Okay, so I like Christmas. I've been playing Christmas carols off and on for the past three or four weeks. But These people who want to be the Merry Christmas Police are ruining it for me.
There are now forums hosted by some megachurch in Texas where you can report businesses that need to be shamed because they don't have Christmas trees displayed, they display "Happy Holidays" banners, or--and this one really gets me-- they don't tell you "Merry Christmas" when you shop.
Oh come on, people! It's only December 9! If you're already on people's cases about saying "merry christmas" instead of "have a nice day," isn't it going to get old by December 25?
When done right, the season has a special shine to it, a warm fuzziness. But when people are fucking policing it, then it feels forced. Who wants to be privy to an insincere Christmas greeting?
All this "Christmas is the reason for the season" theory grates on me as well. Happy holidays, only says hey, we recognize that there are other, non-Christian holidays being celebrated at this time, and because we're in the Christmas spirit we're going to be nice to everybody and make everybody feel warm and fuzzy and show that we care because that's the message of Christmas: hope, joy, love--for everyone.
