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I've been reading for a couple of years now about the so-called "War on Christmas." For those in other countries, this is allegedly an attack on Christians by an evil, secular society by the inclusion of non-religious songs in school holiday concerts, store clerks wishing shoppers "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," and greeting cards that read "Season's Greetings." It goes hand in glove with the idea that Christians are a persecuted minority in the United States, and has been heavily promoted by Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and a lot of very right-wing evangelical leaders over the past few years.
Since I live in a reasonably liberal state (Massachusetts), in possibly the most liberal area thereof (the Amherst/Northampton area), I found this more quaint than threatening; no one has shown up outside the local Macy's with picket signs, shoppers in Northampton seem more intent on paying for their goods than on what the clerk says as she hands over the change, and there have been no protests outside Easthampton High School about the winter concert. We all get along, mostly, and it's good.
Last night I went to Staples to purchase holiday cards for my employer. We have clients all over the United States and several EU countries, and a lot of them are either Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish. I'm under strict orders to avoid anything religious (no Madonnas, Magi, mangers, stars, trees, menorahs, dreidels, Maccabees or angels), cutesy (gifts under the tree, teddy bears, scenes by Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Kitsch, adorable kittens, adorable puppies, cartoon figures, and so on), or "adult" (Santa knocking back a mai tai, reindeer sipping martinis, elves in miniskirts).
In short, good taste and an avoidance of offense. Not easy, but doable, especially if I hit Staples early before they run out of everything but "Merry Christmas" spelled out in candy canes, kick dancing polar bears, or Santa water skiing while knocking back a martini.
Fortunately there were plenty of suitable cards, so I made my selection, proceeded to check out, and signed for the purchases. As the clerk bagged my cards, I remarked that I was glad I'd gotten there when I did, since we had a diverse client base and I wanted to make sure I got enough non-religious cards.
As I picked up my bag, a voice behind me said, "That's terrible."
The speaker was a woman who was probably in her mid-50s but looked older, with a grim expression and watery blue eyes. I turned to her and said "My company always sends out non-religious cards. We have clients of all religions."
She pursed her lips and said, "Why? It's Christmas."
I swallowed, hard, and said, "We have Muslim clients. It would be offensive to send them Christmas cards."
"Don't they have their own holidays? Send them cards for that!"
I took a deep breath. The clerk was staring at her, mouth open, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. I finally said, "They live in America. The holiday is called 'New Year's.'"
Before she could say anything else, I grabbed my cards and said, "Try watching something besides Bill O'Reilly and Fox News. 'Season's Greetings' and 'Happy Holidays' were used forty years ago when I was a child. My aunt bought the cards for her company and always chose secular cards."
There was no answer as I left, and a good thing, too. I was so upset it took me over an hour to calm down, partly at the breathtaking rudeness of telling a stranger that her purchase was "terrible," and partly at the bigotry implicit in telling me that it was perfectly fine to send Christmas cards to non-Christians.
What has this country come to?
Since I live in a reasonably liberal state (Massachusetts), in possibly the most liberal area thereof (the Amherst/Northampton area), I found this more quaint than threatening; no one has shown up outside the local Macy's with picket signs, shoppers in Northampton seem more intent on paying for their goods than on what the clerk says as she hands over the change, and there have been no protests outside Easthampton High School about the winter concert. We all get along, mostly, and it's good.
Last night I went to Staples to purchase holiday cards for my employer. We have clients all over the United States and several EU countries, and a lot of them are either Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish. I'm under strict orders to avoid anything religious (no Madonnas, Magi, mangers, stars, trees, menorahs, dreidels, Maccabees or angels), cutesy (gifts under the tree, teddy bears, scenes by Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Kitsch, adorable kittens, adorable puppies, cartoon figures, and so on), or "adult" (Santa knocking back a mai tai, reindeer sipping martinis, elves in miniskirts).
In short, good taste and an avoidance of offense. Not easy, but doable, especially if I hit Staples early before they run out of everything but "Merry Christmas" spelled out in candy canes, kick dancing polar bears, or Santa water skiing while knocking back a martini.
Fortunately there were plenty of suitable cards, so I made my selection, proceeded to check out, and signed for the purchases. As the clerk bagged my cards, I remarked that I was glad I'd gotten there when I did, since we had a diverse client base and I wanted to make sure I got enough non-religious cards.
As I picked up my bag, a voice behind me said, "That's terrible."
The speaker was a woman who was probably in her mid-50s but looked older, with a grim expression and watery blue eyes. I turned to her and said "My company always sends out non-religious cards. We have clients of all religions."
She pursed her lips and said, "Why? It's Christmas."
I swallowed, hard, and said, "We have Muslim clients. It would be offensive to send them Christmas cards."
"Don't they have their own holidays? Send them cards for that!"
I took a deep breath. The clerk was staring at her, mouth open, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. I finally said, "They live in America. The holiday is called 'New Year's.'"
Before she could say anything else, I grabbed my cards and said, "Try watching something besides Bill O'Reilly and Fox News. 'Season's Greetings' and 'Happy Holidays' were used forty years ago when I was a child. My aunt bought the cards for her company and always chose secular cards."
There was no answer as I left, and a good thing, too. I was so upset it took me over an hour to calm down, partly at the breathtaking rudeness of telling a stranger that her purchase was "terrible," and partly at the bigotry implicit in telling me that it was perfectly fine to send Christmas cards to non-Christians.
What has this country come to?
