How do you do Holiday Greetings?
Monday, December 3, 2007
Last week the Governor of Missouri issued the following memo:
From: Governor Blunt
To: All Missouri State Employees
Date: November 29, 2007
Re: "Merry Christmas!"
Dear State Employee:
Merry Christmas!
I hope that I am among the first to wish a Merry Christmas to you, your family, and friends!
As most of us know, some question the appropriateness of saying "Merry Christmas!" particularly by government employees.
By my directive, as a government employee, you need not worry about this strange effort to undermine the historical foundation of this wonderful time of the year into an arid "Winter Break". You need not check your religious views at the door, nor your affection for the season, nor the use of its ancient, time-honored greetings. The directive I have given to all executive agencies provides that no state employee will be reprimanded or disciplined in any way for saying "Merry Christmas."
Please enjoy the holiday season!
Feel free to spread your cheer by wishing your colleagues -- and especially the Missourians we all serve -- a Merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
Matt Blunt
This memo is not dealing with a new issue, but I think it brings up an interesting topic of discussion.
I have had lengthy discussions with friends who do not celebrate Christmas about their views when someone greets them with a "Merry Christmas!"
One friend made a point to respond to a "Merry Christmas" with a return of "and a Happy Hanukah to you." Some may take his response as pugnacious, but his intent was pure. He explained to me that he wanted to acknowledge a cheerful sentiment with a response that honored his beliefs.
Another friend would respond to a greeting of "Merry Christmas" with a response of "and you too." Even though he did not celebrate Christmas he chose to recognize the positive intent of the message and respond in kind.
I find that I try to avoid any specific holiday greeting and instead look toward an inclusive cheer that wishes a general "happy holidays." If I am greeted with a "Merry Christmas", "Happy Hanukah", "Joyful Kwanza" or "Happy Festivus" (Seinfeld friends only) I tend to follow the lead of my latter friend and respond back in kind. To me the holidays are about spending time with family and friends, regardless of the motivation or beliefs that bring this about, and I am happy to respond respectfully to any greeting that expresses this sentiment.
With that said I am a bit surprised by the memo of Governor Blunt. I am curious what are your thoughts on the Governor's memo and how do you handle holiday greetings?
Lawrence.com blogs are collections of short, frequently updated posts by members of the Lawrence community. Blog writers, and comment posters, are solely responsible for what they say. (Please take the time to read our full policy.)
If you're interested in writing a blog on lawrence.com, send us a couple of sample entries.
Berry :: This Chicago-via-St. Louis foursome rocks off-kilter compositions that strike a balance between melody and experimentation ... More info
Comments
lawrence.com does not necessarily agree with comments posted below - responsibility lies with the relevant user alone. Read our full policy
Posted by mitzibel (Misty Nuckolls) on December 3, 2007 at 12:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, I never got the whole responding to MC with "Happy Hanuka" thing. For one thing, the two holidays don't line up, they just usually fall within the same month. For the other, when someone says to me, "Merry Christmas," I think it's pretty pointless to respond to them with "Happy Hanuka", because they quite obviously don't celebrate that religious holiday. I wish them a Merry Christmas right back, because that's obviously the holiday they *do* celebrate, and I'd like them to have a nice one. Usually.
However, I think most would agree that Christmas has been pretty much secularized into a "Christmas Season" surrounding the actual religious holiday. So rather than get my knickers in a knot because I think somebody is telling me to go celebrate the birth of some guy they believe is holy, I take it as a general, "This is how I say 'Hi and have a great day' at this time of year!"
Posted by lazz (anonymous) on December 3, 2007 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
looks pretty clear to me that the memo is a political document -- certification that "I'm a regular guy! Not one of them PC fellers!"
Which is fine, I s'pose. It's what governors do. And I personally don't see anything wrong with the content ... seems fair enough.
But, for me, it does leave a slight aftertaste, in the sense of using something of a contrived "Merry Christmas" controversy as a bit of politico branding ...
I wonder what the good gov's position is on "Happy Cotton Bowl!"
hehehe....
Posted by DOTDOT (anonymous) on December 3, 2007 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think people should lighten up and just love each other all year long.
Have a nice day.
Posted by OnShakedown (Chris Tackett) on December 3, 2007 at 3:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Blunt is just bending over to blow hard on the coals of his constituents' christmas-loving, god-fearing, PC-hating fires, knowing that this memo--while only read by a small percentage of citizens--will make a few supporters all warm and fuzzy and a few on the other side cringe, while meaning absolutely nothing to the majority of folks.
I couldn't care less. Bill O'Reilly and the Fox News crew gave hours and hours of discussion to this phony War on Christmas, for those very reasons.
Posted by chewyfally (Falestine Afani Ruzik) on December 3, 2007 at 3:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My family is Muslim, but we still celebrate Christmas. It's still a great time of year to get with family and eat good food.
Plus, when the Eid (a Muslim holiday) comes around, I've been known to get a bit over-excited and wish everyone in the office a Happy Eid. And they think that's just dandy, so why wouldn't I like it when they wish ME a Merry Christmas?
Posted by OnShakedown (Chris Tackett) on December 3, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ah, i realized i didn't answer the question.
i celebrate christmas and normally just say "happy holidays" if i'm unsure about what would be appropriate for the person. but if someone says it to me, i'll say it back. or just "you too" if i'm in a hurry. fewer syllables and all that.
Posted by OtherJoel (anonymous) on December 3, 2007 at 4:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There IS a war on Christmas -- and I'm on the front lines, baby. I just got back from a nasty firefight up in Nunavut. Don't let their dimunitive stature and cuteness fool you -- those elves are some crack shots, I tell ya. I barely made it out of there alive.
Festivusians Unite!
Posted by mitzibel (Misty Nuckolls) on December 3, 2007 at 9:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I never really dug on Seinfeld, but I do loves me some festivus. Isn't there some exceptionally groovy chick here in Lawrence who throws epic Festivus parties? I seem to remember seeing her featured in a national article on the phenomenon . . .
Posted by DonQuipunch (anonymous) on December 5, 2007 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To answer your question: "Merry Christmas."
Secular/PC culture be damned.
Posted by bwoodard (Bill Woodard) on December 5, 2007 at 4:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Happy Mall-adays!
Post a comment
(Requires free lawrence.com registration.)