| We Americans celebrate many holidays as we go thru the calendar year. In January, we wish people "Happy New Year"! We hear it on the radio and TV. We see ads in newspapers and magazines, too, wishing us a "Happy New Year"! February brings us Valentine's Day when we wish special people in our lives a "Happy Valentine's Day! Radio and TV personalities, newspapers and magazines remind us to remember our special someone with a "Happy Valentine's Day"! March brings us St. Patrick's Day . A hearty "Happy St. Patty's Day" we are wished. (We don't even have to be Irish to receive this greeting, either!) Quite often, Easter comes in April when we wish people "Happy Easter"! The Easter Bunny even comes and brings a basket of goodies, too. "Happy Mother's Day," we wish our mothers in May. "Happy Father's Day," our fathers are wished in June. "Happy 4th of July!" we are wished on July 4th, Independence Day! October brings us Halloween. "Happy Halloween!" is our greeting on October 31. Lately, "Happy Turkey Day" is what we've been hearing on the radio and TV these past few years during the month of November. It's not Turkey Day! It's Thanksgiving! It's a special day set aside to give thanks to God or to the 'powers that be' for all that we have. "Happy Thanksgiving!" is the greeting we used to hear each November. (Some of us still use it.) We even get the day off from work for this 'Thanksgiving' holiday. "Happy Hanukka" we hear people of the Jewish faith greet one another in December. We see greeting cards and advertising, too, for the celebration of Hanukka. We are in the 'countdown' now - 'countdown to what, you ask? 'Till Christmas! It's in the media! "Six days left 'till Christmas"! "Five days 'till Christmas"! "It's only 4 days left 'till Christmas"! Etc. On December 25th, we celebrate Christmas. Lately, we hear more people, see more greeting cards and ads wishing us a "Happy Holiday"! It's not 'Holiday' that we celebrate and frantically shop for! It's Christmas! Who are we kidding? So, "Happy Christmas" or "Merry Christmas" seems to be the appropriate greeting. We had it right! Why was Christmas changed to the celebration of "Holiday" instead of Christmas - the holiday which it really is? Sylvia Krol Chicopee |
