The OTHER War on Christmas
A couple of days ago my wife and I were discussing just how little we cared precisely how someone greeted us during the holidays. As usual, Jody made it clear that she would greet people however she wanted, which normally means “Merry Christmas” while at the same time mentioning appropriate occasions for the use of other greetings. Regarding the White House Christmas list, she told me, they obviously ought to use “Happy Holidays.” Between us, I’m sure we could offend a good number of people.
But actually most of the people I know are not all that worked up about holiday greetings. The bulk of the population manages to go on living no matter how anyone greets them, and even if some folks don’t do it at all.
But folks who lack good sense keep on talking about “the war on Christmas.” Obviously, those who don’t want manger scenes on public property or who don’t celebrate December 25th are anti-Christian, and probably anti-God as well.
But wait . . . there’s another war on Christmas–the Christian war on Christmas. It’s a pagan holiday, we shouldn’t celebrate it, Christmas trees are idolatrous, etc.
Just for a bit of flavor, check out this web site. They say, “Stunning as the following facts may appear, it is essential to bring them to your notice.” They go on to list the reasons why you shouldn’t be celebrating Christmas. Check it out! Step aside, Mr. Scrooge!
And just in case someone misses my intended humor, let me assure you that I love Christmas. The Christmas tree is one of the best religious symbols around. It’s been borrowed so many times that nobody has any idea what it actually means. It can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways, and what’s more, it can carry a whole bunch of other symbols to which boring interpretations can be applied. Best of all, it’s pretty, and I like it. Pagan revelry rocks!
Oh, and besides all that, the Christmas tree still manages to offend a few uptight folks who probably deserve offending. Who could ask for more than that? 🙂
That article is a laugh. Who says that Christians are commanded to observe Christmas? I’d gather that most people do just because it’s a lasting tradition, and I would guess that the Jews have certain traditions that were not passed down in the Torah, either.
And the whole “December 25 isn’t really when Jesus was born” strikes me as quite irrelevant – we also have good reason to believe that Jesus wasn’t born in 1 AD, but we don’t abandon the AD/BC (or even CE/BCE) system of dating because of it. If we have no idea of exactly when Jesus was born, then who cares what season we celebrate it in? No one raises a fuss about the rotating date of Easter being untrue to the actual day when Jesus was resurrected (but then again, this guy might).
By the way, if you haven’t looked at the evolution page on this site, you should; it’s pretty good for a laugh, too. As if evolution can be easily trounced by a collection of quotes which are said to be from “prominent scientists and thinkers of our time” (emphasis not added) but many of whom are either far too old to be considered modern (like Fred Hoyle) or are unreliable sources (like…um, Hoyle again, at least when he’s talking about big bang theory). The amount of quote-mining is simply staggering.
I just wrote a piece about ‘the war on christmas’ over on my blog-I’d be interested in what you think of it.
Oh yeah, we have pagan symbols galor: a Christmas tree, Christmas lights, we even know what Santa is going to give our sons for Christmas.
One year, I called my son on the phone, and posed as Santa. I talked with a really deep voice, told him I got his letter, and that I really looked forward to delivering his presents. I then ended the call with, “and remember, Jesus is the reason for the season… I just work for Him!” Of course, he’s starting to get older now, and we can see some seed of doubt. I’m sure we’ll have to level with him in the next year or two. I expect it to go okay though, since many of the other kids at his Christian school are going through the same thing. In fact, this year he said that he still loves Santa, but he loves Jesus more. I just hope that when he goes to therapy about this in his adult years that he’s willing to discuss it with me. I will miss these years though… of course, my 2-year old will be ready for Santa next year.
Mery Christmas!
Who would ever think that the greeting “Merry Christmas” could be offensive to anyone? Well, we have come to a time in our history where this greeting may result in a lawsuit. This is amazing.
I try not to take any of this stuff too serious, because there always seems to be someone that wants to make a name for the themselves and stir the pot. It reminds of people who write graffiti. They want to tell everyone they are important and know how to draw. In addition, they like to mark their territory, so others will recognize their importance and know they live in the area.
I guess I could get out at night write on buildings so others would know I live in the area, but my friends already know where I live. Therefore, I would be wasting my time writing on building and walls. On the other hand, those that write on buildings and walls need to make a statement of some kind. Somehow this makes sense to people who just want attention. Well, I think those who are always protesting Christmas are about the same. They like attention.
For me, I will be Santa again this year, because my grandchildren want me to dress up in a red suit and be Santa. I will attend a candlelight service, because I want to feel the spiritual importance of this season. And, I will probably eat too much.
As for those that want to protest and ban Christmas, I hope they are able to find another outlet for self expression. I would like this group of anti Christmas nabobs to fight to ban poorly dressed teenagers walking around with pants falling off rear with their boxer shorts showing.
This just in. A college president who just banned Christmas has just reversed himself and is now allowing Christmas. Gosh, this is good news.
“In an 11th hour move before Christmas, the president of Southwestern Oklahoma University announced this week the school has reversed its ban on the word “Christmas,” allowing staff members to display religious symbols in their offices as well as greet each other with holiday salutations”.
Merry Christmas!