All Is Bright

Lately I've been trying, maybe too hard, to find Christmas joy.  The happy anticipation has been creeping away, year by year.  I've overheard people at the grocery store, saying that they'll be glad when it's all over.  With each shopping trip, the sending of cards, the baking, and decorating; the radio stations that have been playing Christmas songs relentlessly since before Thanksgiving.  My Scrooge was showing this year, and I just didn't know what to do about it.

It was a busy afternoon in mid December at the St. Louis Bread Company, and I was working at the register.  At my line, a woman had just finished paying for her lunch.  Decked in red, she gave me a smile that was just as bright--and as she turned to leave, I said in my cheeriest voice, "Have a happy holiday!"

The woman started to walk away, then leaned back toward the register, smiled again, and in a very heartfelt way, said, "Merry Christmas."  I said, "Merry Christmas" in return, and realized the timing was off.  Then she said something that was to change the way I ended my transactions for the rest of the season:
"You know, Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ; and we should say, Merry Christmas, because that is what it is.  For whatever people celebrate, we wish them a Happy Hanukkah, or whatever it is they celebrate.  Our country fought for us to express ourselves the way we want to, and so I choose to say, 'Merry Christmas' ...and no one should tell us to say anything other than what we want to say; freedom of speech is our right."  She wasn't indignant or self righteous...just sweet and calm, with the essence of an angel.

Although the message isn't new to me, it sticks.  I've carried that thought around.  Sometimes, we get hung up on trying to say the right thing so we don't offend anyone who might have a different belief than our own.  I don't know anyone here that would hate me or the establishment I work for because I wished them a Merry Christmas!  I may have to look harder for the "Merry" part of it these days, but the reason for the season outshines all the hoops we jump through to get to that day when we celebrate the birth of Christ.

After all the rushing around--cranky and fussing, and all the preparations, finally arrives Christmas Day.  Before you go to bed on Christmas eve, open your door and look at the stars. Listen to the quiet night.  In the morning, hear the church bells.  Spend time with your family, remember your blessings, and be grateful. May you feel joy...and have a very Merry Christmas!