Christmas at the office is bad for diversity

… I won’t dispute the perspective in your post. It’s certainly valid

But, I’ll add one defense of the workplace honouring a Christmas break — it becomes a time when virtually no deals are done. So everyone can therefore relax. It’s a time when many people — of all religions or none — can shut off the blackberry, not worry about checking e-mail or voice mail, and relax with your friends, family, a good book, a movie, or take a vacation.

In the industry where I currently work, similar but less complete slow downs happen around school spring break, and in August — times that have nothing to do with religion, and more the local school calendar.

My family isn’t religious. So we take advantage of the time off to be together.

I really enjoy your blog. I am a Catholic living in Israel. My fiance is Jewish. To some extent I agree with what you write here. Since I worked in the US mainly in the nonprofit sector, and the president of the last place I worked for was Jewish, I never encountered much of this. There was a floating holiday that Jews took for Yom Kipur. Most of the rest of us were discouraged from taking the floating holiday at all. Then they got Christmas off, like it or not.
In Israel, it is a different story. There are many more religious holidays that you get off, like it or not. This Sunday is a holiday for us for Hanuka. Christmas will pass by without a mention, as will Easter. No floating holidays for these days, and Sunday is always a working day here. Ramadan also doesn’t get a mention here, and certainly not a holiday.
We had Yom Kipur off, and by the way, you shouldn’t drive on yom kipur in Israel.
We get a couple of days off for Rosh Hashana, and in between the celebrations relevant to my fiance and myself there were 5 rosh hashana parties for our departments. Passover is the hardest to get accustomed to, since not only are there various days off, but bread, pasta, cereal, cookies, etc. aren’t sold in supermarkets. Most supermarkets in Israel are kosher anyway, so your choice of what to buy is limited by religion. And of when to buy. They are closed on Friday afternoon until Saturday night.
I like rosh hashana. It is very joyful, there are a lot of parties, everyone tells you shana tova all the time, people cook delicious food. Okay, it has nothing to do with me since I am not Jewish, but it is nice. The holiday season in Israel is October, with rosh hashana, yom kipur and sukkot.
In the US, the holiday season is in December, whether or not it is relevant to you because of your religious background. I think it is nice to have a holiday season.
But I agree with you that giving a lot of religious holidays and celebrating them excessively does tend to make those outside the dominant culture feel excluded. People should tone it down in the office. By the way, we were in Jordan a year ago, and it is hard to sleep with the muezzins waking you up several times in the morning…

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Liz,This is a really fresh perspective on the topic. Thanks.

– Penelope

Working for a military branch of the U.S. Government we don’t have a holiday party. Instead, we have “morale” parties spread out throughout the year. We do have one in December but it is more to celebrate another successful year. It helps to defuse the whole Christmas thing and keeps the party light and secular.

Another incentive is that we offer early liberty (time off) when the party winds down. Everyone, regardless of religious affiliation, can appreciate going home early!

Thanks for this article.

It’s very hard to address the whole “Christmas for non-Christians” issue without being perceived as “whiny.” You do an especially nice job of explaining why Christmas is NOT a “secular holiday,” and also why many Christians have the luxury of believing that it is.

As a Christian, I am serious about my faith, and am daily trying to learn more about God, live like Jesus, and apply these things in my life. I am not boasting because in most of this I feel like I’ve got a long way to go. I certainly don’t corner the market on spirituality.

You indicate that Christians say that Christmas is not about religion. Unfortunately, that is probably true because I believe most people who identify themselves as Christian only do so because of tradition. They were raised in a church, they are faithful about attendance, well at least twice a year on the two big ones, and give faithfully, a dollar to the bell ringers that used to be outside of Target.

I don’t see how anyone who really identifies with Christ could say that Christmas is not about religion. I truly believe that our country was founded by very religious Christians. In their wisdom they created a country that protected the believers of all faiths–or none at all. I believe that while 98% or some very high percentage of the people were more or less devout Christians (maybe for the first 100 or more years) it was acceptable to have Christian holidays as part of the national calendar. I have a hard time today insisting that Federal and State workers get the day off when the majority of them either do not believe in Christ at all, or do so out of religious tradition.

I loved your point about diversity in the workplace being about diverse ways to solve business problems, and not about diversity of religion. I also don’t think it is about diversity of sexual orientation, which is what it too has become focused on. You may find it interesting that a family that we are close to, who are leaders in our church and a model for me regarding living according to these principles, do not even celebrate Christmas. They instead celebrate the Jewish holy days. They do the Passover, the Festival of Lights, of Trumpets, Hanukah, etc.[Note: I may have some of these wrong, but you get the idea.] Why? Because they so want to identify with Jesus (who of course was Jewish) that they try to live each year celebrating the things He celebrated.

I am with you about Christmas in the workplace. Give me the floating holidays and I’ll use them for Christmas, you don’t have to, and everyone should be happy.

seems like you’ve got a pretty good christian following with your blog, eh..

the floating holiday does seem very nice — the only problem is that workaholic / extreme career fathers and mothers might not take them off if they are an option.

As an atheist, and one raised as a Christian, I definitely appreciate this post. Thanks. There’s so much I could ramble off on this, but your post was just right for me, so why be an echo.

I am a new manager (less than 1 yr), and I have a VERY diverse department. I have really been struggling with how to approach the holiday, and your column is very timely for me. My issue: I came from a fairly homogenous department (okay, several ethnicities, but Christian/lapsed Christian), where my managers always handed out cards, small gifts, etc. Now I’m in an ethnically and religiously diverse department, and I don’t want to inflict my (secular!) Christmas on non-Christians. But I want to recognise their contribution to the department with a token of my appreciation (that’s how I was justifying the whole department getting something). I don’t think it will necessarily offend anyone when I hand out baking – inspired by another one of your old columns, Penelope! – but I didn’t know what to do about cards.

I asked my manager for advice, she suggested “Happy Holidays”. It seems weird, though. It’s like saying, “Merry Christmas to most of you, and to the rest, have a nice 4-day weekend”. At least on Boxing Day the stores will be open again.

How would you advise handling cards? Should I stick with the plates of cookies and just not give cards?

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Joanne,

Great question. Cards are very nice, especially if you write a nice note of thanks that is special for that person. Keith Ferrazzi suggests, in his book, Never Eat Alone, that you give out the cards and gifts at Thanksgiving. That seems like a good idea to me. You have probably already missed that, though. You can do cookies and a card for New Years. Lots of Jewish people, including me, who want to participate in the spreading of goodwill but do not want to participate in Christmas send New Years stuff. (Note to all my friends who are expecting cards and cookies from me at New Year’s: The blog is taking up an insane amount of time and there might be nothing for New Years except a new post on the blog.)

–Penelope    

Re: New Years cards / token gifts.

Thanks Penelope. This is a great suggestion. It also allows you to take any holiday time you might get around Dec 25 to write your cards!

I would think a “Happy New Year” card is something that could be sent until mid January, too. And in business terms, sending a January card (when everyone else sent Christmas cards) would put you on client radar screens right at the start of the year when they’re ramping up business instead of when they’re winding down for the holiday.

Wonderful post. I am a minority non-christian and have noticed the proliferation of xmas trees and christmas lunches, etc. at work. It’s quite annoying really. But then again I am surrounded by old-school farts.

From observation, it seems in recent years that Christmas has been turned into a secular holiday to a large extent. Even the venerable “Carols By Candlelight” telecasts on Australian television seem to be an excuse for soap opera stars to raise their profile as singers. My minister swears he heard one group perform a Christmas carol and leave out all the verses that mentioned God!

Oh well, happy holidays to you anyway.

I strongly disagree with this article. The proposition that all Christmas symbols, no matter how commercial or secularized, should be banned from the office in deference to diversity is absurd. I seriously doubt that Christmas causes divisiveness among minorities in the same sense that politics does. I know of no African American or Hispanic leader, group or movement that is agitating for the removal of Christmas from the workplace. Likewise I have heard no protests from any Muslim, Hindu or other non-Jewish religious groups. This is understandable as most Hispanics are Catholics, Muslims believe in the virgin birth and Christianity is so fundamentally different from eastern religions that most adherents do not view it as threat to their beliefs. While Ms. Trunk defends her position based on a general appeal to "diversity," I doubt Ms. Trunk speaks for very many non-Jewish minorities. This article is really part of an on-going dispute involving a small but vocal minority of Jews and the Christian traditions of the Western World. I don't mean to sound callous or insensitive. Although I am a gentile, I can understand that it must be difficult for Jews to be surrounded by a festival devoted to the birth of someone that Jews at best view as misguided. However, Christmas is a long-standing tradition in the United States and rest of the Western World as well as in South and Central America. As such, many offices and workplaces observe the holiday to some extent. What is the alternative? Banning Christmas and telling workers that they are prohibited from displaying any signs of Christmas cheer? I can understand objections to displaying an object as overtly religious as a nativity scene, but come on, is it really necessary to pull down Christmas wreaths? Is this really being tolerant of other customs and traditions. And while it may be difficult for Jews during this time of the year, I doubt it would be easier for them if they were the reason the office Christmas party was cancelled. Jews do have their own cultural and religious state, generously funded by American taxpayers, 98% of whom are not Jewish. Let other countries keep their customs. Jews have Israel; let the rest of the world have Christmas.

David… I apologize for misquoting your “add” as a “put up”… they seemed synonymous to me so I didn’t even notice.

I am not waging a “war on christmas”, nor am I trying to “take away someone else’s cherished traditions” (how ridiculous and futile!). The “perogative” of my comment was only to show the other side of the coin, what the Christmas season is like for people who don’t celebrate Christmas.

Penelope,

It seems ironic that you write “Open your mind to experiences that are different than your own…. You can start by getting rid of those Christmas wreaths.” It seems like homogeneity in the workplace will only increase divisiveness and resentment.

Opening your mind to differences doesn’t mean stamping out your own traditions, but experiencing others’.

Perhaps a better solution would be to celebrate everybody’s traditions and customs… that’s truly opening your mind to diversity.

This, in fact, is exactly what an old public school teacher of mine did–we learned about christmas, hanukah, yom kippur, ramadan, etc. The experience was much more successful at helping kids relate to each other than banning celebration or learning about each others’ cultures and traditions.

Also, I feel the workplace is a place where conversations and decorations about religious holidays should be welcome. Saying those conversations aren’t “professional” is disingenuous. The concept of “professionalism” is overrated–it’s far too often a shield that people hide behind, and people still talk about sex, drugs, religion, politics, etc anyways.

A more successful strategy for your workplace is to make it more human… I wrote about this a couple weeks back, you might be interested:

http://tinyurl.com/y8ybpm

Great blog, btw. Subscribed.

Kareem

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Hi, Kareem.
Minorities do not want to celebrate their holidays with the majority. It is uncomfortable. Only people in the majority at work would suggest that the minority also join in and bring their holidays to work.

But, aside from that, I really like the link you posted up there in the comment. It is not particularly related to minorities and Christmas in the workplace, but your post does list some really good, innovative ways to create a positive workplace.

Your comment is actually a great example of why diversity is important. You have a different perspective on Christmas than I do — and it bugs me. But I like having your dissenting opinion here because you introduced me to the new ideas that you linked to.

Thank you, Kareem.

–Penelope

As in rome do what the romans do. Christmas is a time to reflect on Christs birth. If you do not like it then dont get involved. When we go to your country we dont expect change. Happy Christmas not happy holidays what a load of do gooders / pc people you all are. This is a Christian county lets keep it that way. If you dont like it leave.

PS I know that was a very long comment but I did forget to add two additional, important points.

1. North America has a sectarian holiday – Thanksgiving – and maybe for that reason Christmas is less of a big deal for non-Christians. In Europe and Australia, Thanksgiving does not exist so Christmas is a bigger deal as a cultural festival (separate from being a commercial one and a Christian one).

2. I’m appalled that you have to take vacation time for Yom Kippur. Workplace law in Australia means every employee is entitled to a paid day off on the significant religious days of their religion. They can be asked to work Christmas instead or, if the office is closed on Christmas Day, then it’s just a bonus day off. But then we get at least twice as many holidays as Americans too (four weeks per year plus public holidays, mandated by law – and in Europe it’s usually 5-6 weeks).

“So with all this talk about diversity, why are we still hanging Christmas wreaths at work?”

Just how stupid is this woman? She advocates diversity in the workplace then immediately criticizes one element of it.

What the hell are trying to achieve with “diversity” anyway?

Surely it is the awareness and participation in each other’s cultures, so why does the Christian culture have to be suppressed?

In the interests of your alleged goal of diversity shouldn’t all the other cultures be exposed to Christmas so they can develop tolerance towards Christians? Or is it just a one way street where the cultures of “minorities” are rammed down the white Christian’s throats?

I can and do see your view and perspective. Being a second generation immigrant who is a Jewish born Christian makes it easy for me to see both sides.

I do feel compelled to inquire, during August, how do you conduct business in Europe?

Also, I will take down my wreath. Would you mind taking down your Star of David? It sort of impedes on me.

Being that I am color blind I would like you to begin a campaign to have traffic lights be black and white. Not because those are 2 major races; they are easier for me and my fellow color blinderians to see.

All that aside and akin to my seeing your point, I suggest you work 12/25 and take another day off. Tell your boss you are working then and they should give you comp time.
But please, don’t force your believes on others. After all, isn’t that what you are asking others to stop doing to you?

Oh, and I say “Happy Holidays” in order to ensure I include every possible holiday, religion or non-religion. I do not say it to mean “Merry Christmas”. After all, who wants to be merry anyway?

If you made it this far, try to see my point of view. If you cannot step outside yourself…..

I find it odd that the author would advocate “celebrating diversity” by squashing other peoples’ cherished cultural expressions. I am married to Jewish man and he has never had a problem with the office Christmas party etc. Christmas is a big part of our society’s culture and tearing it down is just mean-spirited and hateful. Shared, long-standing traditions are important for social stability and cohesion, as some guy named Robert Putnam recently acknowledged.

This article is what did in for me and at the execs at Yahoo. Obviously you hate Christians and Christmas.

It’s my task to create a winter holiday e-card for my college that would be appropriate for all the intended recipients–Jew and Gentile, Pagan and Christian, dove and hawk, Atheist and Vitalist, mixed and straight, etc, etc, etc.

Personally as a pagan, Santa, reindeer and such are not religious, but secular symbols, not related to the winter solstice, but of the general madness of hallowthanksmasnewsuperday.

I’d really like some suggestions that would be inclusive, diverse, appropriate, and for my personal taste, humorous.

CONGRADULATIONS. I UNDERSTAND, WHY SHOULD YOU BE PART CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST. AFTER ALL HE WAS ONLY ANOTHER JEW. WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH ME. HE’S NOT MY SAVIOR OR MESSIAH, ONLY TO THOSE CHRISTIANS. THE ONLY PROBLEM I SEE IS THAT YOUR BIBLE TALKS ABOUT THE MESSIAH, WHEN HE WILL COME AND CAME. THERE IS ENOUGH PROOF IN YOUR BIBLE THAT HE ALREADY CAME. SO NOW WHAT. CAN YOU KEEP THE JEWISH LAW IN IT ENTIRETY, I DON’T THINK SO, DO YOU STILL HAVE THE RABBI FORGIVE THE SINS FOR ALL. GOD IS YOUR FATHER, DID HE LIE ABOUT HIS SON? DID THE JEWS IN THE ANCIENT OF DAY ALSO LIE? YOU DECIDE, BUT IF YOUR WRONG I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU BECAUSE WHEN YOU DIE WOULD OF MISSED THE BOAT TO HEAVEN. THE ONLY WAY THERE IS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

Not quite sure how to comment on this:
I see your point of view – the personal view that you find these parties boring because you feel out of place due to the religious significance of the occasion but still feel the need to attend to it out of an obligation to your career. And the (professional?) view that religious expression at the work place isn’t conducive to both the workers and the business.

I am sure everyone can relate to your frustration of having to attend something you don’t want to, especially at the work place. But more on this later …

I’ve got something very interesting to tell you about the latter point of view – in India, in Government offices, both religious and POLITICAL expressions are allowed.

See, the employees are legally allowed to form unions, and most often then not, it is the political parties themselves that organize these unions. You might think it’s a sure fire recipe for disaster. But everyone still gets along for (what I think) are three major reasons – (1) the act of joining and being a member of a union is itself a very loud expression of your political view, so there is no need to bring it to work (2) The government employees understand that they are public servants and while they can have public political views, they know that the public does not appreciate not being served; so if they don’t get along professionally they know they’ll face public ire which could cause them their job. (3) The employees also learn fast that while they can have political views, paying public patronage to them isn’t very conducive to their career as governments and political views often change in a democratic system.

Religion – well, unlike western countries that define secularism as creating a wall between the state and the church, we in India define it more in terms of religious freedom, inclusiveness and understanding. So you can sport religious symbols freely, even in private firms. And westerners might be really surprised on finding idols, pictures or even religious ceremonies (in some cases) at work places reflecting on the religious beliefs of the owner of the firm. (Ofcourse, expression of political belief at private firms are frowned upon – and sometimes harshly opposed, but expressions of religious beliefs by the employees are allowed).

(In fact, while most of the western world struggles with keeping the church separate from the political state, in India the struggle is between the secular and the communal. More on indian secularism – http://www.milligazette.com/dailyupdate/2006/20060623_secular_india.htm – and if you read the wikipedia article on the same subject ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism_in_India ) written and edited by right-wingers, and compare the two article you’ll understand what I mean that the struggle is between the secular and the communal in India.)

Ok, back to your first point – perhaps it is more about your values and beliefs. One – you are quite religious and any religious person would find the in-you-face-salvation-from-christ-only type of christianity increasingly being practiced by Christians to be quite disconcerting (to be impolite, repulsive).

Two – The emphasis you place on your career and your “obligation” to your career. Is it realistic? Would it really harm your career if you don’t attend one party? Is there an alternative to attending the party (I can think of one – buy gifts and card and wish your Christian co-workers a merry Christmas. Don’t attend the party, when asked make an excuse. Trust me, a good gift is sometimes more welcomed then the company of the giftee ;), so people won’t mind it much). You may need to re-evaluate this belief – perhaps you may find that paying a little less emphasis on your work and career might make you a little more happier (wow shocking, I know! :) … I just feel that you equate your self-worth too much with being productive (and not just at work).

Final thoughts – if you can’t change facts, the only thing you can do is change your attitude. My motto – Life’s hard, if you aren’t flexible, it’ll break you.

(God that’s long, no time to review for grammar or typos – so don’t judge all you language fanatics :).

Wait….allowing people to engage in minor expressions of a holiday “undermines diversity” and discouraging them from doing so “encourages diversity?”

I’m curious about what definition of diversity you’re using, if you think that allowing people to express themselves according to their own culture and beliefs “undermines” it, and discouraging them from doing so “encourages” it.

I understand that you feel that people who don’t celebrate Christmas might on some level feel “left out,” but that’s a different issue from diversity. If you really are trying to promote diversity, it shouldn’t matter that some people’s diversity is more or less diverse than others’. If what you’re really concerned with is consideration for the feelings of those who have long been in the minority with respect to these issues, then call it that — don’t call it a concern for “diversity,” because it’s really a desire to limit some expressions of diversity (albeit for arguably good reasons.)

First off, as a Christian, I get a little annoyed when non-Christians–as well as some people calling themselves Christians–think that Christmas is the most important Christian holiday, much the same way I’m sure Jews are annoyed when people wish them a happy Chanukah yet have no idea when Yom Kippur is. While it is important, it has nowhere near the religious significance of Easter, and you don’t see many companies having Easter parties. (Not to mention that historically, its placement on the calendar is religiously meaningless and likely inaccurate, a friendly reminder that even the early church had to reach a diverse audience for success.)

Part of the reason for this misconception, though, is that these days, there are two different Christmases: one that involves readings from the book of Luke, nativity scenes, and choruses from Handel’s Messiah; and another (which, to borrow a page from Homestar Runner’s book, I’ll call Decemberween) that involves Santa Claus, reindeer, evergreen trees, and presents, as well as countless commercials and sales. While Christmas is very much a Christian holiday, and has no place in the office (especially not in a party obligatory for all employees), Decemberween has become mostly an American holiday, created by businesses, like a more successful Valentine’s Day. The Bible has no account of Santa Claus, nor instructions for gift-giving, and it is in this sense that I think it’s fair to say that Christmas, in the form celebrated by most businesses, is not a Christian holiday.

It is Decemberween, not Christmas, that we are really talking about when we throw Christmas parties, wish people “Happy Holidays” (Chanukah, by the way, has been similarly warped into a gift-giving holiday, because Jews’ money is just as good as Christians’ at Best Buy), and try to get people to do their Christmas shopping at our store. Decemberween, it must be remembered, has become an essential part of the American business cycle, with many companies doing more business in the month of December than the rest of the year combined. Decemberween, when not rolled together with Christmas (as most companies are careful to make sure of), should not be any more offensive to anyone than Thanksgiving and the 4th of July (and I don’t think it’s overly nativist of me to say if you don’t like Thanksgiving you can get the hell out).Point being, I think a friendly Decemberween party can be a perfectly acceptable part of a diverse workplace.

Furthermore, I disagree with the point that religion and politics are divisive. I think the way to encourage diversity is to bring more of people’s differences into the workplace for discussion and appreciation, not push it out. Taking such a synthetic, sanitary approach to diversity results in a workplace of people who, even if they aren’t all the same, all act the same, thereby defeating the point.

PS-I think it’s both presumptuous and inaccurate to say that all non-Christians “don’t do Christmas” and “do not want to celebrate their holidays with the majority”. I have Jewish friends that both love Christmas and love sharing Passover and Rosh Hashanah with me.

PPS-from a Christian point of view, while I’m okay with Decemberween and Christmas coexisting, I’m not altogether comfortable with the way they’ve been rolled together–even if done as adorably as in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”–and think we could do with still more secularization of Christmas, i.e. separation of Christmas and Decemberween.