In an unusually brave moment for me, and a first in creating a post on LinkedIn, I am abandoned sermon for a moment of procrastination and said this.

I clicked on LinkedIn to see if anything exciting was happening. It’s Christmas Eve and I’m still trying to decide what to say this evening. I flicked past someone liking someone being annoyed about those who offer greetings in this season as “Happy Holidays” and not “Happy Christmas”.

It reminded me that a predecessor of mine at Dunfermline Abbey is still affectionately known by many who encountered him as their school chaplain for assemblies where he would offer the regular reminder that “holidays are holy days”. Reminding them of the derivation of the word for the breaks from doing the ordinary day to day things we do.

For me, I don’t mind which you use. In many ways I think there is an advantage to recognising that many of the world religions mark the fading light of winter in the northern hemisphere with festivals of light. Reminders that light will return in the darker of nights – a sign of hope. The bigger question for me lies around the word “happy”.

We declare “Happy Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” and what we mean is have a good time, enjoy yourself. And yet in these holy days, the faith message is “happy” is bigger than ourselves. Holy days are meant to be days of reflecting and noticing that we are more than the sum of ourselves, but part of a community (family, church, work, friends, colleagues, town, city, country, world – I’ll let you decide which works for you) and that comes with an awareness of how our lives impact on one another. Christmas/holidays become “happy” if thy are signs of hope for a wider group.

So thank you to whoever commented and made me notice someone else’s post – you may have helped with this evening’s sermon. And to those who have read this far, while I will be celebrating Christmas, I hope these are holy days of light and love for you – whatever festival or faith you celebrate.