Just
let me smell the fir and pine, cinnamon and vanilla within the warmth of our
home. Let me walk outside in the brisk air, and hear the crunch of snow or sere
leaves beneath my booted feet. Let the wan light of December sun play over the
rooftops and bare trees outside my window while the playlist on my iPod
encompasses everything from “Ave Maria” to “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.
But
stop, please stop barking about
having been saluted with “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” instead of
“Merry Christmas”, and declaring that those words mean taking sides in what
some people have called (thanks, Fox News and Bill O’Reilly!) the “war on
Christmas”.
There
is no such thing. No amount of Grinchiness, no reminders that a nativity scene
was not permitted in a school or government building, no inclusion of other
seasonal observances can ever diminish Christmas in the hearts, minds and yes,
pocketbooks (that’s another story!) of the masses in the western world.
It
is not easy to impress on some people how embracing diversity does not mean
turning their backs on their long-held religious views. You are not forsaking
your beliefs by investigating, becoming educated or sharing in the rituals of
another faith or creed. True, many of us in my peer group, growing up in Nova
Scotia, did not see a menorah or Star of David in our neighbours’ homes, or
know of Kwanzaa or Yule, other than with its references to a yule log cake. Still,
how could knowing and learning about customs and traditions of others do
anything but enrich us?
What
makes people pit their beliefs against and focus such righteous outrage on others where
Christmas is concerned? Kindness and compassion stand at the root of ancient
and modern belief systems alike. Go to mass, have eight nights of lights, feast
and frolic with abandon, be with those you love, give more or your time and
less from the superficial “spend, spend, spend” mentality. Sing! Rejoice! Sit
quietly. Observe or don’t.
That
is having it all.
