HAVE A GOOD HOLIDAY

See those words up there on today’s title? We hate them! We grew up in New England where they took their holidays quite seriously. Today, people wish each other a good holiday even before Thanksgiving! Did we not get the memo? What could be offensive about wishing someone a good Thanksgiving?

Have a happy holiday is just a lazy way of supposedly not offending someone by wishing them the wrong holiday. Let’s be honest- has any Jew ever really been hurt by someone wishing them a Merry Christmas? My usual response is to say,”Thank you and Merry Christmas to you, too.” I realize that they can’t see my yarmulka from the front of my head (that will change as every shower now ends with a memorial service for what used to be hair ON my head and is now hair in the drain, but we digress).

Sometimes, we say, “Thank you, we observe Hanukah, but I do appreciate your good wishes and I wish you a merry christmas.” What is so terrible? Since when did it become expensive to be gracious?

Why are people so afraid of not being politically correct? On the other hand, we (ourselves) have practically made a career out of being NOT PC!

In the last few days we have noticed that most businesses around the metro NYC area have huge Christmas displays and only two things for Hanukah: an electric menorah and a banner that says Happy Hanukah (or some reasonable spelling thereof). And most of them still have the menoral fully lit. Why? So as not to offend any Jews who want equal time! How silly is that? They will keep the menorah lit until January!

We give hashgacha to a bakery. We shut off their menorah last Friday. Monday it was back on again. Why? Several customers were offended that it was off. Why? Because “they” have “their” holiday, and we should have ours no less out there!

I like it when the mailman wishes us a happy hanukah. We, in turn, wish him a Merry Christmas. Nu, so what’s the problem?