So here we are, near the end of 2024 -- in “the holidays.”
So will you be celebrating the Dec. 25 Christian birth of Jesus? Or will you be commemorating Hanukkah, an eight-day Jewish holiday beginning Wednesday evening? Or celebrating Kwanzaa, an African American cultural event from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1? Or simply thinking about happy holidays?
What if you were born in Africa but now a U.S. citizen, a member of an Episcopalian church and having Jewish parents? Far-fetched? Not at all in our increasingly diverse American culture in the 21st century.
Must you be of a Christian faith to wish another a Merry Christmas? Or Jewish to say Happy Hanukkah? Or from an African nation to wish another person a Joyous Kwanzaa? Of course not. Neither is it important that the person you’re greeting in any of these ways be of any of the religions or cultures or nations of the greetings.
Simply put, we’re in a celebratory time of the year and it matters none at all which greeting you choose. Saying “Christmas” does not make you a believer that Jesus Christ is God. Saying “Hanukkah” does not make you Jewish or an inhabitant of Israel. And saying “Kwanzaa” does not make you a resident of one of many African countries. And “happy holidays” simply covers all bases. None of your celebratory choices or greetings is at all racist or intimidating or inappropriate.
So all that said, happy holidays to all, and to all a good night.
William A. Babcock
Durango
