Merry Christukahwanza!

Back in my day, if you were Catholic you celebrated Christmas, and if you were Jewish you celebrated Chanukah. Kwanza, at least for us, didn't exist.

I went to a Catholic elementary school. We lived in an Italian neighborhood, so it was "Merry Christmas," without question, from the moment Thanksgiving was over right up until it was time to say "Happy New Year." I attended a public high school, and just out of common sense, I would wish my Jewish friends a Happy Chanukah, and they would return the favor by wishing me a Merry Christmas. If someone said they didn't celebrate either holiday, or weren't religious, then I would wish them a Happy Holiday, in the name of spreading good cheer. We all did that. No one questioned it, at least not verbally. Today things have gotten out of hand.

In an effort to coddle people of all faiths, the PC-obsessed population is slowly chipping away at every Catholic/Christian tradition that I have ever known for my 30 years. The automatons otherwise known as reporters have been hyping up the debate: Do we allow prayer in school? Do we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Is it a Christmas Tree or a Holiday Tree? Ironically, I have yet to hear the words: "Is it a Menorah or a Holiday Candle Holder?" I am not putting down anyone of non-Catholic/non-Christian faith and/or their holidays. I'm just making a point: Catholics and Christians are getting the shaft because PC-obsessed liberals are afraid to offend those whose winter Holidays of faith have yet to be commercialized by Hallmark.

In my quest to make sense of this all, I Googled the Christmas tree. It didn't start out as a symbol of faith. Courtesy of HistoryChannel.com:

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

It didn't take long, however, to find a religious tie-in. FYI, all religious ties to the Christmas tree, found on Google, were to the Catholic and Christian faith. During this aspect of my research I learned that the Christmas Tree became a religious symbol for early Christians because its roots reach into the earth and its foliage points up to Heaven, reminding us of eternal life. Other legends surrounding the Christmas/Holiday tree incorporte Adam and Eve, and the birth and death of Jesus.* I have yet to find a tie-in to Chanukah, Kwanza or even Ramadan.

In closing, I will continue to celebrate my Christmas holiday the only way I have ever known, with no remorse or regrets to how I may not fit into this PC-scene. And if you see me, please wish me a Merry Christmas, as I am Catholic. If you are a loved one, you will find a gift from me under my Christmas tree, and your Christmas card will be in the mail. If you are Jewish, I will wish you a Happy Chanukah, and your greeting card will wish you a Happy Holiday, simply because I have yet to find a box of Happy Chanukah cards. Don't blame me for that, take it up with Hallmark. And don't forget to light your Holiday Candle Holder. Oppps....I mean your Menorah!



*http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/xmastree.htm