All I want for Christmas...
is for people to use the word Christmas.
Holiday. Isn't that a Madonna song?
As I was trying to sort through my feelings on this topic, a wild little thought spun through my brain. This little thought, in the span of three whole seconds, compared the song Madonna (the singer) wrote to the song the woman known as the Madonna sang, concerning the great privilege of carrying and birthing and mothering the long-awaited Messiah. (It was just a little thought, and not really the point of this post, but you can find Madonna's lyrics here, and you can find the lyrics for what is known as Mary's Song here.)
So what is the point, you ask? I think, I think the point is this: Yesterday, on the 26th of December, I found myself breathing a sigh of relief. I could stop wondering who might be offended by my "Merry Christmas!" and who would return it joyfully. I could stop, for the love of all that is good and holy, hearing that Toyota commercial that has been polluting both the television and the radio airwaves with its insipid, ridiculous lyrics.
Sigh (of relief).
And then I went to the gym. The instructor of the class I attended, on the day after Christmas, used the term "holiday" no less than six times, in direct reference to what had taken place the previous day. In context, there was no other holiday to which she could have been referring. It was so silly that I wondered if she had been dared not to say the word. Maybe it was like that elusive $20 that convinced me to go to school one fateful day in the 7th grade wearing a garbage bag. Someone still owes me that money, by the way.
It's bewildering. Even at its most secular, the holiday we have been decorating, and baking, and shopping in preparation for is Christmas. It's Christmas, people!
For the record: I'm with Mary.
Um, so the word 'holiday' actually comes from the word 'holy'. You should look up the origins, might make you fell better about people using the word. When I learned this, it made me laugh, because duh!:)
ReplyDeleteReally? That's awesome. Thanks, Chris.
ReplyDeleteyou know, i think that it's one of the advantages of living here in the midwest. although i have noticed that lots of people are saying 'holiday' more often, nobody stares at you weird if you say 'merry christmas.' especially if you mean it :)
ReplyDeleteI know, Bob. I miss that.
ReplyDelete