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November 21, 2016

Holidays are coming!

The seasonal Controversy- best response

The title says it all! This one isn't IIH related once again, but it is addressing an issue that does cause a bit of a headache for many!  

One of my biggest pet peeves start up this time of year! Constantly on social media are the influx of posts of people complaining that you can't say "Merry Christmas", you have to say Happy Holidays, you can't have a Christmas Tree, you have to call it a "Holiday Tree" etc etc. 

Honestly, I haven't seen much of this outside of Facebook. I can't find any official publications that support this belief, at least nothing current, some articles published in 2013 regarding the controversy. Somewhere a couple of years ago, someone had an issue and it has perpetuated and festered over time to the point where everyone seems to have the opinion that people are not allowed to express the holiday wishes they are comfortable or familiar with. 

Now, I do understand that in the public school system, there has been some concern raised over the holiday season given that not all students in the school system celebrate Christmas, however, and this is my personal opinion here, I don't think banning the mention of Christmas in the public system is the answer, a better approach might be to make it a teachable, multi-cultural moment and allow students to share in one another's holiday experiences. This would require some open-mindedness on the parents and teachers behalf, but, in the long run, it could help to move past the issues that are arising each year and help people to accept a broader holiday season.

My suggestion would be, turn an area of the school into an international holiday display.

Let students put up a Christmas Tree, allow other respectful displays such as Kwanzaa Candles, the Menorah, and include some less familiar symbols from cultures and traditions that students may not immediately recognize. While I don't normally link to Wikipedia, I'm making an exception today. This is a listing of December holidays, including some fictional/virtual ones (interestingly enough Frostfell the Everquest holiday season isn't included!)

Player seasonal reward - Everquest

Like the opening image suggests, the simplest response, no matter what holiday greeting you receive, is "thanks, you too!", alternatively, if you're comfortable with Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays... you get the picture), then make that your go to response regardless of what is said to you. 

And, in case I don't get back here before hand...