Rebranding Christmas to be 'Politically Correct?' No Way

Controversy is everywhere. Even for those who try and avoid negativity it just seems to jump out at us.

As I was walking out of the grocery store the other night, yes it was night because I was shopping for ingredients to make something for one of the many events this time of the year calls for, I caught a glimpse of the front page headline of the Newspaper and it read, in bold print: "DEATH." This is not good news. 

The tragedy that took place in Cheshire in 2007 which made national news has culminated in a final guilty verdict followed by a judicial decision of the death penalty.  Despite all of the controversy and coverage over this case there is nothing good in this news; justice does not bring the dead back to life or make sense of this tragedy.

Earlier this week I was listening to NPR on the ride home from work and the subject was holiday trees and whether or not it was OK or not to rename the decoration known as the Christmas tree to the holiday tree. Callers of course had many opinions but it was one of the NPR staff who jokingly suggested the new name be a "decoration stick" that just made me laugh out loud. 

I truly don’t understand why people become so offended and angry. If someone wished me a Happy Hanukkah I would not be offended even though I am not Jewish. I would more than likely thank them and wish them a Happy Hanukkah but tell them I celebrate Christmas. Likewise, I would never suggest that the dreidel be renamed a "holiday top" because the name dreidel suggests a specific religion and offends me.   

Furthermore, if someone asked me if I was fasting during Ramadan, I still would take no offense. Does anyone really think that the act of wishing someone a Merry Christmas or asking about their Christmas tree is a purposeful intent to offend someone or an attempt to convert someone to Christianity?

The good news is we are free to have these discussions, in public, and free to agree or disagree.  We are equally free to seek and participate in as many celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah, winter solstice etc., as we want. We are all different and unique and our passion to celebrate our religions and traditions should be seen as a good thing which brings me to my final point.

In general, religious celebrations and traditions involve family gatherings and activities and it should come as no surprise to anyone that this country needs to support and celebrate the family. With the increasing number of broken homes, homeless individuals, children in foster care, and elderly with no one to care for them, we need to embrace the family.  

In this economic crisis with home foreclosures, increasing taxes and cost of living, perhaps the time has come to get back to living in extended family situations.  Multiple generations under one roof, caring for one another and celebrating the family could be a solution to some of our problems.  As we care for one another we rely less on the government to support us. 

As we pool our resources the family unit becomes more stable and can in turn support the economy. In many religions, the community that worships together is considered a family. Therefore family can be those related by blood or those related by association. 

In conclusion, I suggest that we support those who are passionate about celebrating their religious holidays and rather than being offended, ask about their family traditions with interest and don’t be surprised when we discover commonality rather than differences. Celebrate and teach your family the importance of tradition and remind them that our freedom to choose our traditions has come at a price. The good news is there are those who are willing to continue to pay the price. 

Personally, I am grateful and thank them for that.