Comments on: on holidayspeak

By: cygnoir

cygnoir — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:20:00 +0000

I love the “hey let’s be awesome to each other” sentiment, and I feel like
some PC-speak around the holidays obfuscates this. While I fully understand
and support respectful dialogue between adults, I do not think that forcing
people to say one phrase over another for fear of offending someone (anyone)
is in the spirit of any season.

I think we should accommodate each other in a reasonable manner, and forgive
each other faults borne of honest feeling as opposed to prejudice. Of
course, the argument can be made that in today’s society, we must apply
stringent rules to communication because our general sense of ethics has
lapsed.

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful time of year. :o)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:26:00 +0000

the thing is, I don’t know that I’ve ever had anyone once respond badly if I’ve accidentally said “merry Christmas” instead of whatever other holiday one celebrates at the end of the year…it usually just ends with a joke by both parties and the true point (hey let’s be awesome to each other) is understood.

I am a bit careful with cards though. Some people get the super-religious Christmas cards, some get a winter card with a nice photo, and some people (actually quite a lot) get the retro-themed N Judah cards. Those cards, though ,tend to be mailed late, and don’t always make it without a breakdown of sorts.

By: cygnoir

cygnoir — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:43:00 +0000

I echo your sentiment about losing the snippiness. There is a great deal to
be said for tolerating not only the differences between us but our
individual abilities to accommodate everyone’s differences all the time.

By: cygnoir

cygnoir — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:41:00 +0000

You make excellent points, Aric. I especially appreciated this: “By the same
instance, we are probably worrying too much if we can’t just offer kind
words from our own cultural upbringing without hours of analysis.”

Merry Christmas to you, too!

By: cygnoir

cygnoir — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:39:00 +0000

I’m glad it’s not just me! So far as library policy, the city has a strong
commitment to diversity and tolerance, so although there is nothing in
writing forbidding any of us from saying certain words, there is a general
sense of remaining linguistically secular whenever possible.

By: Sue Tyler

Sue Tyler — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:13:00 +0000

i wish i could just say happy Christmas, but then some friend or another says ‘don’t you mean happy holidays some people don’t celebrate Christmas.’ so it’s turned into holidays for me

but for me Christmas is what it’s all about, and instead of being snippy i’d love people to just say back to me happy hanukkah or whatever else feels special to them.

but then I’m also good with happy baby jesus day, becuase o grew up with Christmas day being about joy and hope and carols and nativity scenes.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:53:00 +0000

I’m a pastor so I’m surrounded by people saying ‘Merry Christmas’ all the time and obviously I respond in kind. I don’t see any harm in sharing well-wishes whatever their form. My hindu friends tell me “Happy Diwali” and I say it right back. Even if I am not celebrating a particular holiday I can wish another person a pleasant celebration.

I think the Focus on the Family people are absurd getting all hyper about people saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. It is a meaningless argument. “Holiday” isn’t a secular word anyway – it means ‘holy day’. Doesn’t designate which holy day, or holy to whom, but it certainly isn’t a secular word. And even if it was? So what?

By the same instance, we are probably worrying too much if we can’t just offer kind words from our own cultural upbringing without hours of analysis. Merry Christmas.

By: Ned Morrell

Ned Morrell — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:22:00 +0000

I do much the same, and most years I’ll wind up wishing at least one person a merry Christmas. Especially if it’s a knee-jerk response, I wouldn’t worry over political correctness or religious respect. Professional courtesy and your personal care with words are both powerful forces, and I’d be surprised if the former didn’t trump the latter now and then!

Does your library have a policy on how to respond? I can’t recall that I’ve seen one…