Does it Matter Which One You Say?

We are well into the Christmas season with decorations and pageants and parades and shopping all around us. A season that seems to go at a faster and faster pace every year. It is  somewhat reminiscent  of the conceited tigers from the 1899 book by Helen Bannerman, Little Black Sambo. Trying to take their treasures from each other they run madly around and around a tree until they turn into butter. Almost sounds like a trip to the mall or the “evil place” does it not?

In previous posts I have made reference to my dislike of shopping in general and this time of year with its overemphasis on such, just makes it worse.

But there is something about the season that affects me  a bit differently and it concerns a feeling. There is of course, an increasing tendency away from the use of Merry Christmas as a greeting to be replaced by a more generic Happy Holidays. Schools are institutionalizing it somewhat and even celebrating winter instead -ok for Jack Frost  and Frosty , I guess. I understand that  much of the reasoning is the expressed desire not to offend or make uncomfortable those whose beliefs or traditions  run  in a different direction.

I don’t become angry about the generic but rather saddened that we feel the need to  turn into  a pretzel rather than risk  offense by saying things that shouldn’t even be offensive.

I read an interesting article by Andrew Malcolm of the Los Angeles Times that  referred to this year’s White House Christmas card. Generic, you betcha. Season’s Greetings and a joyous holiday season it says. Anything wrong with it, of course not. Just sorta bland and blah for my taste. Of course, Malcolm had to cite  a poll or two. And frankly these numbers surprised me. Not the fact that some 70% of Americans  prefer Merry Christmas but that it varies across political lines.A Rasmussen Reports survey indicates that  91% of Republicans and 70% of Independents prefer the traditional greeting with 58% of Democrats leaning that way.

Who woulda thunk it? I’m going with Merry Christmas regardless of the   political implications. Hope that’s alright.