I sat behind a couple of folks on a plane to Seattle this morning who were discussing their distress about a so-called war on Christmas.
“Memorial Day is a holiday,” said the man in a santa hat with disgust. “July 4th and Thanksgiving are holidays. Christmas is, well, Christmas!”
“Absolutely,” nodded the woman next to him. “It’s just more evidence of this war against Christmas.”
On the way off the plane, a flight attendant made the grave mistake of wishing the man happy holidays. He stopped the line of outgoing traffic behind him (including me) to correct her. She demurred, looked toward her feet and smiled sheepishly.
We Christians have a long and storied history of playing the martyr, whether there’s actually anyone persecuting us or not. For some, the perceived threat keeps us sharp and gives us purpose. For others, it’s a manifestation of fear about a changing culture in which Christendom is no longer the baseline identity.
Never mind that there are still more Christians in the United States than any other religion. Never mind that we are afforded remarkable liberty to practice our faith both as individuals and in groups. And never mind that these same liberties are the ones enjoyed by those of other faiths, or of no faith at all, in living how they choose to live.
Beyond all of that, these public expressions of discontent simply add to the negative impressions of Christians as insensitive, whiny and – let’s be honest – jerks. What if the flight attendant is Jewish? Or Muslim? Or maybe even a Christian who has been trained by the airline to be more inclusive in her language so as not to alienate anyone? And how does correcting her in front of a group of strangers reflect well on the man’s faith or convey to her the true spirit of Christmas?
To me, it doesn’t.
I’d also point out that the etymology of the word “holiday” is “holy day,” which inherently implies a sacred meaning, regardless of our broader application of it to secular dates of note like July 4th. And if the true meaning of Christmas is truly the issue, why obscure that fact by wearing a santa hat, which was notably absent in Bethlehem on the day of Jesus’ birth by most accounts?
I expect that at the heart of most such exchanges is a fear of the loss of Christian cultural hegemony. After all, making room for a greater plurality of views not only doesn’t threaten our own beliefs; it also presents an opportunity to understand the world in a broader, richer context if we’re open to it. It’s also a fundamentally American cultural value, which is something many Christians in the United States hold nearly as sacred as the faith itself.
There’s no war, in this country at least, on Christmas or the whole of Christianity. Yes, our numbers are dwindling and, for the first time in many generations, those younger people claiming “none of the above” as their faith has eclipsed the identity of “Christian.” But the kind of pushback expressed by the couple in front of me on the plane generally serves to reinforce the negative stereotypes non-Christians have of us, and I have not yet encountered anyone who experienced a Pauline-like conversion when corrected about their word choice in public.
The greatest gift we could offer the world this Advent season is to demonstrate the kind of far-reaching love and compassion we claim to hold at the heart of our faith. If someone asks you what you believe, tell them a little bit of your story. Otherwise, it’s best to keep your self-righteous indignation to yourself.
Happy Holidays.
(Can’t stop, on a roll, filled with caffeine and procrastination.) I’m pretty solidly an agnostic secular humanist, so I’m not all that upset if there really were a war on Christian holiday symbols. However, I’m even more cynical than I am agnostic, and I love gamesmanship, game tactics, and political strategy, but even more than that I like to see a good fight. I’d like to see a more effective defense of Christian Christmas, if there really is currently a war against it. So, this is real, genuine advice, about 10% satirical and 5% sarcastic but 85% sincere, about how… Read more »
Oh, the ironies are abundant, and so delicious. Let’s look at a couple of them. First, Christianity did not become the dominant religion of Western culture by allowing a free exchange of religious ideas in a religious free market system. Christmas became the big ticket winter celebration in the West because its supporters declared war on the competition. The dominance of the Christmas cult was itself a product of religious intolerance. Did all those Druids 1500 years ago just voluntarily close up shop and leave the solstice celebration to the Christians? Not really. In fact, as of a few centuries… Read more »
I don’t hear many devout Christians calling for Americans to celebrate Christmas exactly the way that the Bible tells people to celebrate Christmas, on the day of the year that the Bible says Christmas should be, and decorate everything the way that the Bible tells Christians to decorate….
….which would mean no Christmas at all, really.
Sorry, that was a little unfair. Let me pull back into a larger historical perspective and be more inclusive. Christmas is definitely NOT just about Christianity.
Why is there a war against our most beloved pagan/Christian cultural hybrid? When are we going to stop oppressing our culture’s pagan heritage? After a millennium or two, enough is enough. End this war against pre-Christian Indo-European civilization once and for all.
We should have religious inclusiveness in the United States.
I’m just pointing out the hypocrisy and double standards of some of those who advocate religious inclusiveness.
That is all.
Seems to me there’s an extremely vocal minority of American Christians that delight in their intolerance. See, Westboro Baptist Church, etc.
I don’t entirely follow your logic as to why the existence of Israel means we don’t need religious inclusiveness in the United States.
But the kind of pushback expressed by the couple in front of me on the plane generally serves to reinforce the negative stereotypes non-Christians have of us, and I have not yet encountered anyone who experienced a Pauline-like conversion when corrected about their word choice in public. I’m not even a Christian or religious. But boo hoo, let them stereotype away. Based on my observations, I’d say that American Christians are among the most tolerant people on earth. Besides, many of the people behind holiday pluralism and secularization are Jewish activists (such as the ADL), who shamelessly support Israel’s right… Read more »
Being a hypocrite doesn’t make the ideas invalid. It makes the actions reprehensible, but that doesn’t mean the words are wrong. Just because I’m never totally honest doesn’t mean that honesty is not a valid ideal. It just means that I suck at following through on what I say. Just because Thomas Jefferson spoke about liberty while he was a lifelong slaveowner doesn’t mean that therefore liberty is a false idea.
That’s fair enough.
I don’t know, I guess for me, I’m just a little weary of tolerance and inclusiveness being something of a one-way-street.