You
can wish me a Merry Christmas, and I won’t be offended.
Every
year at this time, we hear the complaints from all sides about the
secularization of the season when Christians traditionally celebrate the birth of
their Saviour. There are those who complain that saying “Merry Christmas”
excludes those are not Christian, something our pluralistic, multicultural
society rejects. So public areas like city parks and schools cannot put up
“Christmas” displays or anything about the Christian celebration in particular.
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| Image Courtesy: www.vykort.com |
Personally,
I like to celebrate all of it.
Many
people have pointed out how many cultures and religions use lights at this, the
time of year when the nights are longest: Christians, Jews, neo-Pagans,
Wiccans, the list goes on.
And
it’s useless to whine about the commercial, secular celebrations. I can’t help
but complain about the reruns of lame Christmas-themed movies and bad, really,
really bad Christmas — or winter-themed songs on the radio. How many
musicians have hacked through a version
of Jingle Bells and Sleigh Ride? How much are we expected to endure?
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| Image Courtesy: acelebrationofwomen.org |
Let’s
look at it this way: we all like to celebrate. What difference does it make
why? We live in a multicultural, plural world. Rather than argue with each
other over what to call the celebration and how to celebrate it, let’s
celebrate everything.
So,
put up your Christmas decorations. I have no problem with seeing a Nativity
scene beside a Yule tree and a Festivus pole. Wish me a Happy Hanukah. If it’s
the right time of year, say Happy Eid.
I’ll
take it, and same back to you.
*
Happy Yule
Happy Sadeh
Happy Kwanzaa
Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah
Happy Saturnalia
Happy Diwali (a little late)
Happy Eid (whenever that
happens)
Have a
happy season, whatever it is, and a very good new year.
Scott Bury
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Scott Bury
is a journalist, editor, and writer living in Ottawa, Canada. His articles have
been published in newspapers and magazines in Canada, the US, UK and Australia,
including Macworld, the Ottawa Citizen, the Financial Post, Marketing, Canadian
Printer, Applied Arts, PEM, Workplace, Advanced Manufacturing and others.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He holds a BA from Carleton University's School of Journalism. He has two sons, an orange cat and a loving wife who puts up with a lot.
He is a recipient of Maclean Hunter's Top 6 Award and a member of a team that won a Neal Award for business reporting.
The Written Word published his first novel, The Bones of the Earth, in 2011. His first published fiction was a short story, Sam, the Strawb Part, the proceeds of which are donated to an autism charity.
In 2013, the Written Word published his second novel, One Shade of Red, a spoof of the inexplicable bestseller that is mostly made of emails.
His latest book is Army of Worn Soles, a memoir in novel format that tells the true story of the author's father in law, drafted into the Red Army in 1941. He is now working on a sequel.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He holds a BA from Carleton University's School of Journalism. He has two sons, an orange cat and a loving wife who puts up with a lot.
He is a recipient of Maclean Hunter's Top 6 Award and a member of a team that won a Neal Award for business reporting.
The Written Word published his first novel, The Bones of the Earth, in 2011. His first published fiction was a short story, Sam, the Strawb Part, the proceeds of which are donated to an autism charity.
In 2013, the Written Word published his second novel, One Shade of Red, a spoof of the inexplicable bestseller that is mostly made of emails.
His latest book is Army of Worn Soles, a memoir in novel format that tells the true story of the author's father in law, drafted into the Red Army in 1941. He is now working on a sequel.
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