Uber-Christian types are wanting to boycott Target because they've actively changed their ad slogans to say the non-religion-specific "Happy Holidays" instead of the more nationally reflective "Merry Christmas." I was all over Target the other night. I saw nothing pertaining to Ramadan or Kwanzaa, an endcap full of Hannukah things, and, no exaggeration, 12 rows full of Christmas stuff, not including the various Christmasy decorations all over the store. Clearly, while their ads say "Happy Holidays," their store says "Merry Christmas."
While I do feel that the uber-Christians are being a little sensitive about the Target thing, it still annoys me that people will take strictly Christmas-related items and attach the "Happy Holidays" greeting to it. Santa was driving a Benz in a commercial I saw the other day, and at the end, "Happy Holidays" flashed across the screen. Santa only celebrates one of those "holidays." Don't use Santa in a non-religion specific role.
Now, I realize, sad as it is, that Christmas is celebrated by people who are not Christian. (Which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I know it's a national tradition, but why would someone who is not a Christian celebrate the birth of Christ?) However, I would certainly hope that people who DO celebrate Christmas and no other winter holiday would understand that it is a holiday for Christians. It's not just a consumer-driven present fest - it's a celebration of the birth of the man who died to pay for the sins of our fallen world. I guess people are just uncomfortable facing that fact, so it's all about the holidays.
3 months ago
3 comments:
I think it gets back to American society turning Christmas into a consumer holiday, instead of what it is really about (well what I think Christmas is really about), which is remembering Jesus' message. I think Target should accept the truth and just say Christmas, I mean because, it's like all Christmas and stuff.
Consumerism is the one main reason of why I don't like this time of year. I don't consider myself a catholic/christian anymore, but it isn't lost on me how freaking ridiculous the season has become by transforming the birth of a religion's savior into a money-making scheme. IOn top of that commercialization, this American society tries to PC a cathoic religion by trying to phase out of the phrase "Merry Christmas." Sheesh, strange days these are...
Jesus Christ didn't come to save a religion - he came to save individual human beings. But I digress....
Michael Medved made a good point on his radio show on Monday. He was saying that Christians should be offended when the PC Police are out in force spewing the "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" propaganda while still displaying pictures and items specifically identified with Christmas, which is ONLY a Christian holiday. In other words, it's not a holiday tree - it's a Christmas tree. Santa doesn't bring toys for Kwanzaa. There aren't multiple "holidays" to be happy about or multiple "seasons" to celebrate. It's Christmas that 95% of America celebrates, and the 5% are just jealous. Hanukkah just isn't on par with Christmas, which is the second-holiest day on the Christian calendar, and that's OK. Christians don't try to raise the feast of St. Albert the Great to the level of Yom Kippur. We certainly don't invent feasts to compete with Sukkot (cough - Kwanzaa! Excuse me. I have this nasty cold).
Besides that, as Mr. Medved (a devout Jew who is among the 5%) put it, nobody would rename a menorah a "holiday candelabra" or a shofar a "holiday horn" because, in addition to being absurd, the Jewish community would rightly be offended. It's not right to strip any group's important symbols of their substance and meaning. A pluralistic society, which we claim to be (not to my particular joy, I should add), should be able to tolerate all the different expressions of religion and culture within its borders. Why is it that only Christians are told that their symbols are offensive to the small minority who do not embrace them? I think we all know the answer to that question.
I hope everyone has a blessed day tomorrow as we Catholics celebrate the solemn feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. May Mary, the Mother of the Church and the mother of us all, serve as a catalyst to bring all of her beloved children throughout the world into a saving relationship with her Divine Son, just as she was the catalyst to bring her Divine Son into the world.
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