Does being greeted by a cheery "Merry Christmas!" offend you? If it does, you need to change your perspective.
A person wishing you a Merry Christmas is only wishing you well. They're taking a religion-specific holiday that calls for charity and brotherly love and applying it to everyone in a warm, welcoming way.
They're not trying to convert.They're not trying to oppress. They're just being cheery.
We should appreciate a "Merry Christmas" in the same way weshould appreciate a "Happy Hanukkah" or a "Happy Ramadan." A person is sharing his or her culture with you in a welcoming way.
As such, the "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" debate needs to end.
A business using the happy holidays greeting does so because they want to avoid the hassle of an offended customer. We respect that decision, but we also respect the decision of individuals to avoid stores that don't share their values.
However, all of the irritation and arguing can end with everyone growing up and acknowledging that religious-based greetings aren't offensive.
To go a step further, religious-based parties or decorations in schools aren't a state endorsement of religion.
The yearly Christmas party doesn't communicate to children that they need to be Christian. It also doesn't trample on any other religion.
A school is a place of education, and a fourth-grade class can take a break from social studies and division for a day to learn about Christmas, Hannukah and any other holiday.
We believe Christmas, celebrated religiously or secularly, is an American holiday. It is a piece of American culture. It's something that we, as a nation and a people, can celebrate together.
It's fine to disagree--we respect that--but it's not fine to attempt to take Christmas out of our culture and our schools.
Would we erase the history of our country because we don't like it? We are not a secular people. Nearly 80 percent of this nation believes in a god.
To take every shred of faith from schools to the point of drowning out the echoes of Christmas with a "winter party" is foolish. It does not do our culture justice.
Believe it or not, there is an American culture of which Christianity is a part. Like it or not, Christian values were a part of the founding of our nation. The principles that guided our Founding Fathers have guided Christians for 2,000 years.
To atheist parents, the occasional atheist child and to followers of other religions, a cookies-and-cake party with a jolly, overweight, bearded guy handing out gifts for no reason should sound like a fun event.
Because Christmas has become more and more disassociated from the celebration of Jesus' birth, "Merry Christmas" should be viewed more as an expression of goodwill and charity than a statement of religious belief.
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