This will be one of those "ranting" posts, so for those who don't care for that (as some of you have shared with me), you may want to skip it.
I got on Facebook today and saw a post from a college friend stating that she heard our alma mater's seasonal party this year was being called a "Holiday Party" instead of a "Christmas Party". She didn't like this so she emailed the university president to voice her opinion.
While I respect her passion and her commitment to speak out, I disagree with her on this point. I am a strong Christian and I celebrate Christmas with Christ as my focus. I am even seriously considering talking to The Husband about limiting the number of gifts we give each other in our family so that we can focus more on Christ and less on the material aspects. I would really like to be able to give more money and time to those in need during this season and I believe that Christ would prefer that as well.
Off point a little...so while I celebrate CHRISTmas, I know that this world, and specifically this nation, has many people who are not Christians and that the holiday season is not limited to just Christians. There are a number of religious holidays that take place during this season, as well as those people who do "Christmas" without the belief in Christ. I won't get into the deep historical aspects here, but it should be recognized that most of the Christian holidays we celebrate were placed on pagan dates, and Christmas in particular is estimated to be about 2 months off the real birth date of Jesus.
My main point is that a public institution like my alma mater should celebrate a Holiday Party. While most of the people who work there are probably Christians, it is not right to assume that all are and that they all should celebrate Christmas. To me, it actually comes off as being quite arrogant to expect everyone to accept my beliefs and celebrate my traditions. While I want people to follow Christ because I believe He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, I know that God gives us a choice and that some people have not chosen Christ. Honestly, I pray that they do, but until then, I do not have any cause to force them to celebrate my holiday.
Many argue that because our nation was founded on Christian beliefs, we should celebrate Christmas. I disagree. One, our nation was not completely founded on Christian beliefs. Two, our nation gives us the same freedom that God does in letting us chose our religion. While I may not agree with other's beliefs, I can give them the respect in letting them celebrate their traditions, just as I want the respect to celebrate mine.
So, all that being said, I too sent an email to the president to let him know that not all WTAMU alumni feel that the change in name was a bad thing. Hope I didn't start anything. : )
2 comments:
And now I'm just viewing this because of your recent post. Thought I'd share that our alma mater's president told me once that he would use Merry Christmas on his holiday card because he was a Christian. He hoped no one would be offended just as he would not be offended by a Jewish friend wishing him a Happy Hannukah. I've continued to remember that!
Is that the current president or previous? I like that. Thanks for sharing!
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