​I say ......... Merry Christmas; by Joseph S. Bonsall (from 2003)

[Brewmeister 132]

I deal with this every year, but from a different point of view, as a non-Christian. I think the reason it's hard to understand the reactions is that the reactions you get to your “Merry Christmas†are not only different, but for different reasons, and often with varied purpose.

 

To get this out of the way, I appreciate anyone wishing me well, and am always glad they are embracing their faith. Where things change for me is where: a well-wishing is either an “feeler†for a potential faith conversion pitch; a placing of “the chip†on the shoulder, so that an attack can be made if the other person responds with a well wishing that is appropriate to their faith; and lastly when it is an act of political outrage. You can see by example some of the possible different reasons.

 

We live in a compound culture, a true mixing pot, as is evidenced at any large scout gathering. We should respect our differences, find strength in them, and act to protect “everyone’s right to the freedom of religionâ€Â.

 

I don’t mean to give offense by this, but all too often a zealous Christian will react in way that creates the stigma that causes the “PC†policies to be adopted. To better demonstrate my point, I’ll use my wife as an example. My wife works with the public, and just yesterday she had finished a transaction with a customer, who them wished her “Merry Christmasâ€Â, it had the intended effect, she genuinely felt good, and smiled, saying “and a Joyous Yule to youâ€Â. Her client’s reaction was: “Aren’t you allowed to say Merry Christmas?â€Â. My wife didn’t choose to respond with “Merry Christmas†because she could not, she chose not to, as we do not celebrate Christmas, but did return a heartfelt well wishing, that was not well received. The story does not end there, as my wife, assuming she was dealing with a reasonable human being, went on to explain that her employer did allow all employees to say “Merry Christmasâ€Â, but “Joyous Yule†was appropriate to her own beliefs. I’ll not reproduce the whole dialogue here, although as you can guess, I was told about every detail when my wife came home thoroughly upset, and clearly no longer enjoying her winter holiday. Will I will share is that the client did inform my wife that “Jesus is the reason for the seasonâ€Â, and she was sick to death of people trying to remove Jesus from his own holiday; followed by probing questions regarding my wife’s own beliefs, and repeated efforts to get her to “x†religious leader, so that she can hear the truth, and be put on the correct path. The icing on the cake was when a supervisor asked my wife what had happened, and after hearing her explanation responded with “couldn’t you just say Merry Christmasâ€Â. Now my wife fears religious persecution in the work place.

 

Does seeing this from another point of view help you understand? I deeply revere the teaching of Jesus Christ, and from my understanding of his ministry, can’t imagine this woman’s actions were in keeping with his teachings. The sad thing is, from my experience, about 1 in 3 Christians react in a similar way. The end effect, polies, and laws, are adopted to protect everyone, and their religious practices.

 

I wish everyone could act like the mature, educated, adults we are, and everyone would accept all “well wishingâ€Â, with a big smile, and a warm heart … maybe one day we all can sit at the table of equality, and there will truly be peace on earth.

You're in good company with Christ, Ox. He celebrated a lot of Holy-days, but Christmas wasn't one of them.

[Rick_in_CA 401]

For Christmas dinner we had the traditional (for our family) leg of lamb with focaccia, two vegetable dishes, green salad and price pilaff. Pumpkin pie and lots of other baked goods for desert. Yummy!

[Old_OX_Eagle83 212]

Rick that sounds good, although I enjoyed my Duck

[Pack18Alex 92]

Every Dec 24th I'm at Home Depot before it closes... Always do a home improvement project with a full clear day and no obligations. Cashier was shocked at my materials that I was having for Christmas Eve. I told her that I was Jewish, so it worked out. She got embarrassed, nervous, and I just smiled at her and said, "Have a Merry Christmas." She beamed like it made her day. This Jew hoped y'all had a merry Christmas. We enjoy the display of lights and cheer, though we avoid the malls for a month - mall holiday season makes me fear I'll hurt someone... But I am quite comfortable in my religion. I'm Jewish and a practicing Jew, not Jewish in the I'm not Christian style. I have lots of holidays, I see not reason to begrudge my holiday-challenged gentile friends theirs. A few of my Jewish friends and I were very inspired this Christmas. The families that go all out are truly inspiring. As Jews we have lots of rules and few avenues of raw expression. I told someone I was to approach Passover cleaning with the joy and excitement of the families with a 1000k light display. They thought I was nuts...

[packsaddle 753]

Every Dec 24th I'm at Home Depot before it closes... Always do a home improvement project with a full clear day and no obligations. Cashier was shocked at my materials that I was having for Christmas Eve. I told her that I was Jewish, so it worked out. She got embarrassed, nervous, and I just smiled at her and said, "Have a Merry Christmas." She beamed like it made her day. This Jew hoped y'all had a merry Christmas. We enjoy the display of lights and cheer, though we avoid the malls for a month - mall holiday season makes me fear I'll hurt someone... But I am quite comfortable in my religion. I'm Jewish and a practicing Jew, not Jewish in the I'm not Christian style. I have lots of holidays, I see not reason to begrudge my holiday-challenged gentile friends theirs. A few of my Jewish friends and I were very inspired this Christmas. The families that go all out are truly inspiring. As Jews we have lots of rules and few avenues of raw expression. I told someone I was to approach Passover cleaning with the joy and excitement of the families with a 1000k light display. They thought I was nuts...

You just reminded me that my kids used to enjoy their role as shabbat goy while visiting in NY for Christmas. It was a great opportunity to learn about a culture in a way that would be almost impossible by any other means.