where people get their panties in a bunch about the holidays.
People. There are lots of them. Lots of variety. Black, white, brown, and everything in between. Catholic, Jewish, non-secular and bunches more. Adult, child, infant, embryo. Male, Female, trans-gendered. Straight, gay. The differences never seem to end.
There are lots of celebrations this time of year. Chanukah/Hanukkah, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and a whole bunch more.
The media has chosen to hype Christmas. They’ve made it very popular. They’ve done a very good job at commercializing Christmas and Santa. And every year, it seems to be introduced earlier in the year. I saw Christmas decorations out at the same time as Halloween decorations. A bit early, in my opinion.
Since the media has chosen to popularize Christmas, those celebrating other holidays, or those who choose to celebrate Christmas without “Christ” have been looked down upon.
I don’t understand the refusal to accept other people’s beliefs. And it really gets heated about Christmas. Whether I choose to believe or disbelieve in God has nothing to do with this holiday season. There are many faiths and we all celebrate this season in much the same manner. With family. And giving. And celebrating those two together. There are also miracles celebrated. The birth of Christ, the miracle of a little oil lasting eight days, an appearance of an image on a gentleman’s cloak, and celebrations in race and the “old world”.
So, what difference does it make if I say to you Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas? Happy Hanukkah versus Happy Kwanzaa? As long as I’m wishing you joy during this season, you shouldn’t take offense.
According to the pie chart on this page: http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm who draws their information from the U.S. Center for World Mission, 33% of the people in the world are Christian. That means that 67% are not. 67% of the people do not celebrate Christmas. Keep in mind these are worldwide figures.
In the United States, 76% of people designate themselves as Christians, according to Wikipedia here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States . Yes, that’s the majority. But it’s not everyone.
So, please, when someone wishes you (as a majority-hold Christian) a Happy Holiday, don’t be offended. Say “Thank you and Merry Christmas to you.” It’s just your way of sharing your joy of the season and it is their way of sharing their joy of the season. Don’t be offended when you hear Happy Kwanzaa or Happy Hannukah either. Just because you (as a majority-hold Christian) are in the majority, doesn’t mean everyone celebrates the same holiday as you.
I also hope that if you happen to know a Jew, Pagan, African-American, etc. that upon their holiday, you wish them joy of their season. Or as an employer, you allow their family to celebrate and give employees off the time they deserve without consequence.
It’s all about acceptance. Acceptance of people in general. Their celebration might not be your cup of tea. But it’s not polite to poo-poo their celebrations. Let’s be polite and celebrate how we wish without judgement.
And please, no comments citing this quote and that quote for or against who started Christmas. You can find quotes all over the Internet. In fact, the two places that I cited earlier may or may not be reliable in the figures of the percentages of Christians in the world. But I pulled my figures from there – so I cited my references.
