The holiday season is full of hot chocolate, tree decorating, and Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'. This is a season many look forward to all year. Yet, not everyone is happy about celebrating during the holidays. Here are some controversial stories you probably haven't heard surrounding the holiday- Christmas.
Merry Winterval
While Christmas is originally a Christian holiday, it has morphed into a widely celebrated one. In order to be politically correct, the Birmingham City Council in England voted to have Christmas changed to Winterval. They chose Winterval because it combined the two words winter and festival. This vote didn't pass. The name Christmas is still used in England.
Starbucks Holiday Cup Controversy
The cutesy designs of reindeer, ornaments, and snowflakes seem completely harmless. However, the red holiday Starbucks cups have some heavy controversy behind them. While many Starbucks customers look forward to seeing the new holiday cups each year. Others are not so thrilled about them.
After the backlash from the Christmas designs, Starbucks listened to the outraged customers and changed the cups back to red to be more inclusive. It wasn't long before other Starbucks drinkers were anger, missing the holiday cups. This year Starbucks has put all controversies behind them as they released there new 2018 cup designs.
Saying Xmas Leaves Christians Outraged
X-mas is originally a shortened nickname for Christmas. As a child, I remember writing Merry X-mas on Christmas cards. Mainly because I couldn't quite spell Christmas. Yet, many evangelical Christians do not like the nickname, saying keep Christ in Christmas. This is merely a confusion of the origin of the word. X actually means Christ in the original language. "In Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word Christos (Christ) begins with the letter "X," or chi."
Giving Gifts Encourages Consumerism
Even though Christmas is intended to be a holiday about gifting and kindness, commercialization has continued to increase around the holiday. Households go into debt during the months of November and December, trying desperately to keep up with the pressure to buy more. Some argue that the emphasis on giving the perfect gifts takes away from the real meaning of Christmas.
What About Hanukkah?
Christmas is widely celebrated in American culture, Hanukkah is overshadowed. "There are about 4.2 million American adults who say they are Jewish by religion, representing 1.8% of the U.S. adult population." Most Jewish households do not put up Christmas trees or put up traditional holiday decorations. In fact, 82% of Jews in America have never had a Christmas tree.
Ugly Christmas Sweaters
While ugly sweaters are typically a lighthearted fun way to show holiday cheer, some stores have faced controversy over their sweater designs.
Target, although one of my favorite stores, has been the center of sweater situation. "In 2015, Target carried a bright red sweater that boldly proclaimed "OCD: Obsessive Christmas Disorder," which some said was a slam at those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, known by its OCD acronym". Target has since removed the sweater, but not without hundreds of complaints from customers.
Target is not the only story who has made fashion faux pas in their sweater department. Hallmark also received backlash for their holiday sweaters. "Trying to be politically correct, the sweater featured the phrase, "Don we now our FUN apparel!", a modification of the lyric in "Deck the Halls" that reads, "Don we now our gay apparel."
Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?
Greeting a colleague or a worker in Kroger can be awkward not knowing what holiday phrase to say. While Christmas is the largest holiday for Christians, saying 'Merry Christmas' to an atheist, agnostic, or Jewish individual is not always appropriate. Some don't mind a cheery holiday greeting, others find it offensive. What greeting you choose during the December month is up to you, but I would tread lightly.
Can Santa Be Black?
As racial tension in America continues to heat up debate rises about the 'white-washing' of Christmas. Center to this idea is the belief that Santa Claus is not an inclusive symbol for the holiday. Aisha Harris conveys her thoughts that Santa should be a penguin, incorporating both black and white in the figure. Santa Claus Should Not Be A White Man Anymore. Others argue Santa is modeled after St. Nicholas who was a real person of European descent. St. Nicholas is white because he is based off a person who was white.
Regardless of the negativity, controversy, or the 'war on Christmas', I hope you sit back and enjoy some eggnog with good family and friends.
