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I read a letter to the editor yesterday by a guy who was outraged when he hears store clerks and bank tellers wish shoppers, "Happy Holidays." I witnessed a man returning a box of cards his wife had purchased at the stationery shop because they referred to "Holidays." Apparently, there is some movement to boycott Old Navy and Gap stores because their TV ads mention Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and solstice. Christmas is being squeezed out.

Personally, I don't react to greetings of "Happy Holidays" in a negative way. It seems to me that people were wishing each other "Happy Holidays" long before any concept of political correctness. When I was growing up I had never heard of solstice or Kwanzaa and had only the vaguest awareness of Hanukkah. "Happy Holidays!" was meant to cover Christmas through New Year's Day. If anything, I guess it was more efficient than saying (or writing), "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." You save four whole syllables and sixteen letters.

I enjoy hearing a hearty "Merry Christmas!" but it's not such a bad thing to at least be aware that some might feel excluded. What is really sad, though, as referring to this time of year as the "Holiday Shopping Season." That's beyond secular and on into crassly commercial.
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  1. MargaretDecember 12, 2009 at 12:18 PM

    I couldn't agree more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Melanie JongsmaDecember 17, 2009 at 12:08 PM

    Nicely put, Olga! I'm new to your blog, and I'm really enjoying it. Keep on writing!

    ReplyDelete

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