Am I the only one who is horribly offended by the outrage expressed by some people who feel that Christmas is being stolen away from them? Here's the scoop. I celebrate Christmas. Not Christmas as it had originally been which is a celebration of the birth of Jesus (and other nuances that I personally don't fully understand because I'm not particularly religious), but the very commercialized thing that it has become. I like the trees, I like Santa, I like the baking, the snow and the music both secular and otherwise. I used to participate in Christmas pageants every December because I went to a Protestant elementary school (although the only difference between us and a public school was that we said the Lord's Prayer in the morning - which was not mandatory, you just had to stand as a sign of respect for the belief of others - and read Bible stories at our weekly assemblies; we had Sikh students and Jewish students and any other number of different religious representations so we were hardly picky). I'm accustomed to saying "merry Christmas" to people when I wish them well during the holiday season.
The thing is, though, not everyone celebrates Christmas. Which, quite frankly, I think is totally awesome. I like seeing the diverse way in which people spend their time and celebrate. It is well within their rights as humans to do so. Conformity shouldn't be mandatory. I would never demand that someone wish me a merry Christmas if they don't celebrate it. It's shallow and unreasonable of me to do so. Fundamentally, regardless of what you believe in, it's a matter of opinion about what you choose to celebrate. You may have your reasons to do so, but they back up opinion not fact. The people who celebrate the Solstice are just as valid as those who celebrate Hanukkah, and the same goes for the Christians who celebrate Christmas. Nobody is trying to take your Christmas away from you, you're still welcome to celebrate it. It's horribly impolite, though, to shove it down anyone else's throats. Is that not fundamentally what the fuss is about? People who celebrate Christmas feel that the people who celebrate other things are shoving it down their throats by protesting?
The way I see it is that a lot of it comes down to the who was here first debate. Since Christianity is the overwhelmingly dominant religion, it is seen as the one that people must abide by, for we live in "Christian" nation. It was what was here first, the Christian people. Actually, if we're going to go into that, if you're white and Christian, you don't belong here. Regardless of how long your family has been here, you are technically an immigrant and your religion is a transplant from another place. It was the religion and way of life that was, at times, violently forced upon the people who were here first - the indigenous population (and I apologize if I'm not using the correct terminology, it keeps changing and I'm never sure what to say). In saying that you have to keep Christmas, are you not denying other people the right to practice celebrations associated with ways of life that are far older than yours?
And if you're one of the people who says that they're welcome to celebrate it, but they're to keep it in their own homes and to themselves, I would like to be hypocritical and say that I want to put you through a window. In believing such things you are doing EXACTLY what you don't want everyone else to do - shut you away in a closet. If you don't believe in what they are doing, that's perfectly fine, but don't you dare oppose it. Nobody has any more right than anyone else. If you wish to illustrate your allegiance to a particular belief set, go for it, but everyone else should be allowed to, too. The next time you're told to wish someone a happy holidays and you want to object, can you honestly say that you would be perfectly fine participating in Hanukkah pageant (for instance) and being wished a happy Hanukkah? If so, feel free to wish someone a merry Christmas. You're allowed to. It's called religious freedom. But they're just as free to say that they don't want to participate in something that's Christmas and that they'd like some sort of representation, too. Never have I ever been wished anything but a happy holidays or merry Christmas, and I would be honoured to think that someone would think highly enough of me to wish me the best of whatever they believe in, regardless of what that may be. I see it as less them forcing their beliefs upon me, and more that they care enough about me to want me to qualify in a category that they value above all others.
That's what I think about all of this. I personally cannot represent all celebrations, religious or secular, but I welcome other people to help me. After all, isn't the point to everything to value love and togetherness, regardless of what it's called?
P.S. Yay for rants that don't make sense! If you're offended, feel free to tell me why. I love to hear people babble on in the righteous manner that I always do.
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