Retraction 10/12/2004 I have been thinking about this thing they call The Holidays here. You may recall I mentioned it with disdain in a passage of the Journal. But I find I was wrong about it. It is not, as I suspected, something that has been imposed by that pervading monster, political correctness. I have checked with Kathy and she assures me that the expression has been around for much longer than PC-ness itself. It's just an American thing.It's obvious now that I think about it - if the PC bunch were wanting to get rid of any reference to Christmas, they would hardly replace it with a word that means "holy days". We all know that there was a time when the only relief from drudgery our ancestors were granted was on those days declared holy in the Christian calendar. From there it is a short step to "holidays".My misunderstanding came about because in England we use the word "holidays" to mean any time we have off from work. We have even added days off that we call "Bank Holidays" which must surely indicate our respect for money and the banks that keep it.I have known for a long time that the Americans use the word "vacation" where we would say "holiday". And this makes sense since it indicates that one has vacated one's place of work for the period, leaving it vacant for at least a while. But this explains my surprise the first time I heard Christmas referred to as The Holidays. I had not expected to hear the word "holidays" in America and I wondered why an exception had been made just for this one occasion.Of course, I opted for the first possibility that came along - that PC-dom had declared this change to avoid the word "Christmas", so heavy with religious import. And now I see that it is not so. I apologize to PC-dom for having so unjustly accused it.I still don't know where the expression comes from. Was it perhaps done in the interests of efficiency, "Happy Holidays" being so much easier and quicker to say than "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year"? Maybe, as is often the case, the Americans have preserved an old version of the greeting while we in England have complicated the issue by introducing both Christmas and New Year into our salutation? I really can't say.But now I think it's rather nice to resurrect the idea of Christmas being holy (meaning "set apart for or dedicated to God"). It might even be a way of reclaiming the festival for Christ, as so many Christians desire. So now, even though the phrase still sounds strange to me, I will have to get used to saying it. And, as a first step along that path, may I take this opportunity of wishing whoever happens to read this:Happy Holidays!
Clive
Harry Cheers, mate, but keep that rotten eggnog away from me. Just show me the misteltoe! (and what's in yer package?!) Date Added: 10/12/2004
Gone Away Mistletoe? I didn't know you cared, Harry! Date Added: 10/12/2004
Hannah I believe it has to do with greeting cards. There are many Jewish people in the U.S., and Channukah is celebrated very close to Christmas. To cover both Christian and Jewish friends, people send cards that say happy holidays or season's greetings. Date Added: 10/12/2004
Gone Away Of course! That's it! Thanks Owl, you're brilliantt! :) Date Added: 10/12/2004
josh I know a few jews, (I am a halfsy) and I am hard pressed to recall even one of them taking umbrage to the exclusivity of "Christmas". . . It is safe to say that the majority of jews who care enough about being "jew first" have emigrated to Israel. The rest of 'em are just happy to get some time off from work.Not to mention the traditions that have cropped up for them too. They get to go see a movie in relative peace; Chinese food is a big tradition, too. ;-) Myself - I celebrate christmas, and always have. My family has never been particularly religious, so I guess we see it as an American holiday, when all is said and done. Date Added: 11/12/2004
Gone Away Very wise Josh, I think you have cut through all the brown soggy stuff :) Date Added: 11/12/2004
Ned Still you are partially correct about the PC paranoia creeping in. Schools no longer call it Christmas vacation but rather Winter Vacation and mostly due to the thugs at the ACLU who will wrestle to the ground any first grader caught singing Silent Night in a school play. Date Added: 11/12/2004
Gone Away Somehow I knew it would be Ned that finished this one off. Thanks Ned. :) Date Added: 11/12/2004
Hannah Personally, I don't care if you want to celebrate Christmas, even as a national institution-- go for it. I'll take the holiday pay, I don't mind at all :P Any other religions got some good holidays I can get double-time for? Date Added: 11/12/2004
Gone Away I believe the Irish have lots of holidays we haven't thought of. Perhaps we could arrange for an import... Date Added: 11/12/2004
bumpy_beth I told my husband about seeing this on the news.. And he said just what i was thinking.. We put happy holidays on some stuff, jsut because we arent only refering to Christmas Day. And we all need and want a holiday, some much needed time off to spend with loved ones. I say Happy Holidays! and have yourself a Merry Little Christmas! They are both jsut as important. And in saying Happy Holidays, i am NOT trying to find PC in my life, lol. I could care less about PC. Date Added: 11/12/2004
Gone Away Happy Holidays Beth! :) Date Added: 11/12/2004
Way I blame Hallmark for all our woes. Them verse-inspired Madison hoes. Sittin' behind their expensive doze. And us supportin' they fancy cloze. Date Added: 11/12/2004
Gone Away Careful Way - that leaves me one behind the record... ;) Date Added: 11/12/2004
Way What recordzat? Date Added: 12/12/2004
Gone Away "She's Not There" by the Zombies, 1964 Date Added: 12/12/2004
josh I know there are some word pairs in the chorus of that tune, but I can never pick them out. "her eyes were: ______ and ______ her ______ was: ______ and ______ (maybe some other words here) but shes not there." Little help? ;) Date Added: 12/12/2004
Gone Away Not absolutley sure, Josh but I think it went: "her eyes were clear and bright, her voice was soft and sweet, but she's not there." I think Mad may have the song and could get it right for us. Date Added: 12/12/2004
Actressdancer I must point out that around here, the schools call 'Christmas' the "winter festivities". No longer do the elemntary kids have a little Christmas program (with the singing and baby band playing jingle bells), now it is called the Winter Festival of Music. And that, my friends, is the result of being PC (although I like how Ned put it better). Date Added: 09/01/2005
Gone Away And so we come full circle. Christmas was originally the pagan midwinter festival that was hijacked by the early Christians who recognized that they would fight a losing battle in doing away with it altogether. Of course, the pagans can't really steal it back - for the Christian, every day is Chrstmas. Date Added: 09/01/2005
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