Christmas.....there are 2 of them you know.
First the P.C. disclaimer: I am not out to offend anyone. I am only letting my point of view out, a point of view that is "on the outside looking in". Besides, barely anybody reads this so what the heck.
Now onto the meat.
Several things this Holiday Season have piqued my curiosity and interest. Among them are news story about the Seattle airport taking down their Christmas tree decorations because a Rabbi suggested they should put up a menorah (with an "I'll sue you if you don't" contingency), saying the phrase "Merry Christmas" in public, and an elementary (public) school violin "concert" where a Jewish boy refrained from playing any "Christmas" themed music.
People seem to have forgotten, or perhaps they never knew, that there are actually TWO separate Christmas's in the USA. YES, there are two, one is secular, one is religious.
Christmas Trees, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus, Holly, Yule Log, etc. - All secular, NOT religious. This is the holiday that the United States made a National Holiday. There are scores of religions that base celebrations around this time of the year. And December 25th is a sort of culmination of all that, with one day set aside.
The Nativity, Joy to the World, Angels, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Matthew 1:18- 2:23 - Religious!
See the difference?
The thing is we have a choice to celebrate one, both, or none of these. It's sort of like making the Fourth of July a National Holiday. Some people celebrate, others don't. Everybody gets a day off.
Back to the Seattle Airport - I fully understand and appreciate the Rabbi's desire to see a menorah in the airport (but disagree strongly with the "or else I'll sue!!). The problem is Christmas trees are not a religious symbol, where the menorah is. The irony is that a Christmas tree is probably the best choice for an innocuous, non-exclusive symbol of the holiday. I wish more people could see this aspect of the story.
This same clash of Faith surfaced at a Holiday violin concert that was put on by the public school my daughter goes to. The important detail here is that it's a public school - think about it, would any public school these days make their student body play religious themed music? I don't think so. So it was very curious for me to watch a Jewish boy decide to not play "Jingle Bells". There is nothing about "Jingle Bells" that even hints at anything religious. It's about dashing through the snow, and laughing all the way. Having fun in the snow riding on a sleigh.
I can understand if he chose not to play "Joy to the World" or something, but these types of songs where deliberately excluded from the show.
The term "Merry Christmas" can mean a couple different things too. It is saying "Have a great holiday" but I don't think it even means "I am Christian and I am forcing my beliefs on you". Yet the latter is exactly how some people take it, and I find that sad.
I could give a rip if somebody said "Happy Chanukah" or "Wonderful Kwanzaa" or whatever to me. I would take it as it was meant - somebody wishing me well, and being friendly. Heavens NO! Not that!
Can't we all just enjoy the time of year that all religions have set aside for peace and happiness among men (and women) ;)
posted by Unknown @ 6:49 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Maybe if the jewish community came up with a secular version of Hanukkah then we could have thier day as a public holiday...
How about Reuben the Red Nosed Rabbi, I wouldn't even mind if they used the same tune as Rudolf gets.
Or for Eid, to give the Islamic community their secular version, we could decorate the Imam's beard with tinsel, bells and sparkly balls.
But seriously, I totally agree that this is becoming nuts. Personally, I refuse to say Happy Holidays. I prefer the traditional Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. But then in England if you don't say Merry Christmas then you must be from another planet (or at least another continent).
But not all is good in the old world. Now 2 in 5 companies in the UK ban Christmas decorations from the office in case they get sued.
The only people who would sue would be nutters, and should probably be fired to protect the safety of the other employees!
Could you imagine a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens written to be politically correct. It would have to be called "A Holiday Song".
They couldn't have goose on Christmas day in case it offended vegitarians, so it would be a feast of lentils and cabbage.
Bob Cratchit would be gay, with a civil marriage to an afro-carribean immigrant, and Tiny Tim would be changed to an adopted Chinese girl with ADHD.
I'm sorry but political correctness has gone too far. Please don't spoil Christmas for me and my family, Mr. Rabbi, it's my favorite NON-RELIGIOUS holiday.
When I was 10 years old we were having a Christmas show at school where we were going to sing Christmas songs that praised Jesus. I told my teacher I did not want to participate because I was Jewish, and I sat in the office during the whole show.
Almost 30 years later I hear about rabbis threatening to sue because of a tree being put up and I think okay, this has really gone too far. As a kid, I chose not to participate and the show still went on. Today, no show is allowed to go on. Everything has to be taken down, removed, shut off and I guess we all have to pretend we're atheists.
Bottom line is, Christianity is still the majority religion in this country. If you force all that stuff to go, what are you going to put in it's place..nothing. No one gets to celebrate anything, we all get to sit in the dark.
And the behavior of that rabbi is only going to fuel ugly stereotypes about Jews.
It really baffled me why there would be such a hub-bub about it all. Now I fully admit not to have the experiences of a Jew growing up in a "Christian" USA, but I can certainly empathize and understand not wanted to participate in a clearly religious activity (Can you image a Nativity play in public school today??!!)
I hope you had a great holiday Cynthia!
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