Mecca in. Christmas Out.
To get a good read on where we are nowadays, I want you to check out this news story and then read this letter from a high school student.
The AP (via Weasel Zippers) reports:
The federal government sued a suburban Chicago school district Monday for denying a Muslim middle school teacher unpaid leave to make a pilgrimage to Mecca that is a central part of her religion.
Compare that with this letter from a high school student to her local newspaper:
I am a Grade 11 student at North Delta Secondary school.
When I walked into school Monday morning, I couldn’t help but notice that the bulletin board just outside of our counselor’s office did not say Merry Christmas, but rather Happy Holidays.
This bothered me and I will tell you why. Earlier this year the global unity club, which is in charge of this board, had put up displays for Eid, a Muslim tradition, and Diwali, a Hindu and Sikh tradition.
That’s not the problem – the problem for me is that they are trying to support global unity and diversity, which I will admit our school is very good at.
However, they are not willing to recognize Christmas, a once religious holiday now celebrated world wide by every almost every culture.
Christmas is one of Canada’s national holidays and, may I remind you that without it, we wouldn’t be having “winter break” as it is now known.
Why are we allowed to have a Christmas tree in the foyer of our school but the board can’t post a simple message of “Merry Christmas?”
When I asked the sponsor teachers in charge of the group, I was given nothing but endless excuses such as “it is the students’ idea; there are many holidays around this time” and, my favourite one by far, “not everyone celebrates Christmas.”
If those really were the reasons, why can’t the bulletin board say “Happy Hanukkah” one week and “Merry Christmas” the next?
It is completely unfair to say, “not everyone celebrates Christmas” because I for one do not celebrate either Eid or Diwali.
I am not trying to start a war or create a struggle. I would appreciate it if we did not discriminate against anyone’s traditions or beliefs, including mine.
Chelsea Phelps, Delta
I guess Diwali is soooo much cooler than Christmas.
December 14, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Well, Hanukkah falls before Christmas this year, so why not put Hanukkah up that week (with candles pics) along with an Advent Wreath (with candles pics). That would be multicultural and informative.
December 14, 2010 at 4:44 pm
In my town they have put up Christmas tree and a Menorah in the main green. However, they call the tree a "Holiday Tree"; there was a "Holiday Tree" lighting advertised but the Menorah lighting was called just that. So, I call it the Holiday Candalabra just to emphasize the double standard 😉
December 14, 2010 at 5:33 pm
what Christians need to do to STOP this.. Christians across the board need to end ALL Christmas buying/ shopping in All stores…shop in Christain stores and Church bazars and online Christain stores or make homemade gifts….
until we send a strong message that if you do not want to celebrate Christmas in America, than we pull our money out of your PC pockets…..
When we do this, watch how fast everyone including the schools start staying Merry Christmas again, and allowing signs up that honor this holiday.
Money talk folks.. let yours shout YES for Christ!
December 15, 2010 at 10:52 am
For me, I would rather post a huge MERRY CHRISTMAS on top of our roof so everyone may see that I and my family is celebating. It's CHRISTMAS!!!
December 15, 2010 at 3:00 pm
I find that the nativity scene in my front yard says Merry Christmas quite nicely. I even had a neighbor I didn't know knock at my door to tell me what a comfort it was to her one night when she saw it while out walking and feeling quite down. Perhaps if more Christians displayed nativity scenes at their own homes the world would get the message it is not primarily a secular holiday.
December 17, 2010 at 12:32 am
I attend North Delta Secondary School. I warn you against believing everything you read in the news. There is nobody in the school who is "not willing to recognize christmas", as it is the most celebrated Holiday ever. When my classmates, and my teachers, read this letter, we were appalled. The teacher who said "not everyone Celebrates Christmas" was obviously out of line, and all of us at ND think that. Chelsea should have resolved this with other teachers, because we were surprised there was no sign saying Merry Christmas. A sign is just expected, it's been there every year, and we were also surprised that there wasn’t one. Of course, Christmas is still the most recognized religious day in our school, far surpassing Diwali. Every morning Christmas carols are played on the announcement system. Everybody knows the story of the birth of Christ. Even people like me, who are not Christian.
This story is a result of sensational journalism, the news made a headline out of something undeserving of such attention. It was a students attempt at venting her anger. Chelsea herself has said that the media has misrepresented her words.
As for the use of Happy Holidays, I think maybe the Global Unity club was simply too lazy to make separate signs for Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza (pardon my spelling), but I also think they were trying to encompass all of these Holidays under the sign. They obviously shouldn't have, and the general attitude in the school is that they obviously shouldn't have. Don't even try to use this letter to further your own ideas, because the claims are lacking in substance. The Media is run by corporations, and the #1 goal of a corporation is to profit. Remember that.
Christmas has become a Corporate Holiday, and it is the media itself that promotes the phrase “Happy Holidays”, as opposed to “Merry Christmas”. There is not one newspaper that published this story, that hasn’t used “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. They do this to dissociate Christmas with Christianity, so that they may profit from it being a happy time of buying and giving. Everything is connected. The newspapers are being hypocritical on this one.
December 19, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Here in South Africa we have a variety of people of numerous religious backgrounds. We have Christians (mostly Protestants), Muslims, Jews, Hindus, people who follow various forms of ancestor worship and a small minority of Buddhists. Shops frequently display MERRY CHRISTMAS and some shops even display HAPPY HANUKAH, or EID MUBARAK or BLESSED DIWALI at various times. I've never heard anyone have any problems with this. I have yet to meet a Muslim who complains about Merry Christmas or a Christian who complains about Eid. It just does not happen. At my place of work we have a variety of people Christians, Jews, Muslims and non-religious (mostly American visitors from liberal universities) and no-one has ever muttered anything against someone else's HOLY days. Why are the bureaucrats in the US so irrational?