Is It Really Festivus... For The Rest Of Us?

The beauty and excitement of the holiday season is here. Yes, I said it—the holiday season.

The weeks between Halloween and New Years are the season of many holidays. And now the signs are pointing to the coming of Christmas (yes, I said Christmas) with lovely lights and decorations and music. Nyack’s tree lighting is this week, Friday, Dec. 2 2011 at Veterans' Park at 7 p.m. I will be there, and hope many of you come out, too!

J&R Entertainment, along with Nyack High School Advanced Chorus, Lower Hudson Valley Youth Chorus and Nyack High School Chamber Orchestra, will be there filling the evening with music, caroling and hot cocoa to officially usher in The Old Tyme Village Celebration of... the season.

Now, with all the merriment in place, comes the politics of the season and the debate: is it safe and correct to use the word Christmas? Does one really become offended if the wrong term is used? In my opinion, it's ridiculous that it's even an issue. Wish me a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday! It only matters that you thought enough to extend good wishes.

Why does everything have to turn into some political dispute? Do people just like to have something to complain about nowadays? I was raised in a Catholic home and we celebrated Christmas the way everyone else did. In my adult life, Yule is celebrated, as well as Christmas, for the majority of my children and grandchildren.

I know many of you are thinking, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and I will not argue the religious reason for the season. I think whatever your beliefs, it is a beautiful time of the year to celebrate and to honor those beliefs; a time filled with memories that allows us a step back in time to become a child again just for a brief time; a time to create new memories that sustain us through the difficult times.

I agree with those that say Christmas/the holidays season has become more a time to spend, and that the focus is often about getting. It is, in reality, about having a relationship with your higher power, as well as being caring and tolerant and sharing kindness and love with mankind.

Years ago, I was a foster parent to two little girls of the Jewish faith. As our home was decorated to the hilt in Christmas ornaments, I was mindful of their faith and spoke at length to their dad. He, along with my neighbor, taught us about the Jewish faith and ways they celebrated Chanukah. So we brought a Menorah and Gilt and on each of the eight nights of Chanukah followed the tradition of the girls' roots. None of the children cared if it was politically correct to blend the religions—they just felt love and excitement in learning of how others celebrate. My own children loved it, and for years after the girls left they continued the Chanukah celebration with our neighbor.

Festivus, the semi-fictional holiday made popular on Seinfeld, just may be the answer for those wishing to air their grievances about the correctness of which greeting to use. Perhaps if the Christmas tree offends, you can try a Festivus pole—or maybe you can just give a boisterous "Ho Ho Ho" and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season. Just get lost in the magic and live and let live and accept kind words—even if the words aren’t exactly the politically correct words.

I do have to wonder if the next target of correctness will be Santa himself... and  yes, I for one do believe in Santa! Do you?