Not getting to say Merry Christmas even though I'm a Christian? BOTHERED.

I'm the Queen of unpopular opinions. I just have a lot of them. I also don't care. 

This time, I want to talk about Christmas. 

Here's the deal. I am a practicing Christian (a Catholic, specifically), and I take offense to the fact that mainstream media and marketing are trying to eradicate the whole CHRIST aspect of CHRISTMAS.

This pisses me off every winter, but this year, it's a lot more prominent. I think it's because I do a lot of the PR work at the library, and I'm constantly being told to make it "less Christmassy, more holiday." 

Here's what doesn't make sense to me. I have no problem acknowledging Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or whatever else your preferred winter holiday is. But it's a little stupid to me that we have to have "Winter Parties" and say "Happy Holidays" when Hanukkah ends on Thursday, and Kwanzaa doesn't start until December 26th. So basically, between Thursday and Christmas, the ONLY holiday that's actually actively available for well-wishing is Christmas. Unless you want to go around wishing people a Happy Solstice on the 21st, and if you do, go knock your socks off. Just expect a lot of raised eyebrows and inquisitive looks. 

I like that we live in a country where we have a wide variety of religions and their holidays. I think it's nice that we can all enjoy that freedom. That being said, this nation was founded on Christianity, and I think the Founding Fathers would have a heart attack if they saw the bastardization of the Constitution that's occurring right now. I also think that if you can't deal with the fact that the people who founded this country were what might be called "Bible thumpers," and our pledge has the word "God" in it, and our money says, "In God we trust," then you should leave. There are lots of other countries out there. Go find one that aligns with your personal beliefs. 

(SHPIEL: There's a lot of debate about the date of December 25th and "how does anyone know that's when Jesus was born?", but here's the deal. January 6th has always been celebrated as Epiphany, the day when the wise men visited. The church wanted 12 Days of Christmas (yes, like the song, I'm not making this up, go research), so they literally counted backwards and ended up at December 25th. Also, Christmas comes from the words "Christ mass" because when Christmas was officially made a holiday, there was only the Catholic church. There are a lot of different supposed reasons for the choosing of December 25th (nine months after the conception of Christ, incorporation of Sol Invictus into the church, etc.), but the date isn't important! Celebrating the incarnation of Jesus IS!)

And I get that we have to (and should!) acknowledge other religions, but I don't like it when that comes at the cost of eliminating MY religion. If everyone is going to be all "religious equality!" then how about we still acknowledge Christianity? I know they're not the minority, but we still need to acknowledge them. And the truth is, without Christians, there would be no Christmas! It's become secularized and if you want to adopt secular parts, that's fine. But you need to acknowledge that historically, there would be no Happy Holidays without Merry Christmas. 

And even the secular parts, like presents and decorating, have origins in the Christian traditions. So you can pretend to have "holidays" but you're basically wrong. And that's fine, like, if you don't want to believe that's fine. I feel sorry for you, but that's your choice. But don't just pretend like you invented everything and that Christians who want to celebrate are wrong and insensitive and all that. Because if we're all having equal rights, we have every right to say and celebrate Christmas. 

So I'll be saying Merry Christmas, and I hope you say it to me. And to my Jewish friends, I hope you're having an awesome Hannukah. I don't know anyone who celebrates Solstice or Kwanzaa, but if you do, hope they're nice. 

TLDR: I like equality, but I don't like it when that means that white people and Christianity get pooped on just because they're the majority. If you really want equality, then let's be EQUAL. 

End rant. 

Also, I hope I didn't actually offend anyone with my middle class, white girl, Christian ranting.