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| Merry Christmas... wherever you are. ;) |
I was raised secular. That doesn't mean atheist, it means religion wasn't forced down my throat. I was taken to a couple churches when I was young, to see what I thought. I didn't think much of either, so I didn't go back. Later, I attended a Catholic service, and a Jewish one. But the context wasn't, "follow these teachings or your soul will burn for eternity in Hell"; rather, it was, "this is what some people choose to believe." I don't mind Christians, or any other religious people. I believe strongly in freedom of (or from) religion. I own a Bible (family heirloom) and I have read it (I was grounded for a month when I was 12 and it was the only book I was allowed). I've seen Christians at their worst, but I also know the good charitable works they do. Neither define the group. What defines Christians is the belief that Jesus Christ died for their sins. That's the one thing the 2.2 billion of them have in common. They are a very diverse bunch.
Despite my secular upbringing, we did celebrate Christmas. We recognized the birth of Jesus Christ as well as the stuff about Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, and all the others. Baby Jesus was always a part of it. It was a Christmas story like any other. So I am a little offended when Christians say that non-Christians want to remove Christ from Christmas, as He was always a part of mine. But not much. It's simple ignorance, and that is so common these days. One cannot and should not try to take offense to all of it.
Let's address the X first, since that's the original issue. This goes way back to the '90s and even earlier. I remember a Christian music CD from the late '80s with a rap song proclaiming that you can't spell Christmas without 'Christ.' And the answer to that is simply: Yes, you can. Christians have been doing it for centuries. The X isn't meant to 'cross out' Christ. It's actually a symbol of the cross, tilted as Jesus carried it up the hill. The letter X is the cornerstone of Christianity. It represents Christ's sacrifice. While the cross is mostly portrayed as being straight up and down, like it was when Christ was hung on it, there's no letter that looks like that. The uppercase 'T' lacks the top part, and the lowercase 't' has a curve on the bottom. So the X fits.
As an aside, here's one thing I don't get. If I bring a toy gun to a memorial service for a school shooting, that makes me a pretty bad person, right? Then why is it people who allegedly love Christ bear the mark of his torture and death? I think the most important thing about Christ's story is how he healed the sick and fed the poor. I think the fish is a better symbol for the religion, because of the story of how Christ took one fish and fed many (40?). The idea of helping your fellow man (since Christ was basically a man at that point) is a more powerful image, and it conveys how Christ lived, not how He died, since that's the real lesson.
Now. Merry Christmas. There's nothing offensive to me about that. Christian or not, Christmas is a real holiday that people celebrate. It's like people celebrating Friday at the end of the week. It's a day that means something to them. It makes them happy, so they spread cheer. I honestly do not believe any non-Christians are truly offended at hearing "Merry Christmas." "God bless you" or the many variations on that are more directly imposing on a non-Christian's religious choice, and I don't personally find that offensive. In fact, if I am speaking to a Christian, I may end the conversation with, "Have a blessed day" (or night). That makes them feel better, and it doesn't cost me a thing. If they bless me, I take no offense, because it's a kindness coming from them. The point is, Christian kindness offends no one.
The problem is that Christians are playing the martyr lately, accusing the rest of us of waging war on faith, and specifically them. First of all, Christianity is not even original. Most, if not all of its stories are based on much older religions. In fact, those religions' stories were adapted into Christianity to make conversion easier. (This is the same reason Christianity no longer hates women, black Americans, or interracial couples—a majority of Christians changed their mind, so the religion adapted so as not to alienate a majority. So too will it be with gays.) And second, if there's a war on a holiday phrase, it isn't "Merry Christmas," it's "Happy Holidays." Christians have taken offense that Christmas can be lumped in with New Year's Day and any other December-January holiday around the Winter Solstice, and have taken to social networks demanding that we only say "Merry Christmas," or that we put Christmas first (e.g. "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year").
What Christians who complain about "Happy Holidays" really want is for others to respect their point of view (and/or possibly convert to it), but they aren't willing to show the same respect. Unfortunately, this is a sure sign that somebody is the 'wrong' kind of Christian. The one who believes that going to church every Sunday (or merely claiming the religion) makes them 'better' than non-Christians. They look down on us because we don't believe the same way. If that's you, rather than cuss me out, stop and ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" After all, don't Christians believe that Jesus is the reason for the season? I can't tell you what Jesus would do about "Happy Holidays" but I will tell you that He spent a lot of time with drunks, whores, and other sinners, not judging them, but rather showing them a better way via example. He didn't judge anybody, and He certainly wouldn't pass judgment on people passing along holiday greetings on Facebook.
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