Jesus walks with me

Big sparkly tree in the foyer, giant wreaths over the elevators. Government building. Every year it takes me a little while to get used to the grand cultural significance of Christmas. It's big, it's bright, it's everywhere. This year it's feeling a little too full-frontal Christian. Kind of alienating as a non-Christmas-observer, as I'm reminded that I'm part of a tiny religious minority. Maybe it's because I've never been in an environment before where I daily walk by Christmas cards from years past scotch taped up on cubicle walls. Virgin Marys adorning desks. 'Every day is a blessing from Jesus Christ' screensavers scrolling across computer monitors. The irony that this is all happening in my first government job only intensifies my newfound oppression. Mind you, I have no interest whatsoever in equality. I would probably die of embarrasment if I walked into a tree-sized Menorah next to the security desk. If I don't think too much about it I really don't mind all the Christmas hoopla. The tree at Rockefeller Center is pretty. People on the street are nicer to each other. The excitement of the holiday season, or whatever, is a fantastic pretext for slacking off at work. And of course there are the sales. The greetings, though, really need help. The blatant "Merry Christmas" or the veiled "Happy Holidays". Are the people who ask me how my Christmas shopping is going oblivious that there are non-Christians out there (please, of all cities), or do they just not care? I almost (almost) admire them for their honesty, as narrow-minded as it may be. Then there are the "Happy Holidays", which, though seemingly more inclusive, is kind of nonsensical. Chanukah this year is the evening of December 4 until the sunset of December 12. Yet the 'Holiday' parties and greetings don't start till after the Jew holiday has come and gone. A more accurate greeting might be, like, "Happy Belated Holiday." Which really sounds more like an apology than a greeting. Or maybe I should just suck it up, enjoy the day off of work, and keep up the Jewish Christmas tradition of getting Chinese take-out and going to the movies...