Why does saying Happy Holidays have to be a defiant effort to take Christ out of Christmas? Most people (businesses) standardize their greetings as Happy Holidays because they want to include the other religious celebrations of the season. I don’t think that they are opposed to wishing Christians a “Merry Christmas.” It’s more that they want to include everyone in the holiday business season. That’s smart business!
The word “holiday” is an abbreviated version of “holy day.” To be holy is to be whole, and to be whole is to be one with God, self, and neighbor. These days in December are considered holy days because this is the time of the year that people of faith celebrate God’s efforts to bring peace on earth. Shalom.
Today (December 24th) marks the first of the holy days that Jesus observed. Jesus celebrated Hanukkah. I ‘ll resist the need to try to explain this eight day festival of lights. Instead, I’ll mention that the word Hanukkah means “dedication” and the holy days celebrate the dedication of the faithful, and God’s dedicated faithfulness to the obedient.
I’m going to shift my focus for a minute. Let’s acknowledge that for many, this season feels lonely and depressing. The holiday celebrations create more of a crisis of faith than a celebration of faith. This is partially caused by an over-emphasis on secular Christmas rituals, rather than a ritual remembering of God’s faithfulness. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the Christmas stuff as much as anyone. But, let’s face it, there is a lot of Christmas stuff! Christians have to bear some responsibility for this. We abandoned many of our Christian rituals and we allowed the secular world to hijack our holy days. We are the ones that took Christ out of Christmas. It’s for this reason that I write this blog on the first night of Hanukkah. Our Jewish cousins have not allowed their faith to be hijacked by a secular culture. Why? Because they continue to celebrate being dedicated to a dedicated God.
I don’t claim to be a Jewish Rabbi But, I can learn a few lessons from Jewish Rabbis. Here are a few lessons that the celebration of Hanukkah teaches.I paraphrased them from Chabad.org. They are relevant to people of faith … regardless of the faith.
- Don’t be ashamed to perform God’s commands (mitzvahs), even if you feel different.
- Always increase in kindness and the practice of God’s law (Torah).
- A little light goes a long way.
- Take your faith to the streets.
- Be proud of your joyful religious-identity.
- Never be afraid to stand up for what’s right.
So, yes, it’s okay to say Merry Christmas. It’s also okay to say Happy Hanukkah! It’s even okay to say Happy Holidays. But, if you are a Christian and you want to keep Christ in your holy days, then my advise is to keep them holy.
Happy Holy Days!
GPTs-and-Me 