A Honda Holiday

Last night I spent a couple difficult hours watching the Philadelphia Eagles get literally spanked by the Seattle Seahawks. During this time I was bombarded by commercials, most of which I endure with a smirk and a chuckle. But all of a sudden my comatose TVonic state was disrupted by these words. "We wish you a Happy Holiday. We wish you a Happy Holiday. We wish you a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year". I was shocked. When had this 'New Living Translation' of this song been created?

On a Christian radio station this morning I heard 2 women in Iraq detonated bombs killing 27 in a police training facility. The following story was about a woman who is out to get Christmas back into our public language. Can you guess which story got more airtime and interviews?

I've been hearing a lot about the shift in language used around this Holiday season, but for the first time it began to cause a stir in me. However it was an odd stirring. I was not upset, annoyed or even frustrated. I was somewhat relieved. Now don't get me wrong, back in the day when I rocked a Bush/Quayle 88 T-shirt, I was quick to hop on the "Let's keep the 'Christ' in Xmas bandwagon. Yet today, I feel we are moving towards separating consumerism from faith.

My opinion is this. Christians have been blessed by many years of our holiday's getting the best spotlight. So much so that we now think it's our right to have our worldview broadcast to everyone else. Isn't it time to de-consumerize our most sacred of holidays with this change in language? Shouldn't we concerning ourselves with bigger issues than losing a phrase which not all of our public validates?

We all need to be a little less self-centered and think about the central aspects of faith and life. Personally I am looking forward to the day when I am greeted with a 'Merry Christmas' and my mind slips to Jesus first and Santa second.