A Monopoly on December

Posted by Diana Tierney Dec 13, 2006

The debate occurs every year; someone becomes upset that their holiday is not being adequately represented. For example, people complain because there has to be other religious symbols displayed along with a manger scene or a rabbi becomes upset with an airport because they only have Christmas trees on display and no representation of other religions. During the month of December many holidays collide. Which leaves one to wonder, are we only tolerant of other people’s personal beliefs when it is convenient for us?

During the rest of the year it seems like the religion debate is reserved for secondary news columns or in the context of someone being cruelly discriminated against by a person or a group. It is not until this time of year that people seem to become ultra sensitive in regards to their religion. Is it because we are all forced into a metaphorical room and forced to deal with each other face to face unable to hide in our proverbial glass houses?

As a society that is made up of so many different cultures it only makes sense that we should pay homage to the smaller parts that make the greater hole. Thanks to globalization and modern technology ethnic groups are not so separated. There was a time when it was unheard of that people of different nationalities would work together let alone live on the same block. I grew up in upstate New York and lived for a number of years in southern California two places where racial segregation was not something that was really tangible. However, while substitute teaching in an elementary school in central Texas I was caught off guard that this school that now housed an ethnic mix of students and staff was once an all African American high school. I knew they had existed but in walking through the hall on my lunch break the reality hit me in the face (in the form of an encased display) that there were once students that walked these halls being forced to go to this one specific school on the soul basis that their skin was a different color.

One religious group should not hold a monopoly on the month of December there are many groups that celebrate a holiday that is sacred to them. True, there was a point in time when there was only one specific religious symbol posted in the town square however at that time not all of the walls between the cultures had been torn down. In our modern society it is only logical that we show a representation of all of the different religious beliefs from Christianity to Islam. The holidays during this time of the year serve as a reminder to us that we should show acceptance of our fellow human. The story of Chanukah is a testimony to the fact that we should be tolerant of another’s beliefs though we may not agree with them in our own walk of life they are important to someone else and should therefore be respected whether we find it convenient or not.