Say the Word
Christmas.
Good! Now try this…
Merry Christmas.
Well done!
I keep thinking of the word “inclusive.” It’s problematic, as we say in critical theory, and needs be interrogated. So here we go.
A few years ago, I was invited to a bar mitzvah for the son of a relative, a new experience for me and all the other non-Jews. Yet the family did not change the name “bar mitzvah” to something else in English like “one who is subject to law” or “coming of age ceremony.” No one ran around fretting, the Gentiles were coming, the Gentiles were coming! We have to make it more inclusive!
The family was inviting me to share in their tradition, the holiness of it, the accomplishment of the boy who learned his Hebrew so excellently, and of course the great family party afterwards. I googled a bunch of info on the event, asked the boy to teach me a little prayer after the ceremony, which he was so proud to do, and had a great time at the party, rock and roll being the great universalism.
They drew a circle that took us in, as the poet said!
Christmas is not an offensive word, either, nor is it non-inclusive. When we say Merry Christmas to you, we are simply saying “From my tradition to yours, I wish you joy.” If you smile and say “Same to you!” you are not signing on to worship the baby Jesus as the Savior. You are joining in the joy of the season that originated in a certain religion. Nothing is more inclusive than that.
Oh, and that big green fir tree with what Dr. Seuss calls “bingle balls and whofoo fluff”? That is not a Giving Tree or a Wishing Tree or (the worst) a Winter Tree. It’s a Christmas tree.
So as the good doctor said, “Fahoo forays, dahoo dorays
Welcome Christmas, bring your light.”
Bring your light to everyone.
A gentle note to retailers: I will not be spending my Christmas dollars at stores that do not mention Christmas, so...be brave, join us in Christmas joy.
Say the word.
Merry Christmas!