So I have Christmas off and even though I don't celebrate it I enjoy the way the world slows down. So I spent a lot of time today doing little and thinking a lot about the holiday season. This can be a frustrating time of year. It is not the overwhelming tinsel bombing of the country, but that is a symptom of the situation I struggle with in this context. You see most of my Christian friends are honoring and respectful of people who don't celebrate Christmas and are knowledgeable or inquisitive about that and other Jewish holidays. So when I see something like this I shake my head and wonder:
Seriously, WTF? Why would anyone say this? Hanukkah has nothing to do with Jesus and in fact the story of Hanukkah takes place almost 200 years before Jesus is born. Now I know that for some it is hard to understand a holiday that last year started on Thanksgiving eve and this year ended on Christmas eve. But this is just nonsense. Why are there some people who feel the need to impose their own religious ideology on everyone.
Each year Fox News brings up the War on Christmas. One of the main themes of this is that some stores do not say "Merry Christmas" but do in fact say "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holiday" are somehow destroying the holiday. What is actually happening and what Mr. Williams didn't understand is that our culture is changing. More and more people who were invisible by design are getting a chance to be noticed. This seems to disturb so many and I think that part is that they feel their superior position is slipping. When others are get a place at the table, those who have been there forever can't spread out as much. That is not a bad thing. But people do feel hurt. What I wonder about is how weak their faith in their faith, themselves and their tradition must be to not allow others to express themselves in public. Especially when we think of a holiday like Hanukkah, a holiday that some see as a holiday about religious freedom.
I have friends from many different faith traditions and they hold their faith deeply. I can't imagine any of them denying someone an expression of their faith or trying to step on it with a trite cliche as this guy did.
So as Christmas day winds down and the season will soon be in the rearview mirror I hope everyone continues to grow in their faith and in that growth find room to allow others to do the same in the New Year. I hope that people will embrace the growing expressions of the diversity that has always been part of our country and not feel threatened by it. I hope that when next year at this time when someone says "Season's Greetings" it doesn't become an opportunity for a boycott but the kind thought that it is. Oh and I also hope that when we all share who we really are with others we can get the best out of us all.
Happy holidays to all now and throughout the year. Whatever holiday feeds your soul.
Bud Williams, a city councilor in Springfield, Massachusetts, attended a menorah lighting ceremony with prominent Jewish community leaders. When it was his turn to speak, he lectured the group about how important Jesus was to the holiday season. According to Williams’ shaky logic, Jesus is the reason for the season – even the Hanukkah season.
Each year Fox News brings up the War on Christmas. One of the main themes of this is that some stores do not say "Merry Christmas" but do in fact say "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holiday" are somehow destroying the holiday. What is actually happening and what Mr. Williams didn't understand is that our culture is changing. More and more people who were invisible by design are getting a chance to be noticed. This seems to disturb so many and I think that part is that they feel their superior position is slipping. When others are get a place at the table, those who have been there forever can't spread out as much. That is not a bad thing. But people do feel hurt. What I wonder about is how weak their faith in their faith, themselves and their tradition must be to not allow others to express themselves in public. Especially when we think of a holiday like Hanukkah, a holiday that some see as a holiday about religious freedom.
I have friends from many different faith traditions and they hold their faith deeply. I can't imagine any of them denying someone an expression of their faith or trying to step on it with a trite cliche as this guy did.
So as Christmas day winds down and the season will soon be in the rearview mirror I hope everyone continues to grow in their faith and in that growth find room to allow others to do the same in the New Year. I hope that people will embrace the growing expressions of the diversity that has always been part of our country and not feel threatened by it. I hope that when next year at this time when someone says "Season's Greetings" it doesn't become an opportunity for a boycott but the kind thought that it is. Oh and I also hope that when we all share who we really are with others we can get the best out of us all.
Happy holidays to all now and throughout the year. Whatever holiday feeds your soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment