India, Dec. 29 -- For the first time in my life, I received several messages wishing me a safe Christmas. Not happy. Not merry. Safe. For seven decades, Christmas greetings in my life have come wrapped in warmth, affection, and familiarity. Never before had safety figured in that vocabulary. Christmas was assumed to be benign, joyous, and universally acceptable-even by those who did not believe in its theology. This year, that assumption collapsed.

By the way, I have always preferred "Happy Christmas" to "Merry Christmas." Merriment is fleeting, often noisy and indulgent; happiness is deeper, quieter, and rooted in contentment, compassion, and peace. Christmas calls for happiness, not merriment. Alas, many Christians see the two words as...