Merry Christmas

How many times will you hear those words offered during the last few weeks of the year? Or Happy Hanukkah? Or Kwanzaa? My question is, even if it is not included in your particular faith or belief, why should it be taken as an offence?

If I wish you a Merry Christmas and you are not a Christian, does it negate the fact that I am wishing you a merry time in your life? Or a happy period of time during which Hanukkah is celebrated by the Jewish faith? I am wishing you a season of time that life would be good for you and your family. That you will find joy in the days ahead even if you do not partake of the particular celebration.

I would like to think that it is the spirit of wishing another human being well that is the important thing. That friends could be made to feel thought of and closer to each other even though there is a separation of beliefs. We live in a free country where we have the freedom to worship as we choose.

It is no longer the days of Nazi Germany where everyone that is of the Jewish faith must wear a star to show his or her belief. Christians are not forced to wear a cross to signify Christianity. Not every person descended from the middle-eastern countries must be designated to be followers of Allah.

In this day of diversity and tolerance, I would hope that my words would be accepted with a smile or a kind thank you and taken at face value. I would only like to wish you a Merry Christmas.

(c) Jena Galifany Dec2006