Holiday Wars

As a former retail slave, I have a request to make of all last-minute holiday shoppers.

When you’re at the checkout, and the cashier says, “Have a nice holiday,” say thank you.
When you’re at the checkout, and the cashier says, “Merry Christmas,” say thank you.
When you’re at the checkout, and the cashier says, “Have a nice day,” say thank you.

Don’t do any of the following:

When you’re at the checkout, and the cashier says, “Merry Christmas,” correct her and tell her to say “Happy holidays.”
When you’re at the checkout, and the cashier says, “Happy holidays,” tell her “Merry Christmas” and go on a rant about Political Correctness.
When you’re at the checkout, and the cashier says, “Have a nice day,” tell her that she’s forgetting about the Reason for the Season.

Don’t wish people well to make a political statement. Do it to wish them well.
When they wish you well, don’t assume they are making a political statement. Just thank them and move on.

Retail workers are the unwilling pawns conscripted to the front lines of the holiday wars. They don’t want to be fighting it. They don’t want to fight you. They just want to get done and go home with minimal conflict.
If you’re a Christian and the cashier says, “Have a nice holiday,” she’s not trying to undermine your belief in God or the significance of the birth of Jesus. She’s trying to be nice to you during one of the most stressful times of the year to be working retail. If you’re not a Christian and you’re wished a Merry Christmas, consider it a meaningless seasonal greeting. Remember: she’s just trying to be nice to you.

When I worked as a cashier as a teenager, I tried every seasonal greeting there is. I wanted to be in the cheerful spirit of gift-giving and I wanted to make people feel acknowledged. What I got was an endless litany of corrections. Eventually I stopped saying anything at all, fatigued by the politicization.

When someone gives you a gift, you don’t get to choose that gift and tell the person you would have wanted something else. That’s rude. The same goes for holiday greetings. Accept the well-wisher’s good intentions and move on. Return the gift. Ignore the politics. Just for gosh sakes be nice!

Remember:

It’s the thought that counts.