All Holidays Matter

It’s ironic that the same sort of people who responded to “Black Lives Matter” with “All Lives Matter” are the same sort who bristle at the use of “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” If all lives matter, shouldn’t we also accept that all holidays matter and to wish people happy holidays is sensible? If you feel that Christmas is being treated unfairly, why can’t you accept that blacks may feel persecuted in the face of unwarranted police violence?

In an ideal world, all lives would matter and all holidays would be respected, and we would all get along to boot. Of course, the world is far from ideal and some days it seems to be going in the wrong direction. Blacks have in fact suffered an unfair number of fines, arrests, beatings, and deaths at the hands of police. Sometimes those victimized by the police have not been saints, but the evidence, often in video form, shows that the police too many times acted unprofessionally, barbarically, and probably out of racism. So, in this case, to say “All Lives Matter” is to gloss over the problem that police have not acted as if black lives matter.

In the case of “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas,” it’s not as simple. First, let’s be clear, there has been no war on Christmas. This is a rightwing propaganda ploy and has been from the first. It’s one of the many ways the rightwing gets their base into a frenzy of resentment, so that they ignore the real problems this country faces. The only thing close to a war on Christmas is the way many Americans, including avowed Christians, have turned into a celebration of consumerism. Otherwise, there are only occasional cases where a public school may too strictly apply the rule of the separation of church and state, and not allow an overtly religious play or song. Much more common in our public schools is the practice of slipping in Christian prayers and beliefs into classes and events.

Some retailers have also adopted the policy of expecting their employees to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” This however has always been for the simple reason that employers don’t want their employees to accidentally be disrespectful of their customers. An employee will often not know if the customer is Christian and, if Christian, that they celebrate Christmas the way most Christians do (and, yes, some Christian sects do not celebrate it).

Americans have never been seriously hindered from celebrating Christmas or practicing Christianity. They can say “Merry Christmas” now just as much as they ever have. But if they feel any hesitation at saying it and if they feel any resentment because of that hesitation, expect no sympathy from me. A person should hesitate just a moment before spouting anything with religious connotations. We are a nation with a plurality of religions. If you want your own religion to be respected, you must also respect the religions of others. That might just mean that sometimes it’s better to say “Happy Holidays.”