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atheists: accept my Christmas tidings or ‘leave the country


doggie

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It can be awkward for some people who truly don't celebrate Christmas to be wished a Merry Christmas. As one Jewish guy pointed out in an interview, sure it's a kind greeting, but it's like being wished a happy birthday when it's not your birthday, but the birthday of the person doing the wishing.

I learned true empathy for this years ago. I was raised Catholic and spent many years among evangelicals, almost being saved myself (now quite agnostic). I certainly was never anything other than Christian. However my name is Rachel (Hebrew!), my last name is very Germanic sounding (it's Swiss, but any strange Germanic name is probably not Christian, right?), and thanks to having two Italian grandmothers, I have dark, Mediterranean features. People always assume I'm Jewish without asking. Anyway, some friends who had known me for years, whom I thought knew better, decided to send me a holiday card for the first time. It wasn't a generic card. It was explicitly a Hanukkah card. I felt weird. I felt like something was wrong with the greeting. I appreciated the gesture, but at the same time it didn't feel right. Suddenly I realized why one shouldn't say Merry Christmas to anyone whose religion you are unsure of and you should never assume that someone practices a particular religion.

I used to say a happy holidays, but now I'm afraid to because the Christmas bullies will jump down my throat.

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