Happy Merry Greetings for the Season Holiday Christmas Whatever

And just like that, it's the Christmas season! It's like the season lurks right around the corner, out of sight, and then all of the sudden, jumps out right in front of us and says, "Gotcha!"

A new holiday tradition has emerged over the last few years. Now, part of our Christmas is the fuss over which greetings employees use in the stores. Many stores no longer allow their employees to wish their customers a "Merry Christmas" (or at least not until the customer says it first), but that they should opt for a generic phrase, like "Happy Holidays." And part of our modern tradition has become that others raise a big fuss over the stores and how they avoid using the word "Christmas" anywhere.

Usually, it's not the employees' fault - they are just doing what they were told to do by management. But they are also often the ones who hear the bulk of the complaints. I feel sorry for them - people just trying to earn a  buck caught in the middle of a culture war that they did not initiate.

Personally, I don't intend to demand that anyone else honor the holidays I honor. In fact, I really don't want to put the responsibility of continuing on Christmas tradition in the hands of a retail store. There's so little that retail stores have to do with Christmas, and making secular institutions give lip service to my second favorite holiday is of no value to me. I am, however, saddened that "Merry Christmas" is apparently so offensive and damaging to hear. I would be perfectly happy if stores displayed "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hanukkah" and "Happy Kwanzaa" - I think there is value in stores showing deference to all their customers, rather than blending everything into a bland "Happy Holidays" meaningless vanilla phrase.

Let me offer an alternative suggestion that I'm going to use this year. Rather than jumping on anyone's case demanding someone else honor what I value (in the true Spirit of Christmas!), when someone says "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings," I intend to ask, "Which holiday are you celebrating this season?" - and to ask with genuine interest in the person and their values. Depending on the situation, perhaps I can then share which holiday I'm celebrating (and perhaps even why it's important to me). Perhaps I can ask additional questions to find out more about the person and what they believe and why that's important to them. Perhaps I can just leave with them knowing that I value them and that I don't blame them for the whole mess of genericizing the holidays.

Use the times to promote the love of Christ - that's a stronger Christmas message than, "I demand that you tell me something you might not even believe."

(If you desire to fight the trend, consider instead a kind letter to the management.)