Merry Christmas- Really- It’s Okay!

I am not a shopper but the season of the year makes it somewhat of a necessity. Traffic is congested. Parking is scarce. Stores are packed. Check out lines are long. The traffic I can deal with. I don’t mind an extra walk from having to park a long way from the door. Aisles congested with shoppers are to be expected. I can handle that. I expect to have to wait in a long line to check out. It is after I am handed my receipt and hear those dreaded words from the store clerk- Happy Holidays - this is what bothers me. Last night, I responded to two different clerks in two different stores with this reply- Which holiday would you be referring to? Almost as if both had been through the same “How to Respond Class” both said- “Whichever one you want it to be.” The second added, “I don’t want to offend anyone.” To both I said the same- “It’s Christmas- It’s okay to say it- Merry Christmas!”

Why is there so much obsession with not offending anyone? Or, another way of asking this- why is there not any concern with offending Christians? Christmas celebrates the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time of the year that Christians take great joy in the fact that God came to us and provided salvation through His sinless life and atoning death and bodily resurrection. We don’t believe that we are saved because of the “Christmas story” but it is an essential part of the gospel. If we get this wrong, we are wrong on the gospel. So, needless to say, Christmas is important. It is more than a holiday. It is the time we remember His coming. Bethlehem and Calvary are inextricably linked.

Frankly, truth be told- I am offended by the trivialization of my Savior’s birth with the words- “Happy Holidays.” Could the real reason behind not saying Merry Christmas be that Christmas focuses our attention on Jesus Christ and a secular culture cannot stand that? When all is said and done, three words are behind a ban on saying- Merry Christmas- Relativism, pluralism, and tolerance. Relativism essentially says that all religions are the same while pluralism says there is no absolute truth. Tolerance says we are to be accepting of all views.

Christian- let your voice be heard. Joy to the word- the Lord has come! So, my suggestion- say it- Merry Christmas. Really, it’s okay.