Have a Politically Correct Season of Nondenominational Origin

I don't envy the position of companies these days that have to navigate through the murky waters of political correctness around Christmas. For a long time, it was perfectly acceptable to wish a community "Merry Christmas" with the understanding that the greeting spoke to the vast majority of that community, but not everyone. Those to whom the greeting did not apply simply smiled politely, knowing that no ill will was intended.

Somewhere along the line, though, and not without well-intended reason, companies got the idea that the familiar greeting might be offensive to those who were not Christians, so they in many cases replaced "Christmas" with "Holiday" and hoped that would be sufficient to be as unoffensive as possible. "Christmas parties" became "holiday parties," and in some places, "Christmas trees" were even supplanted by "holiday trees." (WND.com image is from 2005, and interestingly, the Spanish translation uses "Christmas.")

But something happened.

A lot of people who celebrate Christmas began to see their traditions as being under assault. And to be fair, it wasn't just the corporations, but also government, as courts started to declare, out of the blue, certain contexts of nativity displays in or near public places "unconstitutional." Corporations that simply took note of these trends and tried to adapt to them didn't anticipate the antagonistic reaction they would get by these people who wanted the warmth and nostalgia that Christmastime has always brought to them.

That's the danger of making it your goal, instead of to please as many as possible, to offend no one.

It's a losing battle, for the human psyche is so diverse and complex, and social norms so fluid (Remember, there were times "high society" thought it perfectly fine to hold slaves and send gladiators and Christians to battle or be slaughtered in competition, for the entertainment of the masses), there is nothing that someone can't find reason to be offended by, if he is predisposed to take offense.

Better to know the difference between right and wrong yourself, to be able to objectively justify your actions than to stick your finger in the air and let the prevailing legal climate tell you how you should behave.

If that means you should say, "Merry Christmas," then so be it.

If your convictions lead you to "Happy Holidays" or "Happy Hanukkah," then that is what you should say.

Go ahead. I won't take offense. 

The only ones who by chance do not offend are those who have no discernible convictions that they can justify through thoughtful and objective reason, and that is more dangerous to the long-term health of your company than making your impossible goal to offend no one.

My general greeting to America is "Merry Christmas," and to those who do not share my faith, I still welcome you in friendship that we may pursue together the many convictions and goals we have in common. - Cam Beck

Comments

[Jim Stroup]

Terrific commentary, Cam. My vote for best line: "Better to know the difference between right and wrong yourself, to be able to objectively justify your actions than to stick your finger in the air and let the prevailing legal climate tell you how you should behave."

Unfortunately, as you note, many are literally driven to this in an effort to survive, since there are so many people out their laying in wait to litigate over even the most remotely plausible injury in order to extract quick, easy money in a settlement.

That's a happy holiday thought for you, isn't it?

Thanks again for highlighting this so clearly!

[Lisa Braithwaite]

A funny example of this was in a commercial I saw the other night. I don't remember what store was represented, but when the husband imagined giving the gift to his wife, he said, "Happy Holidays, honey."

I think you would probably know which holiday your spouse celebrates and wouldn't need to use a generic greeting like that. It was so ridiculous I laughed out loud.

Having been raised in a family that has half Jewish and half Christian roots but with no particular religious upbringing, this is a complex issue for me.

If someone says "Merry Christmas" to me, I say it back. If I don't know what someone celebrates, I say "Happy Holidays." Both are equally festive to me, and because I have a toe in more than one tradition, I don't feel like I'm compromising any personal ethics by using both greetings.

[Lewis Green]

Cam,

For me, the unintended result of the phrase "happy holidays" has been to diminish even further the reason we celebrate Christmas. It doesn't replace or subvert Kwanza or Hannukah. Christmas is a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Christ. And for we Christains to fear acknowledging such demeans the essence of Christ. (Businesses need not apply here. Christmas isn't about the birth of Christ nor should it be; it is about sales and comraderie between workers.)

For my Jewish friends, Happy Hannukah during Hannukah. To my Black friends, Happy Kwanza during Kwanza. But to those whose religion I do not know or who do not subscribe to one and to all my Christain friends, Merry Christmas.

[Cam Beck]

Everyone - Thank you for the feedback.

Lisa - To some (not to me since about 2001) Christmas is a secular holiday. Some of my Jewish friends even participate in gift-giving on December 25, irrespective of what the religious underpinnings of the day are.

Before I acknowledged and accepted Christ as my Lord and savior, Christmas was little more than a day to exchange gifts and be taken in by the "Christmas Spirit" that was exemplified by an omniscient, overweight elfish recluse who liked giving stuff away for free.

We celebrated Christmas as a matter of culture and tradition, not faith. The family I grew up with goes across the spectrum of religious beliefs, yet somehow we all get along and love one another.

Have we become a people too easily offended?

[Tony Chimento]

Maybe it's the punk in me. But when I find out a store has a no merry Christmas greeting policy, I go out of my way to wish all their employees merry Christmas. I know it's juvinile. But I find most employees are dying to say it but have a gag order. Apparently Walmart can say it if someone says it to them first. I agree with you that the "holidy" cheer is only for a small minority. What I also find amazing is that Jewish people don't mind if we greet them with merry Christmas. There seems to be mutual respect for people differing faiths. But the rest? Well I recommend they simply go to work on Dec 24th and 25th. If they don't want to celebrate, perhaps they could simply go to work since it's just another day right? This rant is now over.