An Open Letter to a "Holiday Celebrator" - a "guest" post

Note: I did not write this post, author Mike Dellosso did on his blog "Wide-eyed fiction." He put what I feel into words, so I am putting his post here also. If you like it, you can comment here if you like, but it would be nice to click the link to his blog above and comment there. Enjoy:

Dear Holiday Celebrator,

You've made me sick of the "holidays."

No, I'm not sick of Christmas. Goodness, no. I love Christmas, the season, the day, and everything it stands for and reminds me of. What I'm sick of is "Happy Holidays," holiday trees, holiday cards, holiday cookies, holiday greetings, holiday presents, blah, blah, blah.

What's a holiday tree anyway? Can you explain that to me? "Well, it's . . . um, a Christmas tree." Oh, really? Then why not just say CHRISTMAS TREE!

Holiday cards? Don't they mostly have images of decorated trees, beautifully wrapped presents, snowy landscapes, Santa Claus, stockings, lighted homes, and such? All, traditional images of, hmmm, let's see, what's that holiday called? Oh yeah, CHRISTMAS!

Oh, and how about those holiday cookies? When's the last time anyone made pine tree-shaped cookies or reindeer-shaped cookies for Hanukkah? No, they're shapes associated with that holiday, um, you know, the one that falls on December 25th every year, you know . . . I think my calendar calls it . . . CHRISTMAS!

And what's with none of the stores mentioning Christmas? Holiday sales? "Happy Holidays" banners? When it's President's Day they're not ashamed to say it, or Independence Day or Memorial Day or Labor Day. And what do they all have in common with Christmas? They're all federal holidays.

Yes, Maybe it's slipped your mind, but we have a federal holiday called Christmas, whether you're a Christian or not, whether you're an American citizen or not, whether you recognize it or not. Look on your calendar, it's there, December 25th, the same day every year. Year after year. Kids are off school, government employees are off work, your mail won't be delivered. It's called Christmas. It's not a bad word. It's no more offensive than Labor Day or Memorial Day. It's a holiday. For some it holds special meaning, yes, because without the birth of Christ there would be no Christmas (not to mention no hope for mankind in which case not having Christmas to celebrate would be the least of our worries).

But the reality of it is, whether you see it as a holy day reminding of us that moment in time when God wrapped himself in flesh and humbled himself, becoming a helpless infant in our cursed world or whether you see it as just another holiday that you get off work and spend the day with family, it's called Christmas. Say it with me, "Christmas." You said it a million times when you were a kid and nobody got offended, our government didn't collapse, there was no widespread revolt. So what's changed? The day, the reason for the day, or you?

Sincerely . . . and merry Christmas,

A Christmas Celebrator