will not be uttered from these lips. Pick a side and stick with it. Sitting on the fence is for cowards.
Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].