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There is Nothing Wrong with Wishing People
a Merry Christmas
by Howard Melamed
12/12/2007
I think it is time that political
correctness needs to yield to common sense and being polite.
No one should fear or get upset about being wished Merry
Christmas. It is a good wish.
Even though I am Jewish, I celebrate
any holiday that
preaches the message of Peace and goodwill:
Christmas included. I often tell my Christian friends that
there is no need to wish me a happy Hanukah, when talking about
Christmas. My reasoning is that Christmas is the #1
religious holiday for Christians and I recognize that.
Hanukkah is an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. I feel it
does Christmas an injustice when after I say Merry Christmas, I
hear the response: Happy Hanukah. Wishing me Happy Hanukah,
translates into wishing me " Happy Festival of Candles" .
However, Christians wishing me a Merry Christmas means you are
wishing me Peace and Goodwill, They are giving me their
very best wishes. Which one would you want? Happy candles
or Peace on Earth Goodwill towards men?
There is no
insult in wishing people of other religions Merry Christmas.
Those that object are probably miserable anyway and
could use some "Christmas Spirit". Those that are
adamant that
you are casting some sort of spell on them...well...forgive
them. They are obviously too stupid to think about anything else
in any other terms.
Perhaps I think
this way because throughout my
elementary and high schooling in Montreal, I attended the Protestant School Board of
Greater Montreal. From Kindergarten through High School, I was
embraced in Christian practice, as were my fellow students
who were mostly Jews. You see, in Montreal schools were ( and still
are) run by either the Catholic or Protestant Churches.
The French Canadians, who were mostly Catholic of course
attended the Catholic schools and the English Canadians, who
were mostly Protestant attended the Protestant School board of
Greater Montreal. For Jews, well, we were not allowed in
the Catholic Churches, and speaking mostly English. we were
allowed to attend the Protestant
schools. It was quite interesting because in my area of the
city, the Protestant school was 99 percent Jewish. Yet, even so, we were
taught in the same way as Christians, reading from the New
Testament every morning and singing the hymns aloud, including
Onward Christian Soldiers. In our non-secular environment, growing up
Jewish and going to a Protestant school was a way of life. It would seem to most here
in the United States as an impossibility. But to most here
in the United States, Montreal is thought of as being near
Spain. (reference to Geography not being the most popular topic
in school here)
The fact is, I found absolutely no conflict
between my learning about Christianity and me being Jewish.
Attending school was a school thing, and back at the house,
well, that is where religion is really practiced. In my family
it was no different.
Growing up and going to school in a Christian
environment gave me a complete understanding of the need to
be tolerant and the need to respect other people’s
views. Christianity was not my religion, but rather something
that was taught to me in School. There was absolutely no
threat in learning about someone else's religion. Not one
Jew that I knew was ever converted and no one ever forced me to
think in the way I think.
Throughout elementary and High School,
Christmas was celebrated by everyone, in the spirit of what
Christmas has to offer. Presents were exchanged and if we
were lucky enough as Jews to have Christmas correspond to
Hanukah, then it was even more special. I exchanged
Hanukah gifts from my Jewish friends and Christmas gifts from
my Christian friends. How truly blessed we all were growing up
in such an environment! .Every Christmas in school, the
Christmas play were performed by Jews and I am quite certain
that I played the baby Jesus a few times from Kindergarten
to grade 2. Come to think of it, having a Jew play
the baby Jesus was perhaps the most authentic way of presenting
Christmas, since Jesus was a Jew. While I attended McGill
university in Montreal, most of the students were Christians. I
never felt out of place or afraid. Christmas was a time of
joy. I can remember, doing the Christmas Caroling with some of
the other Jewish students that had also attended the local
Protestant schools. This was fun, and it was a thrill for
my Christian friends to hear. I still know how to sing in
Latin. In Montreal, there was no need to Dream about a
White Christmas. It was always there every December 25th , snow
and all.
To me, there was never any problem with
religion in School, and I often find it both amusing and
disgusting that prayer in school in the United States has become
a big issue. I think those that oppose it should talk to me
since I am an expert and I can testify that there is no threat. I embrace the spirit of prayer in school and of
course I do not feel threatened by it. It is the very upbringing
in the sea of Christianity that has enhanced my Jewish spirit. I
have a strong belief in my religion without the need to discount
or belittling anyone else's right to believe as they want to
believe. I am not alone in this. There are several
thousand Jews who were brought up the same way as I was and who
attended the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal..and
are still Jewish!
So to you and your family, I wish you a
healthy and happy Christmas, as well as a healthy and Happy new
year. It sincerely does come from my heart. And, as I
light Hanukah candles please feel free to wish me a very
Merry Christmas as well. Oh. by the way. Don't stop singing
Christmas Carols. Maybe i will even join you in a couple
of Latin ones I still remember....Let me see....
Adeste
fideles laeti triumphantes. Venite, venite in Bethlehem. Natum
videte Regem angelorum.........
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