In Defense of the Happy Holidays Greeting


Recently, I greeted an acquaintance with, "Happy Holidays!"  What I received in return was the most unexpected reply, "Come on, Linda, you mean Merry Christmas, don't you?"

Since I knew that this particular person was Christian, it might have seemed more appropriate to wish a Merry Christmas as I left, but we were in a public venue with people who I knew did not celebrate the Christian holy day of Christmas, let alone the secular version.  So... the greeting of Happy Holidays as I was leaving seemed very appropriate.

As you can see from the picture above, there are many Holy/holi days in the winter months.  The ones pictured include six that are not Christian. Since I work, live and communicate in a multicultural, multi-faith traditioned society, I believe wishing others a happy holiday is A. kind, B. thoughtful and C. more than appropriate.

I also think about that adage that many use, "What would Jesus do?"  Well, first of all, Jesus wouldn't have said "Merry Christmas," because it didn't exist in his day.  Since I believe that Jesus was inclusive and preached the commandment to "Love one another,"  I think he would tell us not to be so egocentric and realize that sharing the Creator's Love means being inclusive.  

By the way, this isn't a new idea.  I learned it as a child from my mother.  We lived in South Boston, which many think of as the "Irish" enclave of Boston; however, having grown-up there, I can tell you that while the Irish were in the majority, we had a very ethnically diverse community.  So, when the Jewish pharmacist, who worked across the street from my home was celebrating Chanukah, my mother would always greet him with, "Happy Chanukah, Max!"  Likewise, when the Chinese family down the street was celebrating their New Year's, my mother would greet them accordingly.  When she wasn't sure what holiday someone would be celebrating, she would simply smile and say, "Happy holidays to you!"

So, the next time someone is thoughtful and kind enough to wish you a happy holidays, don't get your knickers in a twist!  Return their kindness with a smile, saying "Same to you!"

Blessings of this season of Love, Light and Peace no matter how you celebrate it.

Namasté!

More reading:

From Christmas to Diwali 
  
Multicultural Winter Holiday Celebrations 

Teaching Multiculturalism and Diversity 

Holiday Themed Lesson Plans for the Year  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul

Image
As we progress through Poetry Month, I have been reading many of my old poetry books. Some are journals into which Momma placed her favorites poems, which are now my favorite poems. One of my absolute top ten poems is: If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. This beautiful verse was written by MOSLIH EDDIN (MUSLIH-UN-DIN) SAADI (SADI ) , who was a major Persian poet of the medieval times. It is just one of the many beautiful verses in his book Gulistan ("The Rose Garden") . (Photo Credit) ~~~~~~ Also from Gulistan, is the verse which visitors find at the entrance to the United Nations Hall of Nations. It reads: Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul . If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot
Read more

Words as Balm - Words as Pain

Image
My mother, bless her, gave me many solid ideals upon which to base my life. One of her favorite bits of advise was, "If you don't have something good to day, don't say anything." You see, words, regardless of what the nursery rhyme states, do hurt. They can literally maim another person's spirit, integrity, and mind. Alternately, words can be the balm that heals the spirit, builds the integrity and comforts the mind. While we may have all the intentions in the world of saying something good, I have learned that sometimes, what we say can either be mistaken or said in a careless way that unintentionally hurts others. I know this first hand, because, as my mother told me, I had chronic foot and mouth disease (F&M)...in other words, I was constantly putting my foot in my mouth by saying things that I shouldn't. As an extremely inquisitive child, I wanted to know why people had crutches, why our skin was different colors, why some people didn't have clean
Read more

Grandchildren Connections - Guest Post

Image
 Today, I have the honor of sharing a guest post with the author of I Can't Wait to Love You Forever, Patricia Eckerman Ambas.  I highly recommend this book both for the content and the illustrations. I wished I had a copy of it way back when I was raising my girls. Patricia is a talented writer. I hope you enjoy her post. Grandchildren Connections Grandparents are powerful forces. The ones who can be the second parents, but more of the love and fun, and less of the discipline. Not even close to being a grandmother yet, I consider myself close to the source of what grandchildren want (as a beloved and loving granddaughter myself) and raising three children who have a close connection with both sets of grandparents. I have two tips to share with you that can begin to cultivate a stronger relationship with your grandchildren.  One of the reasons I’m sharing on this topic is that I’m finding some of my biggest book fans are grandparents. They love buying my books for their grandchildr
Read more