‘Merry Christmas’ would lead to a joyous season

To the editor:

Wishing someone “merry Christmas” is a greeting that is disappearing before our eyes.

It is not against the law to wish someone a merry Christmas, yet store clerks —because of what I assume is company policy — refuse to say “merry Christmas” back, instead wishing you a happy holiday.

It wasn’t to many years ago that “merry Christmas” was a standard greeting after Thanksgiving until after Dec. 25. Nowadays, most businesses are apparently afraid of being sued if they wish their customers a merry Christmas. I think this is indicative of a population that is losing its sense of commitment.

For instance, if every customer wished clerks a merry Christmas, I think the stores would get the message over time. What do they have to lose? If a few people get insulted, so what? It’s a fact that no matter what you say or do, you’re going to insult or hurt somebody.

What about our constitutional right to freedom of speech? What does the ACLU say about that? With all of the pornography and dirty, four-letter words we hear and see on radio and TV and read in print media, why of all things is “merry Christmas” being suppressed? Even our print media, radio and TV wish us “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas” and “happy New Year.” What goes next, “happy Easter?”

It seems as though retail stores don’t have any problem ringing up the dollars that result from Christmas sales, they just don’t want to acknowledge the origin by wishing their customers a very merry Christmas. You see, customers are not buying those presents for the holidays; rather, they are buying them for Christmas in celebration of Christ’s birth. The thing is, Christmas is celebrated by non-Christians as well because of its spirit of peace on earth and good will toward men/women. It’s a season of forgiveness, friendship and family.

Yet for some unexplained reason, the very stores that profit from Christmas have evolved into a sectarian world that no longer recognizes religious events out of fear of recrimination.

The truth be told, if everyone in the Mat-Su, Anchorage, Alaska and the Lower 48 decided to wish everyone a “merry Christmas” instead of “happy holidays” this year, it would lead to a joyous Christmas season. And the best part is no one could stop us or do anything about it.

Bob Lewis

Wasilla