Happy Holidays!

Are you offended by the words "Happy Holidays"? Neither am I. I believe most Christians are not. It is a perfectly pleasant salutation and appropriate for this time of the year. Since I was a little boy I remember people saying Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and even Seasons Greetings. I never once remember taking any offense to any of them. So why the big to do? There seems to be this conflict every year over the proper yuletide greeting, but where did it all begin?

There are those who would try to persuade you that it all began with with the beet red faces of angry Christians screaming a defiant MERRY CHRISTMAS at the top of their lungs in the faces of helpless check out girls. I don't remember it that way at all. It did start in the retail stores, at least that much is true. Clerks and cashiers at certain chains were told they could no longer say Merry Christmas to customers. Instead the brain trusts of certain retailers felt Happy Holidays was more appropriate, as Merry Christmas may be offensive, even if the profits from Christmas were not. As a Christian and an American this is what I found offensive.

So what started with retailers infringing on the free speech rights of their workers, has been twisted into a narrative about Christians simply hating the words Happy Holidays. Its is like someone used deception to manipulate the ignorant in order to turn an obviously poor position into a position of advantage in the midst of an otherwise reasonable debate. Sound familiar?

In the end I try not to take any of this very seriously lest I may be distracted from the true meaning of Christmas. Besides, Happy Holidays seems quite appropriate to me. Jesus is the reason for the holiday and that, my friend, makes me very happy!