The Holiday Swear Word

image courtesy of stencilwithstyle

Perhaps it's just me, but I miss the days when I can walk up to a person and gleefully wish them a Merry Christmas...or Hanukkah. Folks understood the message behind the greeting. It was one filled with goodwill and at least for the time being, the expectation of sharing a cup of joyful cheer with your friends, loved ones or heck, even yourself. These days the very notion of uttering a heart felt "Merry Christmas!" seems to bring immediate feelings of dread of being perceived as self absorbed and insensitive to another's beliefs.

Where did we take that wrong turn at Alberquerque? When did "Merry Christmas" become a holiday profanity? Has this society become so obsessed with being politically correct that we've forgotten why we uttered these words in the first place? In so far as can be told, they were never meant to be used as a means to peddle one's belief's on another person or to rub it in. Yet somehow that became the perception. If someone were to wish me a Happy Hanukkah I wouldn't recoil simply because I wasn't Jewish. I wouldn't turn my nose in disgust should a passerby jubilantly wish me a Happy Kwanzaa or even a Happy Lunar New Year. If anything, I'd be rather flattered that they were kind enough to wish me well, regardless if I followed the tradition or not. Because quite simply, it feels good to be considered rather than not be thought of at all.

This push for generic holiday well wishing has also evolved with how we send gifts to one another, especially clients. There was a time it was more than acceptable to send out christmas cards, or if you were a dutiful designer and did your research, send hanukkah cards with a nice personalized gift to the principals. Now the trend is to err on the side of caution and simply send generic season's greetings cards with a sizable enough gift package for the entire office.

I sort of long for the bygone days where I can send a Merry Christmas greeting. For me it epitomized all of those good intentions that I held dear. It was as though I could magically project this positivity simply by uttering them. It had to be so, the smiles and pleasant nods or replies indicated as much. Back then regardless of faith or lack thereof, folks understood the kind gesture behind those words, normally evoking a similar response in kind. Somehow in the pursuit of being "more sensitive," it's quite ironically become more impersonal. Generic greetings, like generic gifts, lack warmth because the associations with those words are lost. Branding 101.

So what's the alternative? The answer is not a simple one anymore. You can't go back to the way it was now that the associations have become convoluted. And it would appear that there is a growing number of folks who are getting tired of trading a heartfelt greeting for a staid, yet socially sensitive one. Perhaps it just means we have to work harder to evoke the warmth that was somehow snuffed out.

For example, I now find myself researching for gifts more than I used to. I ask questions, sometimes personal ones regarding color preferences and other tastes to evoke that once magical feeling I was able to do by mentioning two simple words. I may as well develop an informative brief just for the occassion. If I can't wish the office a Merry Christmas, I'll instead project my warm intentions through my gifts. I'll send along a little gift package of assorted goodies (must be assorted to satisfy everyone's palettes) and as a special touch, send the principals a thoughtfully prepared gift tailored just for them. My Merry Christmas greetings are now projected in my carefully prepared packages. And to combat the stigma of this holiday swear word, I have now begun to punctuate my card with, "Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings." Baby steps.

It's not as it used to be and perhaps it never quite will. But perhaps we can work towards a day when a heartfelt Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa will once again be met with magical smiles of understanding and good cheer.