It has always been important to respect different cultures and ideas, especially in a place as richly diverse as the United States. Simple courtesy and understanding are both beneficial and vital to maintaining peace. Once December comes along, however, this customary, polite awareness often mutates into something overboard and slightly bizarre. Being politically correct during the winter months, particularly in regards to Christmas, does not add to the festive season in a positive way, but detracts from the joyful nature of the holidays.
Vague euphemisms such as “Winter Break,” “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” are standard phrases people use to dance around what is always a potentially touchy topic– religion. However, during such festive times, this tactic often serves as an awkward interruption of what many consider a joyous celebration. “It’s pretty pointless,” said Junior Zev Weizman. “Sometimes the whole ‘Happy, Merry Holidays’ can be pretty overused.” According to a US News poll, 72 percent of Americans agree, saying they prefer “Merry Christmas” to the alternative “Happy Holidays,” if only because it seems more personal and friendly (usnews.com). So, since most people will not take offense if they are wished a “Merry Christmas” or other holiday-specific greeting, why bother wasting time and energy fretting about them? People should pick a holiday and stick to it and not try to please everyone.
In private situations, this problem is minor; in public establishments like high schools, the over-cautious attention given to holiday greetings borders on the outrageous. According to the Los Angeles Times, the idea of political correctness has been increasing in the US, specifically in public schools. In fact, in 2008 a Los Angeles school canceled certain Thanksgiving celebrations so as to not accidentally tread on any toes (latimes.com). While it is always good to be considerate of others, bans like this seem excessive and melodramatic.
This trend is also evident in San Diego. Locally, the annual “Balboa Park December Nights Festival”, originally called “Christmas on the Prado,” altered its name in 2002 in order to demonstrate its open nature, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. Nevertheless, regardless of the name change, other Christmas-related aspects of the event were kept in place, like the open nativity scene by the organ pavilion and the Swedish Christmas ceremony. Essentially, the only thing that changed was the event’s name(signonsandiego.com).
Small changes, like changing “Christmas on the Prado” to “December Nights” are not offensive in any way, but show the steady increase in over-thinking holiday traditions. As Winter Break nears, keep in mind that whether it is “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah” or “Blessed Yule,” everyone is celebrating the same season. Being over-conscious of something as insubstantial as this season’s greetings and quibbling over semantics isn’t necessary.