Merry Christmas!!!

If you are atheist, say "Happy Holidays". If you are Jewish "Happy Hanukkah" will be your choice of warm wishes. If you celebrate Kwanzaa then you will have yet something different to say. I am sure the list can go on.

What bothers me, is that so many become so angry if you say one of these phrases and they don't believe in that faith. It bothers me even more when retail establishment owners have to over look their beliefs to appease the masses.

I am Christian. I say Merry Christmas. If I said Happy Hanukkah then it wouldn't mean nearly as much coming from my lips, as I probably don't know all of the nuances taught in the Jewish religion about this particular religious holiday. If I say Happy Holiday's it feels too generic. It doesn't carry the warm currents that Merry Christmas does for me, and the feelings I wish to share.

The reason I am saying all of this is to make my next statement more understandable (I hope).

If someone who celebrated Hanukkah wished me a Happy Hanukkah, I would answer them with a "Thank you. Merry Christmas!" I would be thanking them for wishing me their warmest feelings during this season, and I would be extending my own. Not correcting them, or telling them that I am not Jewish, or trying to force my beliefs on them. I would truly be touched that they would take what is important to them and wish to share that with me. I wouldn't want them to say Merry Christmas to me, as it would be a relatively empty phrase as they aren't followers of the same faith I am. They would only be saying it, to be polite, and not because they meant it. If I went into a Jewish market and saw a Merry Christmas sign, I would be taken aback as they would only say that to appeal to others instead of sharing what they believe and all of the emotion and caring available in their own faith and it's traditions.

We should be who we are, and not be afraid to show what we believe. We should not be offended by what is different, but take things as they are meant. If you don't believe in the story behind the Christmas holiday, and I say Merry Christmas to you, please understand that I am not trying to convert you, only share the feelings that the holiday brings me. It is the feeling behind the words, not the words that are important.