The Great "Happy Holidays" Controversy

It's taken me a little while to digest the current "Happy Holidays" controversy, but I think I finally have my thoughts in order. Apparently, some people really take this sort of thing seriously. "It is insulting that Wal-Mart has chosen to ignore the reason for the season," Dick Otterstad of the Church of the Divide (pictured in the Santa costume) said. "Taking the word 'Christmas' out of the holiday implies there's something sinful about it. . . . This is a part of our culture."

As you probably already know, I'm a Christian, and I certainly can sympathize with Mr. Otterstad's concerns. There's a lot about the "holiday" season that is less than holy and anything that diminishes the meaningfulness of Christ’s birth should be held to a minimum. That said, I think that Wal-Mart and other stores are responding in a reasonable manner. By way of explanation, I celebrate a number of meaningful holidays in early winter, not least of all is Christmas, but I also celebrate to one degree or another Hanukkah, New Year's Eve, and Epiphany. Granted, I would probably be in Wal-Mart because of Christmas, but no one working there is going to know that. Heck, should they be expected to wish me a happy birthday just in case I was born in December?

In the end, store workers are simply saying, "hi, I'm glad you're spending your money here!" Do you really expect a private corporation to make a truly religious statement?

We should forget the so-called war on Christmas and declare war on Santa. What we should really be focusing on is not a simple gesture, but on the “new” mythology of Christmas. What do elves, flying reindeer, talking snowmen and especially omni-present bribe-masters have to do with the winter holidays, much less reality itself? More importantly, what are the messages this mythology sends? We better be good or we'll get a lump of coal?

Dear Santa, gimme stuff.