I was scrolling through Tumblr last week when I came across a rather heated post about how privileged Christians are to have their winter holiday advertised at every turn.

They complained about the world of today’s ‘War on Christmas’ when other holidays have barely received any recognition at all.

This person proudly emphasized their Jewish background and concluded that Christmas enthusiasts have no idea what they’re missing out on in the wonderful world of Hanukkah.

While Tumblr is generally not the best source to go browsing for information on the real world, this did get me thinking.

Barely hours after Halloween ends, nearly every store becomes stocked with variations of Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas advent calendars, Christmas themed wrapping paper, Christmas cookies, the list goes on.

Thanksgiving is still weeks away, yet it appears that Santa threw up on every street corner of America.

Even I, a Lutheran woman who grew up surrounded by Lutheran influences, find this explosion of decorations ridiculous.

Imagine how those belonging to other religions must feel. For a country that prides itself on equality and the separation of Church and State, America does a terrible job of recognizing its true religious diversity.

As December approaches, radios aren’t heard playing “Rockin’ around the Menorah” and there certainly isn’t a Charlie Brown Kwanzaa television classic to be put on repeat every year.

Think about how many Christians would be offended if their holiday’s weren’t recognized and the uproar that would follow.

They had enough difficulty accepting the change of greeting from “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays.”

It is long past the time to educate the population about these less emphasized traditions and give them the recognition they deserve.

As a child, it was incredibly comforting to me noticing how widespread my family’s tradition of Christmas was.

All of my friends in elementary school would chatter excitedly about what they hoped to receive for Christmas that year and when their family will finally put up their tree to decorate.

Integrating even a short hour on different holidays each year could prevent the religious hysteria people are experiencing today.

How lonely it must be for the young Jewish, Pagan, and African Diaspora children to see so little appreciation for their holiday.

Having the sign “Happy Holidays” outside your storefront may be more inclusive than having it read “Merry Christmas,” but it still fails to represent the individual holidays themselves.

With my limited knowledge of these other winter holidays, I am far from the best person to ask what products companies should consider displaying for accurate representation, but there are a number of people out there who would be immensely talented at spreading their tradition in this way.

The above statement is a testament to how problematic our country is without the proper, diverse religious education.

I’m aware of the basic idea of Hanukkah but I actually had to look up the purpose of Kwanzaa and what group celebrated it.

I couldn’t even begin to name the other winter holidays that take place, although I know there are more.

Public schools are so adamant about having zero connection with religion that they fail to realize how such education leads to more tolerant ideas of people who are not like us.

Integrating even a short hour on different holidays each year could prevent the religious hysteria people are experiencing today.

Any religious person will know that these holidays are not meant to be about the material goods.

But it remains a fact of our economy that ideas and trends are spread through the admiring of these goods in stores.

The popularity and excitement for Christmas exploded with the expansion of ornaments and lawn decorations, there’s hope that some of the same excitement would appear for other holidays.

At the very least, it would tone down the amount of Christmas overflow in each store.

For any of my fellow Christians who are still doubtful: It’s true that Christianity was dominant for a long time in the United States and represented the religion of the country.

But America is about the people who are here now, and that is a much more diverse group.

And that’s good!

It is time to stop insisting that everything revolves around us.

Instead, let’s join the wider circle of many traditions that make our country so beautiful and unique.

Lets work together to make sure everyone feels welcome and this holiday season!