Saline Working To Make Holidays More Inclusive

The holidays are coming up and Saline’s government and civil society are working on ways to celebrate all of them as inclusively as possible. City Council is working with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and business leaders to work on strategies to celebrate everything from Christmas and Hanukkah to Kwanza and Thanksgiving.

“Right now the holiday decor committee is really focused on lighting in the downtown area and it will be beyond just normal Christmas colors. What we are looking at is partnering with the DEI committee in asking for their recommendations in how to be more inclusive. One of the suggestions I had brought forth is that maybe we create banners … on the light pols, to acknowledge other faiths, other holidays and it wouldn’t necessarily be just seasonal. It could be welcome in different languages, that sort of thing,” City Councilor Janet Dillon said.

Saline has gone back and forth on whether to celebrate the holidays with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” over the years. The Saline Area Chamber of Commerce will be going forward with its Holliday Parade at 5:30 p.m., December 4.

When asked about the perceived difference between the number of people who want the end of year holidays to focus on one holiday versus all of them, Saline Supports President Kerstin said “I think with a lot of these issues that the DEII is facing, it is a vocal minority. It’s not the majority of folks. I think most people are excited for it to be more inclusive, celebrating the holidays and celebrating everyone and making everyone feel comfortable and important.”

There are two DEI committees – one for the city and one for the school district. Both of them are conducting surveys to seek feedback on how the holidays can be more inclusive, starting November 15. Paper copies are available at Saline Social Services, the library and city hall. The survey will collect feedback for two weeks before the data is assessed.

Woodside said that the data that is being collected to ensure that the feelings of the community are properly represented and to make sure that people from every identity feel like they are being represented and included authentically, and not a tokenized way. Woodside added that the attempts to increase inclusivity should not be seen as an attempt to exclude anyone.

“I think with a lot of the DEI efforts that there is this idea that there is this pie and there are only so many pieces of it; and by not saying 'Merry Christmas,' and saying “happy holidays’ somehow Christmas is less for them. It doesn’t make it less for them, it just makes this time period more important for other people who celebrate other things too,” Woodside said. “It doesn’t take away from your celebration, religion or truth. It just gives other people the ability to have their celebration and truths out there too.

“We’re not saying you can’t say ‘merry Christmas’ we’re saying you can’t say this. We’re saying you should be aware that there are other people and to be aware and respectful to other people isn’t going to take anything away from what you believe, celebrate or anything that you have. It just means that everybody can enjoy it,” Woodside added.

Some members of the business community are also getting involved in increasing the diversity of Saline’s approach to the holidays. Saline Main Street’s Holli Andrews said that the best way to ensure the establishment of a welcoming community is to simply be welcoming through sharing moments and information. To create a more welcoming space, happy holiday banners and multilingual signage for things like parking will be introduced to make downtown more inviting for people from all backgrounds and for people who may not speak English fluently.

“We’ve decided to go for the broader happy holidays this year because there is a limited amount of time and we want to make sure we don’t leave anybody out,” Andrews said. “We’re going to get 32 banners in blue and white, [because they’re] the city’s official colors and it’s a bit more neutral, wintery, and pretty. In the coming years, we’re going to add to them, but it is our starting point.”