American-ally named football teams by a comedian, whose name I cannot remember, but it goes something like this, more or less........ insert any other racial or inappropriate word to your favorite sports cheer. For example: Let's GO___________! In Kansas City, it would be, Let's GO Chiefs! But insert burrito, or rice-eater, or cracker, or.... you get the point yet? Sometimes it's just not okay to shout things at people, even if it is exciting or fun, or naive, yet well meaning.
if someone is wearing a button that says, "Birthday Boy", or the person says, "Today is my birthday", chances are good that it's okay to wish them a very happy birthday.
If you see a friend coming out of a funeral home, wearing black, and looking sad, it would be nice of you to offer your condolences.
if you attend a christian oriented church, it would be okay to wish a fellow go-er a merry christrmas.
In the grand scheme of things, however, today is not my birthday. Blessedly no one I know has recently perished. And, I am not a christian.
taking that into consideration, you could wish me a happy birthday, or say you are sorry for my sadness, and you could even wish me a merry christmas. As an American with the right to free speech, you are entitled to say pretty well anything you want- it's just not always right, correct or applicable.
So, why can't we just say Happy Holidays? Why can't we just wish everyone equal happiness in their chosen holiday falling between November and January, without excluding anyone? Why must we be so specific? Why can't we remember that America is the great melting pot, built on the notion of tolerance of religious freedom?
I’m hoping for a deeper understanding that including everyone does not mean diminishing anyone. Saying “Happy Holidays” is a way of wishing someone whose practices you may not know a joyful time of year regardless of whichever holiday they will or won’t be celebrating. It is not said to replace Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa – but to make room for them all. ~Beth Kander
(www.kveller.com)
So, the next time someone wishes you a Happy Holiday, just say Thanks. Unlike sports teams, it's not a personal or derogatory attack on your religion, heritage, ancestry or choice of shrubbery.
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