While watching TV in airports recently (and I’m in airports quite a bit), I have heard lots of buzz about certain retail stores directing their employees not to say “Merry Christmas” to their customers. The idea is that it would offend people to give a holiday greeting that is fitting for only one of the many religious communities in the U.S.  So, rather than offend anyone, some stores have chosen the more ambiguous and universal “Happy Holidays.”

Some TV commentators have come out swinging, noting that not saying Merry Christmas may actually offend the majority of Americans (and so the majority of customers), who prefer the traditional phrase.  Often the defense of “Merry Christmas” comes not so much on the basis of an ideal “Christian America” as it does on the assertion that Christmas is not necessarily a religious designation, but rather the official name of the national holiday that we associate with a special kind of tree, Santa Claus, and gift-giving. So, “my goodness,” they insist, “say ‘Merry Christmas!’”

I experienced this debate over naming our seasonal bliss during a recent trip to that large discount store that has been in the news for other things as of late. When the cashier said “Happy Holidays!” to the customer in front of me, the customer was incensed. She replied by saying “You should say ‘Merry Christmas!’ Why can’t you just say ‘Merry Christmas!’” 

So next it was my turn. When I asked the cashier how she was doing today, she said, “Well, I’ve been cussed out twice by people who want me to say Merry Christmas” (a good Christian witness).  “I don’t want to offend anyone, because I can’t tell by what someone is wearing if the person celebrates Christmas or some other religious holiday, so I just say ‘Happy Holidays.’”  Since I was wearing my clerical collar, this was a perfect set up, and I said with a smile, “Well, you can tell by what I’m wearing!”  The other customers laughed. And the cashier smiled and said…“Happy Holidays!”  Yes, even in the South.

The debate over defining and naming what we do as an American retail culture during the month of December is a good illustration of the changing relationship between the church and the culture in which we find ourselves.  Christians have shaped the culture, so much so that our most significant national celebration is called Christmas. And the culture has returned the fashioning favor, often keeping the Christian name for nostalgic reasons and inviting us to participate in its own celebration. And we do. The sad thing is that Christians are often more outraged when the name starts to change than when the substance of the thing is replaced.

Whatever we do this Christmas, it is important for us as a church to anticipate and celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ into the world.  Who knows, perhaps fewer Christmas banners in department stores will be a good reminder to us that the key to Advent cannot be found in the store, and it may help us to encourage one another to observe Christmas in prayer, worshipful anticipation, and self-sacrificial community.