A MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAY STORY

'Tis the season for reaching out in kindness, for seeing others as we see ourselves, for finding our common humanity....

Here is an actual and true story of my trip to the grocery store this morning:

I got in the checkout line behind a woman wearing a Washington State Cougars beanie.  (Our younger son went to college there, across the state from where we live, and I alway enjoy seeing others in their Coug gear -- reminds me of my son.  Go Cougs!)  

She turned to me after she scanned the magazines at the check out and said, "I don't understand this Taylor Swift thing.  How did she get to be Person of the Year on TIME?"

"Well", I answered, "she has had a very influential year...."

"Yeah, but it should be someone important!  I guess I'm old.  I'm 68.  But none of our musicians were ever the Person of the Year...maybe the Beatles, I don't recall.  It should be a president or something...but not the current president!"

Uh-Oh.  "Well, I replied, Taylor has a very positive message in her music and has a lot of influence.  I think being positive is a good thing, don't you?"

"Yes, that's why I am so ready to have a different president...the one we had before.  I agree with him.  I agree with everything he says.  I saw him on Hannity and I was so excited.  The way things are now, we can't speak our mind about anything."

"Really?" I replied.  "Like what?"  

"Like anything!  They don't want us to say anything they disagree with.  We can't speak up anymore. We are just supposed to shut up. I watch a lot of news and that's what they are saying."

"I don't think that's true.  I think we still have the freedom to speak about anything we want.  You are doing that right now, here in line at the Safeway.  No one is really stopping you."  

"Well, that's the American way!" She declared.

"Right! And we want to keep it that way, right?" I offered, looking for common ground.

"Yes, but we can't even say Merry Christmas!"

(Here we go...).  

"I don't know about that," I said. "I think you can say Merry Christmas if you want to..."

"No!  We are supposed to say Happy Holidays," she said with an eye roll.

"Well, there are a lot of winter holidays," I countered.  "And it would be a little hard to determine who celebrates what.  Christians might enjoy a Merry Christmas greeting but what about those who are not Christian?  They might want to feel included and respected too."

"Well who's respecting me?"  She was getting heated.  

"Kind of everyone, I think.  Merry Christmas has been around as the standard greeting for a long time.  I'm sure we have never known how our "Merry Christmas" came across to someone who didn't celebrate Christmas.  They just smiled and moved on.  That's being pretty respectful, right? And now we are just trying to be a bit more inclusive."

"Well, I don't know..."  We went silent for a few moments. When her groceries were bagged and paid for she looked at me with a small smile, "It was nice talking to you. Happy Holidays, I guess." She turned her back and walked away.

I called out, "Nice talking to you too.  Merry Christmas!"  She stopped dead in her tracks turned around and smiled again.  We both sort of chuckled.  Detente?

When it was my turn with the cashier, she said, "That was nice."  I replied, "Yes. We made peace.  Or at least it was a polite disagreement."

She offered, "I wish everyone could be nice to each other.  I'm from Minnesota."

"Oh!  Well you are automatically nice then!" I said, referring to the infamous "Minnesota Nice" trait of the state's residents.

"Yes, but we all say Merry Christmas. Everyone. No one says Happy Holidays."  

"Really?" I thought.  But I tried to approach the whole thing again..."But you know that does exclude some people, right?"

"No! I don't exclude anyone!  I also say Happy Hanukkah on the day and Happy Kwanza on Kwanza day..." (I didn't point out those celebrations last longer than one day...)

"Do you really?  That's unusual.  I don't hear that much.  But how do you know if a particular person celebrates those traditions?  Wouldn't it be easier to just lump the December observances into "Happy Holidays" to cover everyone so people don't feel excluded?"

"I suppose, but I don't want to."

And there we have it.  She was, it must be noted, wearing a "Happy Holidays" T-shirt mandated by her employer.  She wears it, but I guess she doesn't want to.

Maybe we should stick to "Go Cougs!" Maybe sports can unite us.  Unless the Cougs are playing the UW Huskies, then it's back to choosing a side...

At least, that's the view from here...©  

Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com