So why exactly is Christmas the only holiday that needs to be inclusive? Why must we worry about excluding others on this one holiday, when for the rest of the year we (and other countries) could care less?
When we celebrate 4th of July, do we tone it down to respect our English brothers? Do we include other countries independence festivities in our own? Easter is celebrated every year, but nobody gets upset if they see a “happy Easter” sign at a store. But if that same sign said “Merry Christmas” its an issue.
I’ve walked into stores on Ash Wednesday and the cashier will have a cross on their forehead. Nobody seems to care then. Of course if I put a cross on my forehead for Christmas, I would probably be told to take it off.
Veterans Day is a big holiday in the US. But for all the cermonies honoring our fallen soldiers, I don’t see any mention of the people or families killed by those self-same soldiers. Nobody complains.
So what exactly is it about this holiday that makes everyone feel slighted or insulted if they don’t celebrate it? Is it just that Christmas is such a large holiday, and permeates everywhere? If you are an atheist, or just don’t celebrate Christmas, do you feel as insulted when you see all the Easter stuff? Ash Wednesday bother you?
I can’t speak for everyone, but I would think anyone who works in an office environment has been told to keep things at this time of year to non specific holiday wishes. And when is the last time you saw a Merry Christmas sign in a store?
Maybe because all of those other holidays mentioned are specifically American but Christmas is specifically Christian but not necessarily American? That is, there’s no point in complaining about the Fourth of July or Memorial Day…if you’re living here, you probably are American. But not everyone celebrates Christmas.
Yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Pretty much every day since the beginning of November.
You’re in Virginia and you can’t find a store that has a “Merry Christmas” sign in it? You’re either lying or have so bought into the “War on Christmas” meme that you only notice the signs that say “Happy Holidays”.
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You’re in Virginia and you can’t find a store that has a “Merry Christmas” sign in it? You’re either lying or have so bought into the “War on Christmas” meme that you only notice the signs that say “Happy Holidays”.
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Well Virginia isn’t quite as big as the brush you use to paint it! VA is “south” but southern doesn’t automatically mean Christian. In any event, I live in No. VA outside of DC. And no, I haven’t seen a single Merry Christmas sign.
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You’re in Virginia and you can’t find a store that has a “Merry Christmas” sign in it? You’re either lying or have so bought into the “War on Christmas” meme that you only notice the signs that say “Happy Holidays”.
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Well Virginia isn’t quite as big as the brush you use to paint it! VA is “south” but southern doesn’t automatically mean Christian. In any event, I live in No. VA outside of DC. And no, I haven’t seen a single Merry Christmas sign.
True, but Easter and Ash Wed. are Christian and celebrated world wide. Why no fuss with them?
Really, it’s the one time of year when everyone, be the Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or atheist gather together to worship the baby Jesus. What could be more inclusive than that?
I’m a little curious about who would ask you to take the cross off your forehead on Chritsmas, and why they would do it. To be honest, I don’t see a real push by non-Christians to limit anyone’s enjoyment of the holiday. I don’t go around telling people who wish me a Merry Christmas about my atheism, just as I don’t tell little children that there’s no Santa Claus, and for the same reason, why spoil someone’s good time for no reason?
If you have evidence that there are significant numbers of people who feel slighted by the holiday let me know, I’m not asking about random cranks, but actual numbers of people great enough to make this an issue. I’d prefer public monies weren’t spent on the celebrations, but as long as the public display passes the plastic reindeer test I’m okay with it.
Not as much of an opportunity for rampant materialism/commercialism with those? They gave it a valiant try with Easter and the cute bunny, but the whole holiday is about Jesus dying. Not too uplifting, that one.
Go to any Wal-Mart or K-Mart (to name two) and you’ll find dozens of references to Christmas, and not just Christmas trees and the like. I’m talking big store signs and even “Christmas” sections of the store devoted entirely to Christmas. Seriously, are you making this up?
Hmmm. Then I don’t know why people haven’t jumped on board the Easter train.
With Christmas, okay, it’s about presents, it’s fun…that’s why it’s such a fantastically huge deal. It’s gotten to the point of kitsch/camp. Then if you’re a non Christian you are impacted by it to a degree. Maybe because it’s designated as the “fun” holiday?
Well, Easter itself is the most joyful day of the year, but the time leading up to it is the most solemn. Not much fun to plan a huge party, buy presents for people, etc. when you are supposed to be meditating on your sinfulness. Not fun, and totally inappropriate from a religious standpoint, for that matter. Therefore, it’s not what you would call a “public” holiday.
Well, it would be absurd to ask other countries (especially the UK) to celebrate our independence day. Many other countries have their own independence days. With Veterans Day or Memorial Day, it would be a bit insensitive for us to barge over and tell, say, the Vietnamese they should be honoring the sacrifices of American veterans and American war dead. Note that the OP compares (presumably American) non-celebrants of Christmas with citizens of other countries. (The British on independence day; “the people or families killed by [American] soldiers” on Veterans Day.)
But Christmas is both a Christian religious holiday, celebrated by Christians, and it’s a “national holiday”*, and widely assumed to be part of the great All-American experience, as American as Mom and apple pie. This sort of puts non-Christian Americans in a bind: If we celebrate Christmas as a Christian holy day, we’re hypocrites. If we just ignore the holiday, we run the risk of being accused of being “Grinches” and so forth, and possibly we are accused of waging some sort of “war on Christmas”. And, since Christmas is an All-American National Holiday, we get compared to foreigners–implicitly painted as un-American. If we celebrate Christmas as a Congressionally-Approved General Purpose Winter Festival, with charming paganistic rites involving decorated evergreen trees and gift exchanges, we run the risk of being accused of hypocrisy–of being pointedly reminded that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”–and here we go again with the “War on Christmas”.
No one has tried to give Ash Wednesday that same sort of official status, nor the same sort of “All-American” cultural baggage; putting ashes on your forehead is clearly an act that’s in the realm of personal religious (and perhaps cultural) choice.
(Easter is kind of an odd duck; it’s never been given the same official status as Christmas, but that’s in part due to the fact that we’ve given every Sunday quasi-holiday status. There have been occasional spats about Good Friday.)
*Technically, the U.S. doesn’t really have national holidays, but Christmas is among the ten days which are de facto national holidays in the U.S., and is far more of a “national holiday” than such “Geeze, we didn’t get any junk mail today?” days as Columbus Day or President’s Day.
I agree, but thats not what I was getting at. It just seems that alot is done around the Christmas holiday to ensure no group (secular or otherwise) feels insulted or left out. But we dont take the same care for any other holiday we have, again, secular or otherwise.
Just seems odd to only make Christmas the inclusive holiday, and ignore the others.
Just to expand on Sarahfeena’s point here, I can’t recall ever being asked in the office to get together for an Easter party, or have a secret Jesus’ death gift exchange. Nobody is wrangled into doing any group activities for Ash Wednesday either. However, schools used to give days off for Good Friday, but finally stopped doing that.
Asking people to join you in celebration of something that is contrary to their beliefs, or implying that they should is going to draw people’s ire. I think you’ve hidden the answer in your own title, and I would put it right back to you. Why does Christmas have to be inclusive?
On what other national holidays is there not an effort made to include all Americans (that is, all members of the nation)*? We don’t let the DAR run around on the Fourth of July telling everyone else “Now, remember, our ancestors are the reason for the season–not yours!”
Ash Wednesday is a purely religious holiday, no one is claiming it’s a national holiday. There is no need to make it “inclusive”.
The Fourth of July is a national holiday; all members of the nation are included. Naturally, those who are not members of the nation are not included.
So, Christmas: Which is it? If it’s a Christian religious holiday, then of course it would be silly to try to include non-Christians; as ridiculous as re-naming Ash Wednesday “Forehead Adornement Day”. If it’s a national holiday, then it must be inclusive. You can’t have a national holiday that doesn’t include all Americans. The problem is that Christmas is both a Christian holy day and an American national holiday, so every year we wind up with this sort of muddle and people going on about pushy Christians and the “War on Christmas” and all sorts of hurt feelings and failure to communicate.
*OK, there are also issues with Columbus Day. But Columbus Day doesn’t loom nearly so large on the cultural calendar of the United States.
It’s the only national holiday that is religious in nature. If you don’t want it to be “inclusive”, then don’t make it a national holiday. Thanksgiving might be considered somewhat religious, but it’s not connected with one particular faith and it’s religious element is not so front and center.
Besides, is it really that much of a burden to share the holiday a bit? Wouldn’t that actually be the Christian thing to do, anyway?