It's funny that he's more woried about people not using what he perceives as the proper name for the holiday season than he's worried about the complete destruction of the meaning of said season by crass commercialism, of which he more or less happily takes part.
I wonder if the pagans bitched this much when the Christians stole their holiday.
I've often noticed a similar "problem" during other busy times of the year when clerks say:
"Have a nice day"
"Have a nice weekend"
I can only assume these people are ambivalent about the meaning of days and weekends.
And then there's Safeway: when you pay by debit/credit card, they say
"Thank you, ___ ___ [insert name here]."
Does that really make people feel like they've received extra personal attention?
In any case, whenever I think about conspiracies, the first place I look is the check-out counter. Didn't Lenin work retail in Zurich?
Or maybe because the folks behind the counter at this time of year are, like myself, not Christian? Back in the days when I worked retail, I always volunteered for the crappy holiday shifts because I was jewish, could make some extra money, and give people I worked with who actually had celebratory events scheduled with their families some time off.
I remember always being overwhelmed by the crush of customers, and if any one of them held up the line to give unnecessary "tidings", I wouldn't have been the one to beat them to a bloody pulp. The 50 other people waiting to check out would have gotten their first.
If you and all of your family and friends spent the rest of your waking hours mocking James Lileks, you still wouldn't reach the appropriate level of mockery.
That said, this non-Christian doesn't blink at getting wished Merry Christmas, since I've decided I'm keeping that holiday anyhow. Merry Christmas to you, too, stranger! Go kill a tree and max out your MasterCard, fa la la la la.
The one that does make me flinch, though (and for no good reason that I can discern): "Have a blessed day!" I know it's a perfectly fine, non-sectarian, generic well wishing, but it invariably makes me want to scream, "Hail Satan!" I've restrained myself thus far, but don't push me, dammit.
"Go kill a tree" - wait, doesn't a new top grow back from the stump so there can be Christmas next year?
Like Lileks, I also despise uppity darkies disrespecting my values. I usually speak to their owners and make them pay.
I have heard a lot more Christians kvetching about being wished "happy holidays" than I have ever heard Jewish people kvetching about being wished "Merry Christmas." And this year it's, like, orders of magnitude more. (Not because I don't know enough Jewish people, either.) There was a NY Times article about how parents were calling their kids' schools to pre-emptively register outrage about their policies against religious Christmas carols & cards, only to find out that the schools had no such policies.
I've occasionally noted the oddity of wishing "Happy Holidays" after Hanukkah is over. But what the hey. (I suppose Kwanzaa is always after Xmas.)
Actually I find this all pretty damned creepy, but I guess that goes without saying.
The holidays last till new years.
(Not that the separation of church and mall doesn't undermine our moral values of course--I'm not anti-Christian.)
Good point, Rose. And I often don't remember when Hanukkah is, myself, so I'm in no position to talk.
Katherine, I noticed you posted on DeLong's double effect thread--there's some discussion continuing on the "Finals Liveblogging" thread. (Sorry for going OT, I know how you guys hate that.)
BOO-YA, James Lileks! Wolcott is IN YOUR FACE!! He's all up in your kitchen, makin' home fries!