'Tis the Season, or is it?

The beautiful story about the opposing sides in World War I laying down their weapons for one day to celebrate Christmas with each other always comes to my mind this time of year. I envision men in the trenches, tired, cold, missing their loved ones.  How the coming together started, who made the first overture, doesn't matter.  What matters is that it was done, and was accepted, and for a brief period they were not enemies.  For a brief moment they were just human beings in need of a little happiness.

When I finished conducting business at my local bank this afternoon I said, "Merry Christmas" as I turned to leave.  The young lady hesitated a beat then said the same thing to me, followed by, "I'm not supposed to say that unless my customer does."  Have we become so impossibly politically correct that we are offended by a wish for happiness relating to a season we do not celebrate?  Have we taken a sentiment denoting peace and love and turned it into some sort of affront?  It saddens me to think that's the case.

I think of this season as a quest for light, an attempt to chase away the darkness that obtains in the northern hemisphere at the winter solstice.  Unlike many other animals we do not see well in the dark.  We therefore reach for light whenever darkness confronts us.  I believe that the good wish of the season, the "Merry Christmas" that we hear, is an invitation to share someone's light.  I've noticed it's always said with a smile.

Enough rambling.  Merry Christmas everyone!