The Auckland Regional Migrant Service (ARMS) prefers to use the words “Seasons Greetings” not “Merry Christmas” to celebrate at this time of year. Susan Devoy, the Race Relations Officer, agreed that “Seasons Greetings” is a more inclusive greeting as it includes people of all religions not just Christian.
This has upset many New Zealanders. The words “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” are traditional. They are written on many Christmas cards. It is true that fewer New Zealanders are now Christian but they still celebrate Christmas as an important festival, not necessarily a religious festival. Many migrants also want to celebrate Christmas by exchanging gifts or enjoying a special dinner with friends. It must be quite hard to ignore Christmas when everything around us reminds us of Christmas. Santa in stores and the Santa parade in cities, street and shop decorations, are just some of the symbols which are not religious.
A good compromise is to remember festivals which are celebrated by people from other ethnicities and religions such as Diwali and Hannukah.
Vocabulary
• Season’s Greetings – best wishes; the season is the time of Christmas and New Year
• Race Relations Office – it is her job to work towards good relationships between people of different races
• include (v) inclusive (adj) – for everyone; opposite is exclude, exclusive
• upset (v) – troubled, concerned
• compromise – a midway point between different views