Steven Shields

Someone recently asked me what Americans mean when they use the phrase “holiday season.” In the United States the season is tied to the major autumn retail sale periods, beginning with all the candy and costumes for Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving, and then Christmas and New Year’s Day. The so-called “holiday season,” as it is expanded with all the various celebrations, is little more than rampant capitalism.

In some ways, retailers have tried to be more sensitive to various cultural heritages by having their clerks greet customers with “Happy Holidays,” rather than “Merry Christmas. Many Americans protest, demaning that people greet one another with the phrase “Merry Christmas.” They insist that America must keep “Christ” in “Christmas.”

I remember my mother being offended when people abbreviated “Christmas” with “Xmas.” She complained that people had taken “Christ” out of “Christmas.” She was unaware that the name “Christ” in Greek begins with the letter “X.” Although she misunderstood the “x,” she wasn’t wrong about the loss of the spirit of Christ.

Black Friday is the most well-known sale day in the United........

© The Korea Times