Last week, for the first time ever, I watched Face the Nation. I also caught whatever show came before it.
Both hosts made this big to-do about wishing the audience a Merry Christmas. I thought it was a little odd, but enjoyed the rest of both shows enough that I let it go by. Then I read this (you might have to scroll down a couple entries) by Slate's Surfergirl. Suddenly, it all clicked.
This election season has turned "Merry Christmas" into a challenge. There's even a campaign to boycott stores who hang "Happy Holidays" signs instead of "Merry Christmas" signs. Just looking at that stuff makes me ill, but more on that later.
I got my hair cut last week and my hairdresser was selling little angel ornaments for a woman raising money for a soup kitchen. I was trying to decide if it would be okay to get one for all of my homeroom students. I usually do get a little something for my homeroom students, but this year I have a couple students who don't celebrate any holidays. As we chatted, the other woman getting her hair done made some remarks about being too PC and about other religions ruining Christmas for everyone else. Interesting comments. In the end, I bought a bunch of ornaments to support the cause and figured I'd decide what to do about my students later.
I feel like the Christmas issue is being blown out of proportion on both sides and I also feel that those professing the greatest commitment to Christ and the meaning of Christmas are the very ones destroying it. Let us alienate and divide in Jesus' name, Amen. Let us vilify those who would show respect for all mankind and insist that our way is the only way, peace be with you.
My thoughts: I don't care for the super-PC atmosphere we've entered, but don't really think it's a one-party or one religion issue. I'm okay with tradition and don't agree with the folks who make a big stink over small town Christmas displays. They are done in good spirit and should be regarded as such. I feel the same about big city displays though I do think Christmas should be kept out of courtrooms and classrooms.
Let me clarify. I exchanged and accepted gifts from teachers and students. I gave some cards out. I sang in the school's Christmas concert. I sang Christmas songs with students and played a Christmas CD but only in those classes where all the students celebrate. I also made sure not to put any Christmas decorations in my room. The other math teacher at my school put a Christmas tree in her room. I thought it was inappropriate. Many, many students asked why I didn't put one up. I kindly explained that not all of my students celebrate Christmas and that I didn't want anyone to feel excluded. On our last day of school, while everyone else attended the fifth grade Christmas concert, I stayed in my classroom with those students whose religion barred them from attending.
I didn't hide my religion or my beliefs. The holiday spirit was alive and well in my classroom and my conscience was clear because I made what could have been a very difficult day for some of my students a bit easier. I also learned a lesson from them.
These students didn't make a fuss about their beliefs. They socialized with their peers and stuck around during gift exchanges and holiday wishes. None of them asked kids to stop singing or to take off their Santa hats or refused to do anything. They did request that they not be asked to participate in activities that were against their reliogion and did so respectfully. Some teachers complained and wondered why these kids couldn't just sit in on the concert, etc. I wondered how we could be so disrespectful to these kids after the amazing amount of respect they showed toward our religion.
I watch these students stand for the pledge although they can't recite it. I watched them stand to the side as the other students voted when they couldn't. I graded papers they did relating to the election although their religion bars them from voting. I watched them come to school ,and do their work and face questions from well-meaning but uninformed kids at Christmastime as all around them everyone just assumed that everyone celebrates Christmas. I heard them wondering allowed if attending our school's Santa's Workshop would be okay or if they needed to ask to sit out.
The least I can do is tell them to have a safe vacation instead of a Merry Christmas. The least I can do is not put a Christmas tree in my classroom knowing they will be surrounded by Christmas everywhere else. The least I can do is offer them a place to stay during an activity they can't participate in. The least I can do is show them 1/10 of the tolerance they show the rest of us everyday.
These kids aren't going to complain if someone on TV wishes them a Merry Christmas and they probably won't be offended. What is offensive is a lecture about how Christmas songs are ruined if we change all the Christmas references to holiday or a note about how the announcer isn't trying to offend and he hopes that his message is taken in a spirit of peace and giving or a group of people complaining because a store decided that all of their customers deserve respect, not just the Christians.
I don't agree with fighting stores and towns to take down their Christmas decortations but I also don't agree with faulting them for choosing to do so. And seriously folks, look around. Do you really think anyone is kicking out Christmas? How many radio stations in your area have switched to all-Christmas music? Are there any that aren't making any references to Christmas? How about TV channels? Are they showing Christmas movies? Have they added mistletoe and holly to their logos? How many commercials aren't Christmas related? Have you been in any stores that don't have Christmas decorations and displays?
Nobody needs the lecture, folks. How unChristmaslike.
And by the way, I gave my students the angel ornaments. I told my class I got them angels, told them the money went to a charity, put the angels on a desk and told the students they could take one. They all did. One of my non-Christmas kids remarked that it was a tree ornament and said he'd hang it on his refrigerator. In the end, they're kids. They don't want to be excluded, just respected.
Update: The marketers response to the boycott is here. I completely agree with their statement, especially their final remarks:
It is regrettable that an attempt to bring all people together in peace and love at this time of year is being perceived as offensive by some when clearly the intent is just the opposite. Nevertheless, we are proud of our commitment to diversity, and we believe this is a tradition worth embracing during all the seasons of the year.
Tolerance, folks.