I've been doing well at posting weekly on Thursdays, but last week, alas, I failed. In case you have forgotten it was Thanksgiving. It has always been my favorite holiday. I know. Some of you just spit out your mocha latte's on that one. The girl who listens to Christmas music year round prefers Thanksgiving? Of course! The premise of Thanksgiving is gathering with loved ones, remind yourself to be grateful for all that you have, and eat more in one sitting than you normally do in three days. What is better than that?
Well, most people enjoy the popular, now commercialized, holiday of Christmas. I too enjoy the holiday. I love the music and the lights. I love the generosity of people. Maybe if everyday was like Christmas than there would be less need in the world. But instead we wait until after we are thankful to decide to give to those who need it in order to fill more space in our homes for our brand new, super awesome, blah blah blah. But I digress. There are a few avenues that this post could go down just simply on the title, but I'd like to keep it simple. A couple of nights ago my son asked me a question that I have loved to answer for over a decade. "Why do people write and 'X' for Christmas instead of Christ?" AH. Easy. X is the Greek word for Christ. So, we haven't taken out Christ, we have used an earlier language for an abbreviation. It's shorthand. Thank you Dr. Guerry for your wisdom so many years ago. Soon after learning that "X" is Christ, I was in Massachusetts on winter break getting some last minute presents when the topic arose in the line behind me. Two older women were up in arms over the amount of "Xmas" items found in the shop. "Why won't they just keep Christ in Christmas?" I didn't share my knowledge with them. I just smirked and stood there waiting to pay. Then the two old ladies began on the putrid words... "Happy Holidays." I know, I may even lose you too on this but hear me out. There is nothing wrong with store employees saying, "Happy Holidays." WHAT? How dare I? How dare I not assume that everyone celebrates Christmas? Why is this where we have decided to stand? I know that this is odd since I live in the Bible beating, I mean Bible belt. However, there are other religions in the world. Because of that, not everyone celebrates Christmas. I'll give you a moment to research any other religion that does not celebrate Christmas. Thanks, Google. I once owned a shop. During the holiday season I said, "Happy holidays" to an older woman. She stared me down, and through her gritted teeth she sneered the words, "Merry Christmas." Well, I will tell you, she has definitely kept Christ in Christmas. At no point do I require a person to wish me a Merry Christmas. Perhaps the employee at Publix or Wal-Mart or, dare I say it, Target is Jewish. What if that poor 18 - year old girl doesn't celebrate Christmas? This may just seem like a bunch of rambling, but I just can't get over the necessity of those two words. I can't get past the people that are furious over ignorance. Before I engage in conversations with people over this, I always feel a need to quiz people. Taking Christ out of Christmas? What religion did Christ practice? I ask people if they know where the symbol of the Jesus fish stems from. I know that we are all excited about the holiday season. I just didn't realize that meant that we had to ignore social graces. Happy holidays.
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