The holidays have always been a major production in my household. My mother’s family adores the traditional christmas music, decoarting the house, and gathering together to share the spirit. Professionally though, she has had to mask her excitement over the upcoming holidays due to regualtions. My mother is an elementary school teacher, and it has been mandated by her superiors, that expressing any feelings regarding Christmas, Hanukkah, or whichever holiday she prefers is strictly forbidden. I am at a loss of how to feel regarding this matter.

I do feel as though we should be able to celebrate (or atleast acknowledge) a holiday we cherish, but at the same time, I do think that it is rather unfair to exclude other holidays simply because we may not celebrate them. In the past years, my mother would decipher which students in her class celebrated what (or not celebrated) and tried to incorporate everyone into the festivities.

This year though, she is not allowed to do anything. What is this world coming to? These are elementary school children who should be able to express what they celebrate and how they feel regarding the holidays. My mother’s school does not want to show favor to a specific religion, and I can understand that. But, to the children, I do not think it is about religion. It is about the singing, the gingerbread houses, the wooden dradles, et cetera.

Why are we avoiding the fact that we all celebrate in different ways with different traditions? Why don’t we embrace the differences and learn more about them? This country is supposed to be a melting pot that supports and cherishs the differences that make us. While we shouldn’t ignore certain traditions because they may be less “popular”, we shouldn’t cancel out traditions all together. Tis the season for change.