Child Corrects First Lady Jill Biden: ‘Happy Christmas!’

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden stepped into the festively decorated East Room of the White House last week to greet those in attendance for the annual Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign.

“Toys for Tots” dates to 1947 when Marine Corps Reserve Major William “Bill” Hendricks’ wife asked him to deliver a handcrafted rag doll to a local agency that served children in need.

Problem: Major Hendrick couldn’t find one. Reporting back to his wife, Mrs. Hendrick responded with two words: “Start one!”

So, that’s what he did.

Bill, whose full-time job was Director of Public Relations at Warner Brothers, reached out to his friend Walt Disney. Walt made the first poster, setting the vision and encouraging the public to join in the effort. Working with his Marine unit, they collected and distributed over 7,000 toys that first year.

Major Hendrick, who eventually headed up the production of The Bugs Bunny Show, has been gone for over thirty years. It’s not clear if he ever made it to the White House, but he’d undoubtedly be proud of the enthusiastic young child who spoke up at last week’s gathering.

Dr. Biden greeted those assembled by waving and then saying, “Happy Holidays!”

You then hear a child’s voice shout from the crowd, “Happy Christmas!”

To her credit, Jill Biden responds, “Yes! Happy Christmas!”

Over the years, “Happy Holidays!” has evolved as a more “inclusive” and politically correct greeting each December.

During his first run for the White House, President Trump regularly assured crows that “We’re going to be saying ‘Merry Christmas!’ again. Indeed, President Trump was never shy about the term, rightly acknowledging that invoking Christ shouldn’t be offensive to those who celebrate Hanukkah or nothing at all.

To be historically accurate, usage of “Happy Holidays!” has been found as far back as the middle of the 1800s, and was regularly used in advertisements beginning in the early part of the 20^th century.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco ran an ad in 1937 with the headline, “Happy Holidays and Happy Smoking!” “Season’s Greetings,” is another term seen as a bit of a catch-all wish that appears regularly in advertisements.

As Christians, we’re called to not be easily offended, but instead to “Bear with each other and forgive one another” (Col. 3:13). The apostle Paul goes on to say we’re to “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

This principle especially applies to weighty matters, but also minor irritants, perhaps even how we’re greeted at Christmas. Believers should be bold in their witness, and Christmas provides us with a wonderful opportunity to proclaim our faith and express that joy we have concerning the Lord’s birth.

We applaud the leadership this young child exhibited, courage that elicited the perfect outcome, which seemed to give Jill Biden the gumption (or the guilt) to follow suit and acknowledge the reason for this wondrous season of celebrating Christ’s birth.