"Merry Christmas!," says the cashier. I respond pleasantly, but cannot help but think to myself, "I'm Jewish."

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be a challenging one for those of us who do not celebrate the Christian holiday. As a proud Jew, I am constantly thinking about the ways in which our society portrays Christianity as the norm and all other religious identities as secondary.

I understand why we always have Christmas off of school and in most places work too. But if we live in a nation where Church and State are separate, then why are we not showing respect for other major religious holidays too?

As a Jew, I can affirm that Hanukkah is indeed not our most important or sacred holiday. However, we are almost never excused from obligations during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I'm just saying that if we are ever told to be in school on Christmas or Easter there will surely be an outrage.

On another note, I personally find it extremely ironic how institutions will make such a big deal out of showing that they are being secular. When in fact, they are actually doing the opposite. My school, Denison University (check us out, we're pretty neat), is a prime example of this.

A few weeks ago the University Programming Council hosted a fun event called Winterfest. This was a nice way for everyone to take a break from studying and have some fun. There was food, music, build-a-bear making, ice skating and more. The festival culminated in the lighting of a "celebration tree." Now, come on, Denison. we both know that this is just a Christmas tree with a new name.

In addition to the so-called celebration tree, our student union and other campus buildings have been decorated for the holiday as well. I have to hand it to the decorators, though; they certainly know what they're doing. I still know that this new decor is actually in honor of the Christmas season, but they have clearly been careful to not make anything blatantly religious. And for that I am grateful.

Also, can we please talk about the disproportionate representation of holidays in retail stores? I'm looking at you, Target. Target has an entire quadrant of its store devoted to "seasonal" decorations and whatnot for the holidays. However, this is actually just a bunch of Christmas decor with a few snowmen thrown in here and there. But fear not! There is a Hanukkah aisle!

Isn't this row beautiful and full of variety?! Okay. Yes, I am being sarcastic, but the point is that there is such a lack of equal representation in such basic holiday decoration availability.

So, to those of you out there in the world with a beautiful variety of religious or nonreligious backgrounds, I would like to wish you a happy holiday season and wonderful new year!