That’s a petty shot you took. I don’t know how old you are, but I remember I started feeling the pressure to say happy holidays during the 90’s. True, I’m in the liberal Mecca and most of my patients were Jewish so I succumbed to media pressure. But, businesses did too because of their bottom line and fear of being targeted in boycotts by religious bigots.
I must be considerably older than you if your first ever memory of Happy Holidays was during the 90’s.
FWIW I was born in 1961 and I recall Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings in stores, in advertising, on greeting cards, etc. in the 1960’s and remember my parents hating it.
Personally, I blame Andy Williams. : )
Andy Williams - Happy Holiday ~ The Holiday Season (Year 1962)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2pQbphEipcFWIW, businesses will do what they “think” is best for their bottom line. (Well, for the most part; we know that companies do make so very bad missteps when it comes to understanding their customer base). But if Christians, still being the majority in this country, boycotted stores that didn’t have Merry Christmas plastered all over, with every cashier and stock clerk being forced as a condition of their employment to say “Merry Christmas” to each and every customer from the day after Thanksgiving (or from the day after Halloween) to December 24th, then they’d probably do a 180 and you’d see more “Merry Christmas”. OTHO they might lose some customers who are not Christian (and, yes there are people in the country who are not Christian and for some strange reason, businesses in most cases, want their business too).
The bottom line IMO however is that the message Trump is sending here is not only hypocritical because his own companies as I pointed out, don’t do as he says everyone else should do, he’s wrong to imply that he as POTUS has some sort of power to force business and or individuals to say “Merry Christmas”, just as he is wrong, and dangerously so about punishing and “pulling the licenses” (something he can’t really do anyway) of the news media for “fake news” which also includes stories that are not “fake”, but just unfavorable to the Cheetos Caesar.
I don’t recall the federal government punishing businesses or individual for saying or displaying “Merry Christmas” or forcing them to say “Happy Holidays”. Likewise, what is Trump going to do to business and individuals that don’t? Sic the IRS on them? Fine them? Place special taxes on them? Say nasty things about them on his Twitter feed?
If a company or organization like the NFL can compel, as some people think they should, their employees (their players) to stand for the National Anthem, then I guess a company can likewise compel their employees to say “Merry Christmas” or likewise compel them to say “Happy Holidays”. No? A private business? Yes. The government - the POTUS? Not so much
Is Trump going to enact something, an EO that would force say the Jewish deli to display Merry Christmas and greet their all their customers with Merry Christmas? What about the Wiccan book store, the Muslim owned Halah grocery store, the Buddhist run yoga studio? What if I go to Hobby Lobby and the clerk wishes me a Merry Christmas and I say in return “and a Very Happy Holiday Season to you and yours” or even “Happy Saturnalia and “Keep Saturn In Saturnalia”? Should I somehow be punished for not following Trump’s admonishment that “We’re saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again.”?
It may be fine for Trump to use his bully pulpit to say that it is no longer un-PC to say “Merry Christmas”. Even though I am not a Christian, I am fine with that. I am not religious but I love Christmas and I say Merry Christmas to my Christian family and friends, just as I say Happy Haunkika to my Jewish friends, Happy Festival of Lights to my Hindu friends, etc. But it is quite another thing for Trump to say “We’re saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again.” So who exactly are “we” and how does Trump intend to do to make “we” say it - who is “we”?
Also IMO, merely saying “Merry Christmas” rings hollow if the person saying it doesn’t practice the teachings of Christ.
I’m going to share something I wrote several years ago on another forum about a true experience I had while working at a retail store during the Christmas season. A friend of mine on that forum asked to re-print my post in his church newsletter. Take from it what you will:
“True Meaning” – by *
About a year ago, a friend of mine posted a real life story to a science forum I read. She was a temporary worker in the toy department of a large retail chain and wrote about two customers she served one day.
****
I was working at my seasonal retail job today at Target. I was working in the toy department which is near the seasonal section, when I saw an older lady who appeared to be looking for something and not all too happy. The good worker that I am, I went up to her with a smile and asked, “Can I help you find something?” She, while sporting a rather dour expression and looking, no lie, quite a bit like the Church Lady from SNL, said, “Yes. Do you have anything “True Meaning‟?” I'm thinking being that we are in seasonal, perhaps this is some type of collectible brand, so I politely ask, “What type of item are you looking for?”
She with a big “Tisk! Tisk!” and says rather loudly, “Don't YOU know about “True Meaning‟? That is the Real meaning of Christmas! The Birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
I wanted to say, “Hey lady that's just fantastic about Jesus' birthday and all that, but that doesn't tell me about what the heck are you looking for right now.” But instead I smiled and taking a stab in the dark asked, “Are you perhaps looking for perhaps… a Nativity set?”
She curtly said “Yes,” and I with a smile said, “Ah great, let me see what we have.” I keyed in “Nativity” into my hand held scanner and voila! It came back with several hits and gave me a location that was several aisles away. So I cheerfully asked her to follow me and I showed her the several very nice Nativity sets we had. Being that it was only 3 days before Christmas however, we were sold of much that was originally in stock, but we still had some left.
Then she said rather angrily, “No! That’s not what I want! I'm looking for something for outdoors! An outdoors lighted Nativity display!” What I wanted to say was, “Well you might have been a little more specific on what you were looking for because I failed mind reading in college.” But no, no, no. Instead I looked at my scanner again and smiled and said, “I'm sorry but it appears that we don't carry any outdoor Nativity displays. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“I want to find anything in this “Heathen and Godless store” that is actually “True Meaning”. But I’m sure you and your “ilk” don’t as you hate God and the True Meaning of Christmas and will not have them.”
So I walked her over showed her some religiously themed Christmas cards, such as ones depicting The Nativity - Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus on it, and other similar cards with Merry Christmas on them. I then also showed her similar religiously themed Christmas ornaments, still not sure what she was looking for except for a big garish lighted plastic outdoor Nativity that we didn’t carry. But that wasn’t good enough as she had already decided that Target, and all the people like me, me and my “ilk”, someone who had been out of work for the last six months and was grateful to finally find work, any work, even if part-time and “seasonal” were all “Godless Heathens” in her own words.
Then she said, “Well next time You have one of Your company meetings You can tell “Them‟ that “They‟ have a very unhappy customer and I won’t be back!”
What I wanted to say was, “Sure, I, a part time seasonal worker, I'm going to fly out to corporate headquarters in Minnesota first thing in tomorrow morning and personally let the board of directors know all about your concerns.” But instead I said, “I'm very sorry we didn't have what you were looking for,” and then I suggested a few local garden and home centers that might carry the type of outdoors Nativity set she was looking for, even offering to look up the directions for her, but then she just walked away in a huff, saying nothing.
I went back to the toy department to continue stocking the shelves. When I got there, there were four older ladies with two shopping carts completely full of toys and games and they were talking with one of my co-workers; a very nice young college student, also a new seasonal worker who started last week when I did.
As I walked up, one of the women said to me, “This guy is awesome!” to which another of the women said “Yes he is! He's wonderful!” Another said, “He should get a raise!”. I really thought they were going to hug and kiss him.
Then one of the women told me they were buying toys for a family whose child, a 3-year-old, was seriously ill and in the hospital being treated for Leukemia and who really needed help providing a nice Christmas for him and their other 3 children, a 1 ½ year old younger sister and 6 and 8-year-old older brothers
These women had a list of toys and games, the kid’s “Santa list” that this sick kid and his siblings had asked for that I presume either the parents couldn't afford to buy or perhaps with a very sick child in the hospital, didn't have time to shop for themselves. For the most part these ladies had no idea what the toys on the list were, let alone where to find them. But my young co-worker helped these women find pretty much every toy on their list and I pitched in to help find them find the rest. They were so appreciative of his and my help and so happy that they had found everything on their list.
One of the ladies then said to us, “Remember this family on Christmas and feel good that you helped make it a bit brighter for them.” My co-worker blushed a bit and said “You're welcome, I was happy I could help you.” They said, “God Bless and Merry Christmas to you both.” My co-worker and I both said, “And a Very Merry Christmas to you too.” And I said to them, “Thank you for reminding me what Christmas is really about”.
I don't know if the ladies were from a church or some other organization or were relatives or just neighbors or co-workers of this family. They didn't say. But I briefly thought about finding the first sour pussed old hag and telling her; “If you are really interested in finding something “True Meaning”, I can introduce you to four ladies shopping here today, a family in need and very a nice young man working here at this “heathen” store who can clue you in on what it really means”.
I would have told her – “Here’s a hint for you; it's not about finding the biggest lighted nativity scene for your front yard or a wreath with a “Jesus is the Reason for the Season ribbon”. Perhaps it is not about what you display but about how you act.” But no, I didn't. I really need this job right now. But when I clocked out for the night, I wrote up a “Team Member Appreciation” card for my co-worker. He deserved it.
***
My friend * was right. It’s not about finding the biggest lighted nativity scene for your front yard or a wreath with a Jesus is the Reason for the Season ribbon or the tallest tree with the fanciest ornaments or the perfect present. The “True Meaning” of Christmas goes deeper than these physical things.
“True Meaning” is incarnating the love of Christ wherever we go and with whomever we meet. The first woman was clueless. The others were doing it naturally. But both shoppers made a deep impression on *.
When Jesus said, “You are the light of the world,” he didn’t say it in church and he wasn’t talking to Christians. There weren’t any churches, and there weren’t any Christians then. He was telling fishermen, shepherds, farmers, and townspeople that they all had the inherent God-given quality of “influence.”
Everywhere we go, we have some amount of influence on others. We saw two examples in *’s story, one that was good and one that wasn’t.
In the days and weeks ahead we will be interacting with a large number of people: friends, relatives, acquaintances, store clerks, and others. And each time we interact, we will have some small measure of influence. We can use that influence to ask for “True Meaning” like the first shopper, or we can use that time of influence as an opportunity to be that “True Meaning‟ to others like the second shoppers did. When we choose the second approach we don’t have to say a single word, in fact, sometimes words get in the way. Like St. Francis says, “Preach the gospel always… use words if necessary.” Our “light” is a given. How we use that “light” is a choice. Choose wisely.
