Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Greetings

At this time of the year we hear the same old debate. Should we say, Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays ?
My view is you should say whichever pleases you. I fail to understand why we cannot exchange cordial greetings without someone feeling offense. I'll go out on a limb here and say it is mostly between Christians and Jews. Have we really reached a point where we must remove all references to anything remotely relating to our religious beliefs from our speech ? A sad state of affairs. It is my feeling those that are offended must harbor some prejudice against others. To be that " thin skinned " as they say, is a sad thing.
Should I say, Merry Christmas to you and should you be of the Jewish faith why would you not answer with, " Happy Hanukkah ? " To which my response would be , Happy Hanukkah to you ! I certainly wouldn't feel offended or oppressed in any fashion.
I would also be just as glad to tell you Happy Kwanzaa, or happy festivus for the restof us ! It is the exchange of greeting that is important here. A time of the year when we all share in the happiness that the season brings. It is a shame that we can not all be just as cordial throughout the year. I suppose we should change our greetings and remove any trace of gender specific salutations or marital status. We should greet each other as Citizen. Oh wait, can't do that might offend those that are not citizens. On second thought, maybe we should just not speak at all.
Isn't this debate just the silliest thing ? Get over it and chill out ! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and whatever greeting you would like to hear. Enjoy the company of your fellow man, be kind to one another and smile.

1 comment:

  1. Such a silly thing-have we become so overly sensitive we can't just be kind to one another? I am losing patience with people who get upset about how they are greeted! I am happy to have anyone smile at my and greet me! Shame on anyone for being offended at someone's kind greeting, whatever it is.

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