“Merry Christmas!” An iconic, traditional and cheery American greeting at Christmas time, full of love and good wishes, delivered with a smile. Some today strive to squelch this joyous tradition, demanding its replacement with “Happy Holidays.” If you are so inclined to use the alternative, fine, doesn’t bother me a bit, but some folks are militantly demanding that Merry Christmas be deemed inappropriate for public discourse. Their justification is “inclusiveness.”
Inclusiveness is good, but who exactly are we excluding with our national holiday?
A recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University shows 67 percent of U.S. residents prefer to say “Merry Christmas,” 18 percent pick “Happy Holidays” while 15 percent are indifferent or prefer people say nothing (Bah, Humbug!). Interestingly, 89 percent think Christmas today is more about presents and consumerism than religion.
The “Holiday Season” is overwhelmingly about two of the great monotheistic world religions, Judaism and Christianity, which both celebrate in December two of their most important holy days, Hanukkah and Christmas. Kwanzaa, created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 to celebrate African traditions, also occurs in December, but is celebrated by only 500,000 to 1 million Americans, a number which is far eclipsed by the number of celebrants (of all ethnicities) of Hanukkah and Christmas. So, is this a cultural war between Jews and Christians?
No. It is a good thing for us to be more sensitive of our fellow Americans’ traditions and beliefs, so I respect those who choose “Happy Holidays.” Respect for those traditions, however, true respect, doesn’t mean simply deference, as these two great religions have much to embrace. The term “Judeo-Christian values” is relevant to this discussion, and what the holidays are truly about. As a kid growing up in the San Fernando Valley, a large percentage of my friends then, just like now, were Jewish. My mother would send us out to take Christmas cookies and goodies to our friends in the neighborhood, delivered with a loving heart and big smiles. Sometimes I would receive a hearty “Happy Hanukkah” in response. The thought of being offended by that is bizarre to me, and my mother’s frosted cookies shaped like a Christmas tree, Santa Claus or Rudolph were heartily consumed without offense. I would be invited in (“Eat! Eat!”), whether it was the wonderful Buddhist Japanese family next door, the Catholics across from them, the Baptists behind our house or my Jewish friends around the corner. Often, there would be Christmas music playing, including “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin, or “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Ralph Blane-—both composers were Jewish, by the way.
Christmas in medieval Europe was a time of horrible persecution for Jews, but not in America. Nine hundred years ago, Maimonides predicted that the Jewish Bible’s connection to Christianity would bring these great faiths together, and America has manifested this. Individually, Americans are the most diverse people in the history of the world, but we have common cultural traditions that bind us as a people. The American Christmas tradition is one of love and goodwill for all people, a time of giving and peace. The Talmud calls this “darchei shalom,” or “ways of peace.” Christmas as celebrated in America personifies the very best of the human spirit and dignity, with praise to God for all of our blessings.
And there is the real rub in modern America, that whole thing about God. The controversy isn’t between religions, it is about religion. Radical secular people are deeply offended by religion in the public square, believing that freedom of religion means freedom from religion. Sorry, but not sorry. My heart swells when I see the Nativity and large Menorah on PCH, and I’m not going to hide it. Christians believe they are commanded by God to love their neighbors, and Christmas is the time they celebrate the birth of Jesus who gave that commandment to them. When a Christian, or a Jew, Buddhist or even an atheist says, “Merry Christmas” in America, they are saying; “Be happy!” “Have a heart full of Love!” and “I care about you!” We smile at strangers, we give each other gifts, we travel many miles to be with our families, we send loving cards to each other, we feed the poor and we gather around and have feasts from the bounty that is our country.
The secular radicals will fail. They will stand lonely and cold outside like the fabled Grinch having stolen all the decorations and presents, and yet they will still see our love for each other and hear our songs. Yet I still hope for them: “And then the true meaning of Christmas came through. And the Grinch found the strength of 10 Grinches, plus two.” So without apology, I wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!