To my Jewish family and friends, I wish a Happy Hanukkah. (If you prefer Chanukah, I love you too.)
If you celebrate the African traditions, I ask "Habari gani?" (Do I have that right? If not, please correct me so that I may learn.)
If you are Wiccian, I hope Yule brings you celebration and rebirth.
If you are Christian, I wish you a Merry Christmas.
Finally, I wish my atheist friends a Happy New Year.
If I forgot anyone, please teach me. (If I am ignorant it is an innocent, not an arrogant, ignorance.)
We hear a lot about the "War on Christmas." Fox news and WalMart lead the trend among retailers to reject the "secular progressive agenda" and to greet shoppers with an ONLY "Merry Christmas."
On the religious right, many are encouraged to turn around and walk out if they are greeted with "Happy Holidays." The logic seems to be that "Happy Holiday" is not "Merry Christmas" and we are a "Christian country." They wish to do business only with retailers who ignore the rest of us.
Should Mr. O’Really from Faux TV be reading DKos (ROFL) I wonder this. If I agreed to wear a yellow armband with a Star of David, could shopkeepers be given permission to wish me a "Happy Holiday" or would I still be expected to smile and return the "Merry Christmas" greeting.
"Happy Holiday" is not a "war on Christmas." It is an inclusive greeting. When I hear "Happy Holidays" I know that I am welcomed and included.
I never expect to hear "Happy Hanukkah" when I go into a main-stream retail outlet. I have never heard a Kwanza greeting. I would be pleased, but amazed, if I passed a window that held a Yule greeting with a Wicca focus.
The goal of the "War on Christmas" movement is an effort to marginalize the rest of us. To make us feel wrong, different, and inappropriate.
Is it not enough that the majority of my colleagues put "Merry Christmas" cards in my box. Although I am openly Jewish, I realize that their greetings are friendly and well meaning. I accept them from that perspective and return a "Happy Holidays" greeting. It was a bit harder last year when a colleague, who was fully aware that I am Jewish, wished me a "Merry Christmas" and justified that aggressively by telling me about the "Jewish" comedian she had seen on TV who said that Jewish people enjoy being wished a "Merry Christmas." I bit my tongue hard, smiled, and wished her a "Happy Holidays" too.