I would like to extend a hearty and sincere blessing to everyone this Holiday season. As the winter solstice approaches, many different festivals and celebrations mark the occasion. No matter what your religion, race or creed, I wish you Happy Winter Holidays and a joyous New Year. During the coming weeks, people all over the world will come together and celebrate.
But we must be especially wary of religious invasion this time of year. Whether they're donating toys to needy children or happily caroling at my door, some people insist on trying to impose their beliefs on me. I can hardly escape the barrage of religious symbols.
Santa appears to come at me from all directions. Sure, he may be little more than a commercialized product of the modern Noél, yet every time I see the big guy, I can't help but feel like someone's trying to convince me of Christ's heavenly incarnation. Frankly, when I go shopping in December, the only things I want to worship are unrestrained consumerism and mass culture.
For these reasons, the next couple of months should only be known as The Holidays."" There's no need to specifically refer to any of these religious occasions by name. It's simpler to just lump them all together. That way, their spiritual meaning can be diminished, and they can be exploited by non-discriminating corporations. I don't care if some people believe it's their savior's birthday, I just want to eat some cookies and decorate my holiday tree. I refer to it as a holiday tree to minimize the significance of the tradition's religious origin, so it can be enjoyed by all. Aren't inoffensive umbrella terms great?
Just because I want to enjoy a holiday with religious origins doesn't mean I have to acknowledge that religion. Who cares if the yuletide season is really about selfless giving? Secularism can deliver that message as well as religion can, without all that gobbledy-gook about God.
What's more, our Constitutional liberties are constantly under attack this time of year. Religion is always trying to impose itself on the government, usually by installing religious symbols in our public buildings. Even this year, our state Legislature is considering renaming the large tree that's in the Capitol to its original title. Doing so would force all Wisconsin residents to acknowledge the divinity of Christ and his miraculous birth. Not in my America. Rather than tolerating all religious symbols in public equally, I prefer to eliminate all of them. When that tree was renamed a ""Holiday Tree"" in 1985, the great burden to recognize Christianity was lifted off the state. One can hardly imagine the theocratic nightmare it must have been prior to that.
Regardless of whether you believe that your personal savior's birthday is in a couple of weeks, this is a special season. It's that time to decorate the holiday tree and spend some time with our families and loved ones. That's truly one of the great things about this time of year.
Maybe we'll sing some of the classic tunes such as ""I'm Dreaming of a White December 25th,"" ""Oh, Come All Ye Followers of Various Belief Systems,"" and ""Secular Night."" Then we'll light the Holiday candelabrum, and make some cookies in the shapes of bells, stars and snowflakes - so as not to offend my digestive system.
But, the diversity of festivals is impressive and I would like now to recognize them specifically. And so, in the spirit of inclusion, I am declaring to all a Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Yule, Soyal, Pongal, Las Posadas, Boxing Day, Festivus, New Year's Day and any other occasion that you may happen to observe during this time of year.
Brian Bisek is a sophomore with an undecided major. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
