Society in many ways seems to be growing more and more bizarre with each passing day. A father recently visited a grocery store with his 4 year-old child. The little girl, like many others in her age group, eagerly kept trying to get her dad to purchase all sorts of tasty treats and snacks. Her concerned father, of course, stopped her in her tracks just like he would on any other typical day. Her choices were far from healthy.
The pair a little later came across a lady who complimented the youngster’s top, which featured Disney’s famed hit movie “Frozen” on it. Right before they left her, the father quietly suggested that the little girl say “Happy Holidays” to the kindly stranger.
The lady responded in a strange way, however. With a smile, she told the girl that her father ought to encourage her to say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays.” The young girl shyly said “okay.” With that, the father and daughter left the lady.
The father immediately felt confused after this interaction. The woman began by saying nice things about his daughter’s attire and then ended things by essentially giving him advice on how to rear her properly. The father just didn’t know what to make of the whole situation. He actually ended up feeling rather annoyed by everything.
Although the father is a Christian who celebrates Christmas, he doesn’t believe that “Merry Christmas” is the only way to speak of December’s festivities.
Once the dad and daughter arrived back home after the supermarket trip, they had a discussion. The father told the youngster that the woman they met at the supermarket wasn’t correct in what she said. He explained to her that people celebrate all different types of holidays. He explained to her that numbers of Christians in the United States are dropping and that it’s extremely important for people to be mindful of the many different religions that exist in the nation. He also gave her an important life lesson about politeness. He told her to always be pleasant when people make nice remarks to her. If a person says “Merry Christmas” or anything else kind that involves the holidays, they have no bad intentions.
The father, more than anything else, wanted to communicate something very important to the woman he met at the grocery store. He wanted to tell her that it’s his goal to rear his daughter to be a person who truly cares about other people. He wanted to tell her that it’s his priority to make sure his daughter includes everyone. He wants his daughter to be nice to every person she encounters, regardless of what religion they follow and what holidays they choose to celebrate every year.
His main point was that people shouldn’t have to feel stuck to the things that are the closest to them. Although Christmas may be a big holiday to many people in the United States and all around the planet for that matter, there are other holidays out there, too. People should make a point to be aware of them. “Happy Holidays” is an innocuous phrase for many different reasons. If a person says “Happy Holidays,” that means that he or she wants the individual on the receiving end to have a great experience no matter what holiday is marked on their calendar. Not many things can be more peaceful and pleasant than that concept.
It goes without mentioning that this father’s trip to the supermarket with his daughter was definitely one that he’ll remember for the rest of his life. It was truly an eye-opening experience.