Christmas
There Is No Other Day Like It

© 2005 Chuck Klein

Christmas is an American National Holiday. It ALSO might be a religious holy day, or a holiday in other countries, but it is a de facto National American Holiday. To wish someone a Merry Christmas, doesn't necessarily mean that you wish them anything other than they have a happy 25th of December. Nor does it mean that you, if not a Christian, are accepting their beliefs or forsaking yours.

THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS WISHES:

1) For a Christian to wish a non-Christian a merry Christmas is the epitome of what this special day is all about. The Christian is saying, "This is my special day and I wish that your day will be as wonderful as my day promises to be;"

2) Likewise, for a non-Christian to receive such a wish is a great compliment as in, here is a fellow American who is a G_d-fearing, decent, Judeo-Christian valued person who is wishing me a good day. Thank you;

3) When a non-Christian wishes a Christian a merry Christmas, he or she is saying, "I respect and honor your right to celebrate this day that stands for the good in mankind and our common values that make this country what it is. Oh yeah, and thanks for the day off."

My sisters and I grew up in a gentile neighborhood and attended a private school where we, and maybe two or three others, were Jewish. Some of my fondest memories are singing Christmas carols, including the religious ones. I still can, and do, sing along with "Oh Come All ye Faithful," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and others. Enjoying the songs, Santa Claus, Christmas decorations and trees didn't do us any harm. We enjoyed the "holiday" because our non-Jewish friends, in the true spirit of Christmas, shared their joy with us. Though the Lord's Prayer was recited every day, it was evolution that was taught.

MY PERSONAL CHRISTMAS WISHES.

* To my Christian friends: I truly and sincerely wish that you have and enjoy a very merry Christmas.

* To my non-Christian friends: Please join me in honoring this day by reflecting on how fortunate we are to live in a country that not only allows us to choose and practice our own religion, but protects this right.

* To religious fundamentalists, be they Christian, Jewish, atheist, Muslim, etc.: Please recognize that when you try to force your beliefs on others with guns, government sanctification or "majority rule" you're not exhibiting American values, merely, your own basic insecurities.

* Finally, to the little kids who are able to grasp Santa Claus and really don't understand religious matter: Enjoy. It's the only time in your life you will be happily conned and guilt and pressure free.