Fun fact: According to Snopes.com, Wikipedia, and various religious sources, “Xmas” is an ancient and proper abbreviation for the coming holiday. The “X” looks like the Greek letter, translated “Chi,” the first letter of “Christos.” The not so fun fact: Somehow, the holiday of such promise and generosity has become the source of such offense to those who avoid it and celebrate it. Some haggard retail worker may say, “Happy holidays!” while another may wish you, “Merry Christmas!” You may not hear the exclamation point in some their greetings the closer you get to the holiday of hope and happiness, however. In between turning a massive television’s packaging around looking for the bar code and waiting for the next shopper to start retrieving the checkbook after every Elsa doll and Ninjago set has already been scanned and bagged, said worker may use the wrong greeting. Invariably, someone will take offense. I’m not going to take up arms in the war of Christmas right now, but I’ll toss a rock in the greetings scuffle.
First, let’s look at the obvious. There is more than one holiday near the end of the year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day all occur in a little over two months time. Those are four active, spend heavy holidays meaning candy, decorations, travel, food, gifts, and gatherings. This time, the beginning of November, may seem more logical to wish someone “happy holidays” when you’ve barely begun deciding whether to bake the turkey as usual or take the plunge and fry it. However, by mid December, when sleigh bell enthusiasts dust off their sheet music, many will be listening to notice who says what and when. Personally, I’m a bit of a literalist. I don’t say “Happy Friday!” on Wednesday. I don’t expect birthday wishes in March when mine is in April. While I love the holiday, I don’t always say “Merry Christmas” when it’s not Christmas Day. However, I know people who do, and that’s okay, too. To some, the gravity of what the holiday means cannot be limited to share on just the government sanctioned calendar day to do so.
I invite you to focus on the “happy” and “merry” parts of the greetings in question and less on whether or not your support or condemnation of a holiday is pacified. How odd it is to hear anger as a response to not recognizing Christmas. “It’s the day marking hope for mankind’s redemption and reconnection with our creator, you jerk. Now get it right before I demand to see your supervisor!” The other side of the argument, to me, has a similar sound. “Get this cheerful, joyful, generous crap out of my happily grumpy face!” Note these are not equal positions. I believe onus is on the one offering grace to find empathy with the one lacking; much like the One who originally gives grace is also not a bully. Remember, too, Xmas is difficult for those who’ve lost someone. Perhaps make your first gift this season gentleness.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Happy holidays?