Happy Easter!
Whether you celebrate Easter or not, I’d like to wish you a happy Easter
I saw a news report of a college dorm advisor cautioning other advisors not to refer to Easter when speaking to the students, because not all the students celebrate the holiday.
Have things gotten so crazy that we can’t even mention a holiday that billions of people have celebrated for over two thousand years?
Have people gotten so sensitive that they can’t even stand to hear a reference to a religious holiday they might not observe?
True diversity and inclusivity happen when we celebrate our differences and include each other as we do that. When I was in high school, a very wise Jewish woman explained that to me.
It was December and my mother, and I had recently moved to Miami Beach. I had been shopping on Lincoln Road Mall with a new friend who was Jewish.
We’d been in and out of several stores, and I had been saying “Merry Christmas” to everyone I spoke with. My friend quietly suggested that I say “Happy Holidays” because a substantial percentage of the people we encountered were likely to be Jewish and might be offended.
Later I stopped by my mother’s office (a CPA firm in one of the bank buildings on Lincoln Road) and shared the story with the receptionist (the wise Jewish woman I mentioned). She said:
“You should say what you feel comfortable saying. Any Jew who is offended when someone wishes them a merry Christmas is unreasonable. I don’t celebrate Christmas, but I am glad when my friends who want to share their holiday with me.”
And that reminds me of a line of dialog I read in a novel decades ago that I still recall:
“A pleasant remark is never offensive as long as it’s addressed to anyone but a damn fool.”
Throughout the year as we approach holidays, I wish the people I meet happy celebrations — Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Independence Day (observed on the fourth of July in the U.S.), Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and so on.
The other side of that is, I think others should be free to use whatever holiday greeting they choose. I don’t get offended if someone says “Happy Holidays” to me — or doesn’t mention an upcoming holiday at all.
Let’s lighten up and stop sweating the small stuff. Rather than trying to suppress the spirit of our faith holidays, let’s share and celebrate them.
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