Merry or Happy
In his book “Ethics” Dietrich Bonhoeffer cautioned Christians against carrying around and woodenly applying religious “rules” without considering the situation on hand. How we respond in a given context is to flow from relational respect and love for God and neighbor, including strangers we meet.
This is background to my response to an influx of FB memes
in my Newsfeed insisting “It’s not Happy Holidays; it’s Merry Christmas.”
This ever-recurring debate seems silly. It assumes we should make a pre-determined and fixed “either-or” choice about what we’re going to say during this season and stick with it irrespective of whom we’re interacting. It appears there are fanatics on both sides.
Given the Christian circles in which I orbit, at this time of year I close most of my emails by wishing the person a joyous and holy Advent and Christmas season. But when I go out in public spaces, it’s not unusual to be in a racial and religious minority. I often notice this when standing in a long line at my local Walmart and seeing so many folks wearing hijabs or turbans.
In conversing with a Macy’s clerk who helped me try on shoes I learned she’s Jewish and an active member of Temple Emanu-El where I’ve visited on a number of occasions over the years. The clerk in Macy’s Customer Service who retrieved my mail order was wearing a hijab. Several clerks in a quick-stop I frequent are Hindu. Two clerks at my Walgreens pharmacy wear hijabs. I have many more examples of religious diversity apparent in my daily public encounters.
So for me, one way I can keep Christ in Christmas is to respect the God-given diversity I encounter in public spaces, and among my broad circle of acquaintances. It's no compromise when I say "Happy Holidays" in certain situations rather than "Merry Christmas." And as a Christian I'm not offended when a store proprietor wishes me "Happy Holidays" because they don't know my religious identity.
While it’s safe to guess that some people who circulate memes insisting we uniformly say “Merry Christmas” are Christian Nationalists -- it’s also safe to guess that some of them simply haven’t had meaningful encounters with religiously diverse others; otherwise, they might rethink their stance. Perhaps we should use the memes as occasions to strike up conversations, and to deeply listen to one another across divides by asking questions such as, “What’s the heart of this matter for you? Can you share something from your life experience that helps me understand your stance on this? What value are you seeking to uphold and honor in the greeting you use?”