We’re almost at Christmas! Nougat is back, the lottery that never plays, the fish in the river, the freeloading brother-in-law… And the debate that we didn’t know we needed until a few years ago is back: Do you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? There is no right answeror you are offended the fans of diversity or those of midnight mass. To make enemies, I attack those who reject tradition. Not because I am a believer, I have more respect for religion than for faith, but what is celebrated is not an abstract concept of celebration. Christmas is a specific Catholic holiday.
Then around us we installed colorful lights, more and more expensive trees and advertisements for chocolates, but the reality is that The date marks the birth of God’s son according to the Catholic Church. If we erase that, it’s not just that the figurines in the nativity scene no longer make sense. The fact is that no painting exhibited at the Prado Museum is included. No matter how much woke up I want to ignore it, The West was built around Christianity. And that we Spaniards continue to marry in the Church, even if for the majority it is the only day they enter, we have biblical names and we know at least the Hail Mary of Bisbal. We are non-denominational lyrics.
Another thing is that capitalism wants to convince my children that these dates are for receiving overdoses of gifts and that we parents spend our money in Naviland watching actors who deserve better playing elves. Society’s Christmas spirit has become as frivolous as that found by a workaholic trapped in a charming small town in those always-the-same Christmas movies. Everything goes in the direction of an exchange of Christianity for consumerism and is justified by the erroneous discourse of the inclusion of all religions.
I don’t know, I don’t feel attacked if someone tells me happy Hanukkah or Ramadan Mubarak. Naming something is not imposing it, but rather confirming the timetable. Congratulating Christmas does not eliminate the celebrations of other beliefs, nor does saying happy holidays make everything coexist better.. This is a wild card born of fear that resembles a corporate email. But I don’t seem to see it that way Sánchez, who has not mentioned Christmas in his institutional greetings for years. Apparently, coexistence is about erasing tradition…
What a certain left obtains is the same thing as with the flag: the right appropriates a spirituality which belongs to all. Let’s see if this year, with Rosalía’s album, things change and if Christmas stops understanding the sides. The one thing we all seem to agree on is the Three Wise Men. No one minds going to worship the child, I think it’s because they leave a lot of money along the way. So maybe the one thing we can all say is… Happy Spending!
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