So may I wish you a merry Christmas?
It is a rather scary thought, but it must have been 10 years if not more than that, since I was actually in the office on Christmas eve – usually I’d be on vacation. It was really fascinating to observe the dynamics of people wishing each other well as they were departing home. Virtually no one would wish me a merry Christmas – only happy holidays (I’m a new kid on the block with an odd accent). Sort of legitimate, I guess (what if I get offended at the mentioning of Christmas?).
It seemed to go beyond people being concerned with offending my celebratory sensibilities. This avoidance of Christmas went on between people that certainly appeared to be Christmas wishing sort of folk. So I started wishing everyone a merry Christmas. And my god, did it make people happy. I almost felt we were all some kind of underground society of Christmas wishers, exchanging our secret handshake.
I am not a Christian in any conventional or for that matter unconventional way. At the same time, I embrace Christmas completely and wholeheartedly. Further, I find the notion of being offended by Christmas well wishers rather cretinous. A couple of facts: Christianity lies at the root of our culture – regardless of whether we accept it or not; the celebration of Christmas goes way back before the birth of Christ, connected with the winter solstice; Christmas tree decoration and the exchange of gifts is a great deal of fun. Hating a custom because of its origin will make us hate everything we do or is done around us – I am sure everything can be traced back to some perfidious origin. To me, as an immigrant, the celebration of Christmas was always associated with this particular country; to rebel against the notion (once again, for me) or to deny it, is (however silly it may sound) to rebel and deny the culture (popular culture) of this country. Lastly, going back to the origin of the celebration for just a moment, the celebration is that of hope -- hope for the return of the warm days, and the optimistic notion that we have done things right so that we will manage to live through the winter.
So, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas yesterday, and for all those of you who may belong to Eastern Orthodoxy of either the Greek of Russian variety and have not changed their calendars with the rest of the world– a very merry forthcoming Christmas.
5:35:09 AM 
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