Happy Holy Days

During roughly the past decade, the so-called “War on Christmas” has made great strides in forcing people to wish everyone “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” for fear of being considered an inconsiderate religious bigot.

After all, Christianity isn’t the only religion celebrated this time of year. The Jewish people have Hanukkah, people of African descent have Kwanzaa (which technically isn’t a religious holiday at all, but try telling that to people screaming “Happy Holidays!” at you in an effort to silence your bigotry), and Muslims have Eid, to name a few major contenders.

Thus, “Happy Holidays” has been touted as the politically correct statement that all people should use to avoid causing offense to anyone celebrating non-Christian holidays.

Don’t Be Offended

Despite the efforts to use the phrase in avoidance of causing offense to anyone, many Christians take offense at its use, and understandably so, since many perceive that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” They are correct. He is the reason that we celebrate Christmas.

The ironic thing is that we shouldn’t be too offended when people wish us “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Until recently, “Happy Holidays” was considered an acceptable and perfectly Christian phrase to use during the Christmas season. This was because the phrase “Happy Holidays” is really an abbreviated version of the older phrase “Happy Holy Days.” The “holy days” referred to in the phrase are Christian in origin.

Now it’s true that some people who use the phrase nowadays are actively trying to avoid referring to the Christian “holy days,” but even they can’t escape its source. In this nation, the principal “holy days” of the season are intrinsically tied to the Christian religion. Many people say “Happy Holidays” without meaning to be anti-Christian at all  – they are hearkening back to the time when that phrase was acceptable for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Thus, as Christians, we should react with love towards those wishing us “Happy Holidays,” knowing that it is a perfectly suitable wish for the season. If someone is trying to use it as a tool to undermine the Christian holiday (holy day) of Christmas, then the joke is on them: They just wished us a blessed Christmas season without realizing it.

We should bless them right back.