Friday, April 14, 2006
Happy Passover
One of the fabulous perks about working for my law firm (aside from the unlimited free peanut butter and bonuses based on cases you didn't work on) is that every Monday and Thursday morning, there are bagels, donuts, and pastries in the kitchen on each floor. This is a fabulous thing, because I like bagels, but don't ever want to go to the trouble of purchasing one myself. My only complaint is that there often aren't as many cream cheese packets as there are bagels.
But yesterday there was something new along with the pastries. A box of Matzos--Passover crackers. That's great, I thought. After all, even though bagels are a very Jewish food, they're leavened, and they're not allowed during Passover. And even though I think there's only one Jewish person on my floor, it was quite considerate of the firm to go to that extra effort.
It made me think about Christmas. It made me remember all the ways society is slowly eliminating Christmas from our collective culture for fear that the very mention of the word might offend non-Christians. See, I'm not Jewish, but the sight of the Passover crackers had an effect on me far from offense--it actually made me happy. Happy that, although I was happy to grab a bagel,* the firm considered the needs of any Jewish employees.
I thought to myself, "Why don't they do that for Christmas?" But then I remembered that at Christmas time, each floor actually did have a Christmas tree. So that made me feel good too. It may not be kosher (har har) to wish a complete stranger a "Merry Christmas" in December, but at least where I work, religious holidays are cherished and respected.
Happy Passover to all those who celebrate it.
* Today, since there were still quite a lot of Matzos left (see the above comment about there being only one Jew on my floor), I thought I'd try one. Frankly, I was underwhelmed. It seemed to be crying out to me, "Salt me! Salt me!" but who am I to judge? Jews may just not understand my wife's obsession with Christmas ham.
But yesterday there was something new along with the pastries. A box of Matzos--Passover crackers. That's great, I thought. After all, even though bagels are a very Jewish food, they're leavened, and they're not allowed during Passover. And even though I think there's only one Jewish person on my floor, it was quite considerate of the firm to go to that extra effort.
It made me think about Christmas. It made me remember all the ways society is slowly eliminating Christmas from our collective culture for fear that the very mention of the word might offend non-Christians. See, I'm not Jewish, but the sight of the Passover crackers had an effect on me far from offense--it actually made me happy. Happy that, although I was happy to grab a bagel,* the firm considered the needs of any Jewish employees.
I thought to myself, "Why don't they do that for Christmas?" But then I remembered that at Christmas time, each floor actually did have a Christmas tree. So that made me feel good too. It may not be kosher (har har) to wish a complete stranger a "Merry Christmas" in December, but at least where I work, religious holidays are cherished and respected.
Happy Passover to all those who celebrate it.
* Today, since there were still quite a lot of Matzos left (see the above comment about there being only one Jew on my floor), I thought I'd try one. Frankly, I was underwhelmed. It seemed to be crying out to me, "Salt me! Salt me!" but who am I to judge? Jews may just not understand my wife's obsession with Christmas ham.
Comments:
I too find your law firm's consideration of your co-worker's religious observances heartening. I think this country would benefit greatly if more tolerance for the beliefs of others was exhibited by all. I do not feel, however, that you have adequately explored the issue of Christmas in American society today. Here are two responses I have to the charge that society is "slowly eliminating Christmas from our collective culture for fear that the very mention of the word might offend non-Christians":
1) It's easier not to feel threatened when you are part of the majority religion. In American and European history there are plenty of historical examples of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, and even nontraditional Christians being persecuted by other Christians for their beliefs/non-beliefs. Enough evil has been done in the name of Christianity and enough hateful rhetoric has been proffered under the guise of Christianity (e.g., Pat Robertson) that it is understandable why some push for a little less "in your face" approach to Christian holidays (e.g., while I have no reason to feel threatened by Hanukkah, it is not difficult to see why some Jews might feel threatened by Christmas). I think this is precisely why George W. Bush, himself an outspoken Christian who has not shyed away from discussing his religious views in public, sent out "Happy Holidays" cards this year. I think one would be hard pressed to argue that Bush supports "eliminating Christmas from our collective culture."
2) I don't think offending non-Christians is the primary reason for any elimination of Christmas from our collective culture. The grand marriage of commercialism and Christmas is the biggest threat to the holiday. I think Christians have really only themselves to blame if the true meaning of Christmas has been lost. We are at fault if we have focused more on fir trees, Santa Claus and presents than Jesus Christ; pawning the blame for that off onto the fear of offending non-Christians is something of a cop out from my vantage point.
1) It's easier not to feel threatened when you are part of the majority religion. In American and European history there are plenty of historical examples of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, and even nontraditional Christians being persecuted by other Christians for their beliefs/non-beliefs. Enough evil has been done in the name of Christianity and enough hateful rhetoric has been proffered under the guise of Christianity (e.g., Pat Robertson) that it is understandable why some push for a little less "in your face" approach to Christian holidays (e.g., while I have no reason to feel threatened by Hanukkah, it is not difficult to see why some Jews might feel threatened by Christmas). I think this is precisely why George W. Bush, himself an outspoken Christian who has not shyed away from discussing his religious views in public, sent out "Happy Holidays" cards this year. I think one would be hard pressed to argue that Bush supports "eliminating Christmas from our collective culture."
2) I don't think offending non-Christians is the primary reason for any elimination of Christmas from our collective culture. The grand marriage of commercialism and Christmas is the biggest threat to the holiday. I think Christians have really only themselves to blame if the true meaning of Christmas has been lost. We are at fault if we have focused more on fir trees, Santa Claus and presents than Jesus Christ; pawning the blame for that off onto the fear of offending non-Christians is something of a cop out from my vantage point.
Your point number 2 is well-taken. I totally agree that Santa Claus and presents are a bigger threat to Christmas than "Happy Holidays" cards.
But "Happy Holidays" cards still bug me. Go back to my archives in December for more of my thoughts on the subject. I really do think a large part of the trend away from at least the use of the word "Christmas" is motivated by a desire not to offend non-Christians. Why else would I walk into a Border's store in December and see a section of "Holiday Books" about Santa and Jesus, and a separate section of "Hanukkah Books"? They HAD the Christmas books--they just feared to call them Christmas books.
And I understand the concern about majority v. minority. But sometimes I think the majority gets a little too uptight about not offending the minority such that we ignore the majority.
Maybe I was exaggerating when I claimed that Christmas is being excised from our collective culture. It'll never go away. But that's probably why it bugs me to call it "Holiday." It's Christmas. It's there, and some people celebrate it; let's call it what it is and not be ashamed about it. That's why I was so happy to see the Passover crackers at work. Passover is there, and some people celebrate it. The firm wasn't ashamed to recognize it and allow those who celebrate it to do so openly. That's the way it should always be.
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But "Happy Holidays" cards still bug me. Go back to my archives in December for more of my thoughts on the subject. I really do think a large part of the trend away from at least the use of the word "Christmas" is motivated by a desire not to offend non-Christians. Why else would I walk into a Border's store in December and see a section of "Holiday Books" about Santa and Jesus, and a separate section of "Hanukkah Books"? They HAD the Christmas books--they just feared to call them Christmas books.
And I understand the concern about majority v. minority. But sometimes I think the majority gets a little too uptight about not offending the minority such that we ignore the majority.
Maybe I was exaggerating when I claimed that Christmas is being excised from our collective culture. It'll never go away. But that's probably why it bugs me to call it "Holiday." It's Christmas. It's there, and some people celebrate it; let's call it what it is and not be ashamed about it. That's why I was so happy to see the Passover crackers at work. Passover is there, and some people celebrate it. The firm wasn't ashamed to recognize it and allow those who celebrate it to do so openly. That's the way it should always be.
