The Controversy of Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Season's Greeting! Happy Ho Ho! Merry Grinchmas!

Whatever you want to call Christmas - the fact is that controversy exists due to personal interpretations or individual perceptions.

For the reality is that these meaningful greetings do verbally or visually represent the diverse definition differences that we each use and what that meaning represents to each of us differently.

With any greetings - there are none - who are right or factual. There is also none that are wrong - no matter who says what. For each greeting is made up of personal beliefs of what the holidays mean personally to them. Their imperfect beliefs they share of their individual cheer with another. Sounds kindly Bah Humbug! I know. But if you will continue to read then perhaps - enlightened is what you become into a deeper emotional understanding.

I will never understand those who complicate the issues of Holiday Greetings - as if it is a personal competition with the world to announce their right to be right - in what they believe.

Gracious, if we all acted like that or got disgruntled or mad about the differences of other's live - would we not all become mad, insane with individual conflicts, angry, bitter, frustrated, and conflicted in emotions because some one else seeks to believe different than we? All would stand their arguing in debate because one does not believe in the phrase of greetings spoken or are visually displayed. How immature is that?

This should be the meaning or message of any holiday greeting.

If this is your vocal or visual meaning or message to cause and produce controversy when you announce what you believe in season messages that are really camouflaged with false pretense to prove your personal beliefs - then please keep your ill-motivated and unhealthy focus of greetings to your self.

There are many millions of us who can appreciate and respect the diversity of others who believe different than us. There are millions more who do value to learn of other cultures different than our own and give appreciation to the values of other's beliefs as much as we do our own.

The one thing we should never lose in this holiday season or any exchanges of well wishes - regardless of how those wishes are spoken - are the important aspects that our beliefs give us to be happy and produce happiness.

We should never lose focus on the real meanings of individual best wishes, hopeful tidings, and the Merry Cheer that can only come from this time of year.

Children are the Reason for the Season and any holiday for me personally. For their sparkling eyes of hopefulness, faith, happy, laughing & smiling cheerfulness is something we all could use extra doses of and try to obtain and achieve for our self this holiday seasons.

The appreciation that children have for Christmas is as no other class of human beings upon Earth. For they know no strangers nor disallow any one as a potential friend. For all smiling faces are as an invite for them to welcome conversations, share laughter, and appreciate the productions of smiles they can.

My nieces, bless their heart, are not financially wealthy and do have a quite complicated life.

But for my birthday this year, they gifted me their own stuffed toys that they owned and wrote me hand written decorated cards that expressed emotionally what they could not verbally tell me.

They think it is funny to make an adult cry in emotional sweet happy tears of sentimental and emotional gifts as this. For Christmas gifts - they have did the same thing. They told me after giving my little knick knacks that they were hoping I'd let them open their gifts early too. As children will try to do too.

I did not let them open their Christmas gift and will make them wait until Christmas. But their efforts to produce emotional humanity are quite commendable that we adults should never lose and to obtain and shed in good cheer too.

These little girls including my own daughter - remind me year after year, holiday after holiday; why we should never be afraid to explore our emotions, share our emotions and learn how to change and perhaps, even refocus our own views, perceptions and beliefs sometimes.

For the generation of children today is not the same generation that we grew up in.

Many will pull their knowledge to live life and make choices in parenting from their personal past. But while we use this old information from our own old databases within - we lose the ability to see the factual changes of life that are occurring before us now.

We miss the opportunities of value to help our children and our youth to find and learn who they want to be in their individuality with the new tools, skills, necessities and luxuries they have now in this world that was not available to us in our prior years.

The only way that we can learn to communicate is to speak their current day language and to understand the complexities, complications and stresses our children and youth have as well. By doing this - we allow our self to grow together with them and not apart from them too.

A Person I Used to Know loved Christmas as their favorite holiday of the year. For this was the time of year that a poverty house looked like a home with all the glittering and bright lights of Christmas decorations. A house that was loved and felt like a home only through the holidays.

The time of year where the mother would get dressed up and visually appear to be happy and engaged into her family. The time of year where children would not just be told to go sit down and shut up but the adults would engage.

Listen. Speak. Effective emotional conversations. Talk with and not talk down to or half listen to the children that spoke. But the children ruled the day of this holiday.

This Person I Used to Know was me. Even when being poor and with the good heart of strangers to assist the local toy drives and Salvation Army that supplied our many Christmas gifts growing up - it was the time of year - that the world felt safe, appeared as beautiful as the Earth could get and all appeared happy and accepting of one another.

May we all never forget the real value behind the holidays upon material gifts. May we all never forget to engage our little ones and our youth to let them know that Christmas is their time of year to shine, be engaged, be welcomed and be as equals to all of us.

After all - children and our youth are our future. Children and our youth will become the traditions of tomorrow.

If we spend so much time focusing on the visuals of Christmas messages with Christmas traditions or cultures different than ours that cause and produce discomfort or confrontations - what are we teaching our children?

That our beliefs matter more and others do not? Is that what you want a holiday to mean to your children or youth? Do you want your young ones to feel accepted to which they belong or are an outcast because of the methods of teaching you give them and they witness from you in your actions?

The Black Friday Shopping in America is a family tradition and has almost became a competitive retail sport. I am not a Black Friday Shopper and do not believe in this disgruntled, selfish and bullying behaviors of those who participate. But I do understand the importance for some to seek a good bargain price to gain material possessions.

But be careful. For even in the Black Friday Shopping social retail traditions - remember what your children or young ones and loved ones are witnessing from you? Is this the bully behavior you want to demonstrate? Is this the holiday value you want your youth or children to know in their Christmas memories? What do you want to deposit to your children, youth and loved ones when a holiday passes? Answer these and their will be your guide.

Many questions for readers to ponder this holiday season. Whatever you choose to speak or do this holiday season make sure your emotional deposits into others will be individually valued more than a decreasing value of material possessions that you gift this holiday.

I wish for all the readers who read this to have a very Wonderful, Merry and emotionally fulfilled Christmas. A personal gift to be given and received that no material could decrease individually from.

Merry Christmas and enjoy. I will be taking a few days break to finish up my Christmas creations to give and spending time with my young ones who need and want me as - much as I need and want them as well. Merry Christmas!