Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays - A Remarkable Encounter

 

I went to Mountain Park Aquatic Center for my daily swim. As I entered the door, there are was an elderly lady behind me. The door was heavy, so I held it open and let her in. When she entered, I offered that she went ahead of me to the front desk. She said, “No, you came first”.  So, I went in and swiped my entry card, and turned around and the lady smiled, and I said “Merry Christmas”. Her face beamed and she replied “Merry Christmas to you too”.

 

I went in and did my usual 3,000 meter swim, showered, changed, and came out. The lady was waiting for me. She came up and said, “I have baked Christmas cookies, I want to bring some for you, when will you be here next?”  I smiled, and said, “Thank you very much, I will be here tomorrow morning”. She said, “What is your name?”. I said “Venkat”, and she said, “Spell it for me”, which I did.

 

Then she continued, “Are you from India?”  I said, “Yes, I was born there”.  She wanted to talk, I could tell.

 

She started, “It made me very happy that you wished me Merry Christmas, none of that Happy Holidays stuff”. 

 

I smiled. She went on, “I wish my Jewish friends Happy Hannukah, and they wish me Merry Christmas. That is how it should be. None of this Happy Holidays.”  I said, “You have a point, I agree”. She then said, “What is the equal of Christmas in India?” I said, “India is a very old and large country, and has many religions, Christmas is celebrated widely, as are a multitude of festivals, in fact, too many.” Then she said, “Do you wish each other Merry Christmas?”.  I said, “In India, at least the India I grew up in, everyone wished everyone everything, and everyone celebrated everything. We grew up in a country with multiple religions, many languages, many cultures, and lots of all diversity.”  

 

“Oh, now I understand, why you so readily could say Merry Christmas. Where do you work?”  I said, “At Emory University”.  Then she said, “You know Emory has upset me. I read that students are now not allowed to do Christmas decoration in their dormitories. Do you think that is fair?”  I said, “I don’t really know this, but think everyone should be free to celebrate whatever they want, and everyone should happily participate in as many things as they wish.”   

 

“Yes”, she said, “What do you think of putting the Ten Commandments outside the court houses?”  “That”, I said, “is not a good idea, because a secular government should not be part of any religion or at least should keep equidistant from all religions. But civil society should celebrate pluralism, where all religions and even non-religion and atheism can thrive and be part of society, and everyone can participate in whatever they want. I think no culture belongs to any one group, all cultures belong to humanity and not to any one group.” 

 

She said, “I want to invite to my house, and get to know you more. You should tell more about all the festivals in India. I want to learn”. I said. “Sure, Merry Christmas”, and she said the same, and we parted, only to meet again.