It's that time of year when the perennial conversation begins - are we keeping Christ in Christmas? Particularly, is Christmas being diluted if someone wishes me Seasons Greetings or Happy Holidays instead of wishing me a Merry Christmas? Is wishing me something other than Merry Christmas undermining the importance of Jesus Christ in my life of faith?
To the latter questions, the answer is "No." In fact, I think it is incredibly important that someone who doesn't feel called to wish me a Merry Christmas shouldn't be made to. That people who is trying to respect the diversity of their community by wishing a broader greeting of Season Greetings or Happy Holidays should be respected for it.
My reasons for this are rooted in my theology, in my understanding who Jesus Christ is, and how he chose to be present in our world. Christ comes to us as a tiny, infant child. It is difficult to be more vulnerable than a newborn. Did God need to come as an infant? No. In fact, the assumption was that God would come in traditional power and might. Instead God chose the antithesis of force, chosing to come as an infant. God chose to be incredibly vulnerable, therefor immediately connecting with all those who are vulnerable.
So in celebrating the birth of Jesus, everything I do related to that celebration should be without force. That means even something as small as not insisting that others wish me a Merry Christmas, or insisting on wishing everyone else a Merry Christmas if I know they follow another religion.
In part of that famous verse John 3:16, we hear, "God so loved the world that God gave his only son." Jesus, our Christ, came in love. Love of the all of creation, of each one of us. So for me, when I celebrate the birth of Jesus, everything I do related to that celebration should be done in love.
Part of living in the love of Christ is to meet people where they are and loving them in the now. I make a point of wishing Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends and Merry Christmas to my Christian friends and family.
If in a store and a clerk wishes me Happy Holidays, I respond in kind; if it's Merry Christmas, I respond in kind. If my non-religious friends were to wish me a Happy Solstice, I'll reply in kind. If I happened to be wished a Happy Kwanzaa, I will reply in kind as well.
If someone who doesn't know me, but assumes from my strong nose and curly hair that I'm Jewish (it's been known to happen) and were to wish me a Happy Hanukkah, I would smile and wish them a Happy Hanukkah.
In wishing Happy Hanukkah, I am joining in a small way in celebrating the miracle of God and God's unending covenant. In wishing someone a Happy Kwanzaa (which isn't a religion, BTW), I am supporting the idea of taking time to remember the African/pan-African/Black experience as they reflect on the values of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. I am acknowledging the times throughout the generations when those who are African/pan-African/Black have been incredibly vulnerable due to the actions of those with power. In wishing someone a Happy Solstice, I am celebrating the return to light - which is why early Christians set the celebration of Jesus' birth at this very time of year, because we understand Jesus as the light of the world.
In replying in kind to the whole list of greetings one might have in December, including Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays, I am not denying my faith, I am living my faith. I am doing my best to love those around me as Jesus loves each of us. Love beyond all reason is what the birth of Jesus is about. It is the gift of joy, hope, and peace, a refuting of the sin of shame, fear, and force. It is the love of a God all-powerful who chose instead to be all-vulnerable. That is worth celebrating, however we word it.
