Merry Christmas, Or Happy Holidays!
Every year around Christmas, my oldest group of friends and I meet up to have a meal together and we usually have a little gift and a card for each other. We’ve known each other since we were 13 years old, so we would’ve had close to 20 Christmas gatherings by now. And yes, I’ve missed two Christmas gatherings. Sorry ladies!
None of us were Christians then, though one of them converted to Christianity recently. In retrospect, it’s weird that we’re celebrating the birth of a religious figure that wasn’t relevant to us. At the same time, Christmas has become a popular time for gatherings, good food, and gifts. A cultural holiday, or so I read.
Why do we find ourselves pulled into this celebration? I can only assume that the marketing of Christmas has been very successful, thanks to retailers.
In fact, Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days of the year and my family didn’t even celebrate it. I watched too many holiday movies set on a cold wintry day, in a warm cozy house with a crackling fireplace.
So I never thought about Christmas as a day I have no business celebrating. What did I think Christ-mas mean?
Besides, most offices in Singapore celebrate Christmas – as a public holiday more than anything else. I went around wishing my then-colleagues Merry Christmas, regardless of whether they’re Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Taoists or something else – no racism or disrespect intended. We’re multi-racial and multi-cultural and lucky for me, no one took offense.
These days, I’ve become more aware of some issues. It’s politically incorrect to wish non-Christians “Merry Christmas”… Which didn’t come as a surprise. It made me wonder if some of my colleagues might have felt offended, or perhaps as confused as I am too. I certainly hope not. Do Christians feel offended that I “celebrate” Christmas without any thoughts of Jesus? I really hope not!
However, there is something nice about people setting aside faiths and simply letting it be a day of festivities.
At the end of the day, Christmas didn’t become so widely celebrated only because of religion or marketing, but also because humans all over the world share this similarity – we like celebrations, good company, and good food. It’s really for these reasons that I continue to celebrate and enjoy this holiday, only I’m not sure what to call it anymore.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa! Whatever you’re celebrating today, I hope you’ll have a good day and even better company. Happy Holidays!
If you’re working, I’m sorry to hear that, but I hope you’ll have an equally happy day!
My two close friends and I have the same annual tradition! It’s always great to see your loved ones at this time of year. Lovely post, Julie. Merry Christmas!
Thank you, Lucy! I agree, it is great to catch up with loved ones. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and new year! Thanks for reading and commenting! 🙂
Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, Julie! It is kind of weird that such a religious holiday has become so commercialized. But I grew up Catholic so it was always a big part of celebrating Christian holidays. But now that I’m not religious, I don’t mind how it’s turned into an excuse to be with family and celebrate togetherness (though I never want to take away the religious meaning of it for other people. I know it’s important to them). But now since my sister is Jewish, she celebrates both Hanukkuh (religiously) and Christmas (secularly), I usually say “Happy Holidays!” to people if I don’t know what they celebrate. But I like in a very Christian area so everyone says “Merry Christmas” to me, lol.
This was a great post with some good observations about the holidays! I hope your Christmas is wonderful tomorrow!
Emily | https://www.thatweirdgirllife.com
We both grew up with one religion and became non-religious! Yeah, it’s lovely to have a reason to gather and celebrate. Otherwise, life gets a little stale! I had a lovely Christmas celebration. Hope you enjoyed yours too! Thank you for reading and commenting!