Tony Brewer

I have been getting a lot of emails from people lately telling me that they are upset that the trend in the stores and society in general has been to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” They theorize that the stores are trying to be politically correct and remove the Christian faith from the face of the earth. And then they go on to say that they aren’t going to shop at stores that don’t “celebrate” Christmas by putting “Merry Christmas” on their bags and banners and packaging.

I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. I really don’t think that this is any kind of scheme to de-Christian-ize anything. I think it is a good-faith attempt to be all-inclusive and embrace diversity. I see so many bumper stickers that say WWJD. I understand that to mean What Would Jesus Do? I think that in a similar situation Jesus would preach tolerance and love and embrace everyone, regardless whether they are Jewish, or Muslim, or Christian. I think that this campaign to essentially boycott those businesses that are wishing everyone a Happy Holiday season, regardless of whether it is a Jewish, or Christian, or Muslim, or any other culture is preaching intolerance, and I have to really wonder how “Christian” is that?

And after all, everyone does know (don’t they) that December 25th is not REALLY the true anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ! That is just a day that was arbitrarily picked out that coincides with pagan festivals that celebrate the passing of the winter solstice. I don’t think that was a coincidence, either. I wonder if that was a deliberate decision to increase the appeal of Christianity to the pagan populace.

A few years ago I saw a “Holiday Card” that said something along the lines of “Merry Christmukah” or something along that line. I laughed like crazy and bought it for a friend of mine who is Jewish but who also celebrates Christmas with a Christmas tree and presents for friends and family. Of course he loved it too!

So, give it a break, people, what is wrong with wishing everyone that is celebrating a holiday of some kind, regardless of their culture, to have a happy one? I think nothing is wrong with it at all!