Yes, we as Christians need to put more emphasis on Christ (and less on “Material Stuff”) in our lives, especially during this time of year.
If you are a Christian I am more than happy to wish you a Merry Christmas … and a Happy New Year too.
But we also need to remember that our country is a “Melting Pot” of 100’s of cultures from all over the world. Some of these people do not believe the same things that we as Christians do. There are over 30 religious and seasonal festivals that are celebrated during November, December and January.
The phrases “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays” first came to prominence over 60 years ago. And what we often forget is, that in an attempt to include people of ALL faiths, these greetings were designed to unite us during this festive season that we all share this time of year. They were created so that no one group would feel left out of any of the fun and happiness of the season.
I have several friends and clients that do not celebrate Christmas. Several of them celebrate Hanukkah and a few others have no religious ties. Out of respect and because I know there faith, I greet them with the greeting they prefer. This doesn’t bother me in the least. They also greet me with “Merry Christmas” and they don’t mind that either. It’s all out of mutual respect.
Saying Happy Holidays is not removing Christ from Christmas, and it is also not an attack on Christmas as some of our media would have us believe. It is simply just another way to bring us together and show respect to others who may not worship in the same way that we do.
If we want to keep Christ in Christmas we need to put his teaching back into all areas of our lives on a daily basis and not just during this time of the year. We can all share the “spirit” of Christ by being kind, respectful and understanding to everyone that we meet. When we do this we are giving witness that our Christian faith teaches us to treat everyone we meet with the same respect that we want them to shown to us!
