Friday, December 08, 2006

Holiday PC

When I received my kid's monthly daycare newsletter last night, I read it through thoroughly, as I always do. Being a mother that works full time induces bouts of guilt that inevitably causes you to cling to each piece of your child's life that you miss out on. I avidly read my daughter's daily reports, my son's weekly classroom updates, and of course, the daycare monthly bulletin.

As I was reading the bulletin, I was happy to learn my children were learning about a variety of holidays during this season of joy, including Christmas, Hacunakah, Kwanza and Eid. Wait a minute. Eid? What the heck is Eid? After a moment of confusion, and then despair at being out of touch with this new holiday, I promptly Googled Eid to find out what it was.

Apparently Eid ul-Fitr is a Muslim holiday which marks the end of Ramadan. This is a joyous event that marks a month long fasting. I suppose if I had to fast for a month I'd throw a huge party when I was allowed to eat too. But, that aside...

Who included Eid on the official holiday list? Why wasn't I informed? Was there a committee, a vote, a deliberation? What's next, Saturnalia?

Now don't get me wrong. I'm in no way saying that Muslims don't deserve to have their holiday included in the vast sea of the American holiday season. But please, I'm still trying to adjust to Kwanza.

In this day and age of PC sensitivities, things just keep getting out of hand. I'm still not sure if I'm allowed to say "Merry Christmas" anymore. Worried about the wrong holiday greeting, I often blurt out "Ba Hum Bug!" in a state of panicked confusion. At least everyone is equally offended by that.

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