The Verbiage of the Season

Having only been keeping a half an eye on this whole "War on Christmas" thing (for a good synopsis, see Bloggin Outloud), I did a little catching up on my reading during my lunch break. Of course, this then meant my lunch break went a little longer than it should, but I have a few extra hours in so I should be ok.

There are a couple of things I don't get. The first is that: This is not new. Just about every year for, oh, at least the last 10 years, but even longer than that realistically, this has come up as an issue. December is a hotbed for everyone on any side of this particular fence to find a reason to get their panties in a twist. "He said Merry Christmas!" "She said Happy Holidays!" "What the heck is Kwanzaa?" The yammering starts earlier and earlier - just like the merchandising in all your favorite retail outlets.

Secondly, I don't get why people are annoyed by other people who say "Merry Christmas." How many people out there actually either a) are really wishing you a happy rememberance of the birth of Christ who came to Earth to die and provide a way for you to be reconciled to God through the forgiveness of your sins or b) actually aware that there's more to Christmas than Santa Claus and presents? If anything, the random "Merry Christmas" from people who aren't expressing joy in the true reason for the seaon should annoy Christians. We don't encourage random people off the street to come to church and partake of communion, why should we expect them to revel with us in the birthday of the Savior?

Of course the flip side is that those who do understand that Christians see Christmas as more than the aforementioned Santa Claus and presents and don't feel that way themselves don't want people saying "Merry Christmas" because, from a Christian, those words have religious significance. And we don't want to let those pesky Christians say anything about their faith in a public forum! After all, a Christian expressing their freedom of religion can't be tolerated! And so in schools and other public (especially any kind of government sponsored thing) we have winter breaks and holiday this, that, or the other. It's that whole two-edged sword of freedom and most of the time, Christians seem to get the shorter end of the stick.

So this year, I am going to start saying "Happy Birthday". Because that's what Christmas is - the celebration of the greatest birthday ever. And who's going to be offended by that? People will undoubtedly think I'm strange, and they will most likely either say one of two things: the very polite will just smile slightly and say "Thank you" then go home to tell all their friends about the weirdo at the store who told them happy birthday; the slightly less polite will more than likely say something along the lines of "It's not my birthday." At which point, if I'm feeling truly brave and confident, I can say, "I know, but it is Jesus' birthday." And then perhaps I can do what all Christians are commanded to do - share the good news. Because at the end of the day, isn't that the more important thing to be worried about? Not whether or not we're running around saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" or even "Happy Birthday" - but rather, whether we're living our lives and speaking in such a way that we are making Christ known. So yes, it's a little easier in December, because we have the excuse of saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" or whatever else.

For me, I'm going to wish each of you a "Happy Birthday" - and not just at Christmas, but all year long.