Dear Editor, I’m really puzzled by the alleged controversy in
Bonnie Evan’s recent column about saying Merry Christmas versus
Happy Holidays. I hardly think this is what has removed the
”
heartbeat of Christmas.
”
Dear Editor,
I’m really puzzled by the alleged controversy in Bonnie Evan’s recent column about saying Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays. I hardly think this is what has removed the “heartbeat of Christmas.”
I think it is the ever increasing, rampant commercialism of Christmas I’ve watched grow since I was a child. Merchants used to say Merry Christmas to everyone as they left the store.
As a young Jewish child, I felt the need to say that I didn’t celebrate Christmas; I celebrated Hanukah.
As I got older, I just said Merry Christmas back in response. No big deal. I enjoyed decorating my neighbor’s tree every year with them, but of course we didn’t have a tree in our home.
I think it is a very Christian thing to say Happy Holidays to people because it is sensitive to the fact that many people are of different religions.
And perhaps this began so merchants could be sure they weren’t offending non-Christians because they want our business too.
While our nation is predominantly Christian in background and numbers, it was intentionally and wisely designed by our founders as a secular state that separated government and religion and welcomed people to worship as they saw fit or not to worship at all.
They had learned the hard lessons of religious intolerance that drove early pioneers to come here in the first place.
There is no war on Christmas and I’m sure the Christian majority has the courage to say Merry Christmas if they want to.
I’d like to see the spiritual put back in Christmas and Hanukah by replacing the crass materialism with joyful celebration. Â Merry Christmas to Bonnie Evans! Happy Hanukah to our Jewish community! Happy Kwanzaa to our African-American brothers and sisters! Happy New Year to our Buddhist and Hindu friends! Happy Holidays!
Esther Siebert, Morgan Hill
