Happy Holidays – Season’s Greetings

Date Published: 12/20/2009

I’m sure you have encountered Christians reacting with hostility to “Happy Holidays” and “Seasons Greetings.” As Christians, we do want to affirm that Christmas is really about celebrating the birth of Jesus, but I’m wondering if we are doing more harm than good by making this into a strident crusade. Todd and I had some conversation about this, so I decided to share some of my thoughts with you.

Maybe it was my west coast upbringing with large Jewish and Buddhist populations in my neighborhood, but “Happy Holidays” and “Seasons Greetings” were very common in my 1950s growing up world. I didn't think of it so much as wanting not to offend non-Christians or some other coerced political correctness but as the non-Christians I knew wanting to wish me (and others) well in the spirit of the season. They wanted to participate even when they didn’t feel comfortable with an overtly religious message because they were not religious, or not Christian.

I have always recognized that the shopping season had nothing to do with Jesus, only with commerce. So for merchants to use “Happy Holidays” and “Seasons Greetings” to sell their stuff makes more sense to me than using Jesus to sell their stuff. In fact, using Jesus to sell stuff seems to me to come close to blasphemous. Luke 19:45-46 reports that Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.”

Actually I have more quarrel with the “true spirit of the season,” “the spirit of giving” etc. than I do with “Happy Holidays” and “Seasons Greetings.” Those things (that also go back to at least "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus") strike me as doing much more to undermine the distinctive message of the birth of Christ than the generic good wishes of unbelievers. For a good take on “the real meaning of Christmas” go to Linus' answer to Charlie Brown (which was just on TV).

However, my sense is that the “Happy Holidays” and “Seasons Greetings” people are wishing me well and not making a political statement. I want to accept those good wishes, whatever words are used, whatever they think about Jesus. Conversely, it strikes me that it is obnoxious Christians who are turning the CHRISTmas thing into a social-political campaign that adds offense by its vociferousness.

As I read what I have written, I am feeling that all of this controversy (including my written reaction here) can really rob us of the joy of anticipating and celebrating the birth of Jesus. I want to keep my focus on Jesus. If I have irritated you, I’m sorry, my real intent is to liberate us from fighting for causes so we can enjoy welcoming Jesus.