I found an interesting newspaper article about a local business man who “has a lot of nerve,” as the columnist writes: “You say ‘Happy Holidays’ to him and he’ll come right back with ‘Merry Christmas!’”

This businessman owns a local office park is fed up with the “political correctness” that seems to want to remove “Christmas” from Christmastime. So, unlike many other businesses that have replaced mentions of Christmas with more generic holiday wishes, his proudly displays banners with heralding angels and a manger scene.

Noting that more than 90 percent of this country’s residents celebrate Christmas, he says, “the Christians are not taking a stand. They’re letting a small amount of people demean the holiday and the reason for the season. Somebody has to take a stand. It ought not be me — it should be the preachers of Richmond.”

Christmas, a holiday intended to commemorate Christ’s birth, finds itself at the center of a “holy war.” Ironic, isn’t it?

One of the business park’s tenants doesn’t share its owner’s enthusiasm. “We think that the winter solstice is the reason for the season,” said a doctor who did not want to be identified. He says the Christmas banners make him feel “proselytized and excluded. It’s an imposition of a world view — we don’t like it shoved down our throats.”

He calls for “less-charged iconography”…like holly, snowflakes, and Frosty.

(Nothing says “winter solstice” like Frosty, right?)

Asked if he was offended enough to relocate, he said that he wasn’t. He likes the location.

Retail outlets are quietly removing mentions of “Christmas” in their advertising and signage. Yet they continue to decorate their stores with Christmas trees and images of Santa Claus — the famous “Father Christmas” who does his magical work on Christmas Eve — hoping that those who celebrate Christmas won’t notice.

Some retail outlets have signs that wish shoppers a “Happy Hanukkah.” Even more will pull out the “Happy Kwanzaa” signs soon. Why is it okay to wish these sentiments if Christmas has to be lumped into generic ones? If I walk by a sign that says “Happy Hanukkah,” it doesn’t impose someone else’s view on me. I understand what Hanukkah represents, and though I do not celebrate it myself, I find nothing offensive about being reminded that others do. I understand what Kwanzaa means, and I’m fairly certain from conversations I’ve had in the past that I understand the history of Kwanzaa better than at least a few who do celebrate it. It doesn’t impose someone else’s views on me if I pass a sign that wishes me a happy one.

I don’t understand why it bothers people who don’t believe in Christmas to see the word. If someone wishes you a “Merry Christmas” and the concept of Christmas means nothing to you, at worst, they’ve still told you that they hope your 25th of December is pleasant. Is that so terrible? When I wish someone “Merry Christmas,” I don’t do so because I want to convert them. If I know that they don’t celebrate Christmas in any way, I say something else. But if I don’t know their holiday plans, I assume that they are celebrating what most people celebrate, and so far, I’ve never been challenged. (If one ever is offended enough to correct me, I wish them happiness at the holiday of their choice. I don’t generally ask a complete stranger what religious affiliation they are right off the bat because that’s often considered more offensive than wishing a non-celebrant “Merry Christmas.”) Oy vey!

If these stores are going to pretend that it’s not about Christmas, they should stop with the Christmas decorations. Yes, it would mean they’d have to put their money (or lack of it from potential lost sales) where their mouths are, but if it’s really that important to them, they shouldn’t be afraid to do so, right?

The owner of that business park thinks it’s important enough to him to risk offending people whom he wishes “Merry Christmas,” whether they want to have a merry one or not. The doctor who rents space is offended, but doesn’t want to identify himself or relocate because he’s afraid of losing clients.

And on December 26th, when that “certain holiday” is over for another year, who’s really hurt by people having wished each other a merry day?