Be-careful with the "C" word.
There’s this word in the English language that is on death row. It’s been dying lonely in the last few years. Have you noticed that the word “Christmas” is diluting rapidly from daily conversations? Oops...I said the "C" word. Well, I couldn’t careless!!! I will keep on saying it and even it has become illegal to say so, I will wish everyone a Merry Christmas during the Christmas season and Christmas holiday. What are they gonna do to me? Lock me up and throw away the keys?
A few years back, one of my colleagues at a reception desk, wished customers who came to pick up their vehicles “Happy Holidays” and I, you know...just said “Merry Christmas” to them. I questioned why she does that and she told me that not everyone celebrates Christmas and that I should not say “Merry Christmas” for it may make some people unhappy or offended. Ok...now that caught me by surprise. I’ve heard that it has become politically correct to refer Christmas time as the “Holidays” instead. Heck I’ve even heard on the news that it’s been lobbied to have the Christmas tree change to the “Holiday tree” instead. How about having the Christmas tree removed from the court house because it isn’t politically correct.
What is political correctness? It’s all politics. No matter what angle you’re looking at it or no matter what background your ethnicity is. If I want to call Christmas Christmas...then so be it. However, since I was born, which is like ages ago, I’ve also known Christmas to be Christmas. Yes, it’s brings forth a holiday....but it brings forth a holiday only. Why change the concept. Why shift this paradigm. It’s been traditional. Then again, some also question tradition. Heck, some even challenge tradition. Well, let’s not get into that this time.
On the radio, on the news and newspapers, in televisions, in adverts, on signs of retail sales, in books and magazines, in cards, in and on....everywhere in North America, Christmas time is no longer referred to Christmas anymore. Have you heard of Happy Holidays? How about Holiday sale? Better yet, Holiday gifts or Holiday gift cards? Then there’s also Holiday schedule or Holiday hours. Hmm...don’t forget Holiday cards. Also, we have the Holiday season. Finally, there’s the Holiday mood.... Now that’s a killer, isn’t it? The list could go on however, you get the idea.
Holiday whatever... Don’t you think it’s so lame? Holiday to me is like a vacation, time off, a cruise, a trip to wherever, even time off to do some chores or whatever else around the house, or just plain time off to do absolutely nothing and be a bum at home. That is how I’ve always been lead to believe of what the meaning of holiday is. Not just some lame definition to replace the event Christmas. Even event isn’t good enough to define what Christmas is. However, I do accept that there are many other cultures and religion that don’t celebrate Christmas and coincidentally, their cultural and religious celebration happen to fall on the same time. I’ll give you that one. Having said that, we live in Canada which for many is a “land of dreams” and a place where a “dream come true” is. In other words, you left your native land to pursue your dreams here. Would it not be customary to also follow the cultures and customs here in Canada?
Consider the following: Tradition is meaningless. We as a society in North America believe that we live in a so called “land of dreams.” However, we make it a habit of breaking traditional dreams. Our traditions are meaningless. We break them. By the way, isn’t the American dream “traditional” too? That spectrum should be banished. It’s become old fashioned to live the American dream for it’s too traditional.
The word Christmas has become a disease where people are avoiding it in their daily linguistics. It has become a vulgar. A curse word. A cuss word. A swear word that is unclean and unsuitable to be used in public. We just don’t want to become racist with the word Christmas for not everyone celebrates Christmas. We don’t want to isolate some people. We don’t want to discriminate them.
Personally, I don’t see where the discrimination part comes in, however, I’ve heard it being explained to me that way. So, what will it be? Merry Christmas and Christmas whatever or whatever Christmas to preserve it? Or do we become a contradicted double minded lame-brain silly pathetic person where we pursue the American dream and live in a society that wants to break from traditions?
