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Holidays in Florida

Earl Patrick Watson

Just after the US Thanksgiving weekend I visited my granddaughter in Jacksonville, Florida. After landing in Orlando I traveled throughout Central Florida, from Tampa to Tallahassee. I detoured off the major highways, making my way through towns using mostly truck routes but enjoying the scenery. The scenery included year-end holiday decorations on business establishments as well as private homes. However, these "year-end decorations" did not necessarily reflect a Christian Christmas. Large neon signs had in the most part simple holiday greetings expressed in different tones and word variations. There were no mangers, nor images of the Christian family on display outside of the churches. Even verbal greetings from people on the street only referred to "happy holidays." I asked about my observances and was told that the mention of Christmas was out of tone and tune and that greetings with a "religious" reference were a "cultural thing not practiced in most areas of the United States." I am happy that I planned to return to Panama before the end of December to be back in the culture I most enjoy.