Whatever Happened to Christmas

Common Sense America ^ | 12-22-2003 | F.R. Wilcox

[redangus]

What is it about Christmas that scares so many people? Every year at this time the papers and airways are filled with stories of groups and individuals going to court to either stop Christmas decorations from being put up or to demand that they be removed. None of these people care if a Menorah is put in the lobby of the local town hall or if schools allow Islamic students to take time out of class to partake in Ramadan activities. Schools and government agencies go out of their way to make sure that Kwanzaa is celebrated and talked about, and Earth Day is publicized and celebrated yearly with religious fervor. But let someone put up a Christmas tree in the town square or heaven forbid a nativity scene and you would think it was the end of western civilization. And don’t you dare wish someone Merry Christmas without first getting his or her permission or you may be sued. Trying to find a “Christmas” card as opposed to a Season’s Greetings or Happy Holidays card has become an adventure in retailing. A few years back our local School for the Blind stopped having that nefarious Santa Claus person stop by for fear of the damage seeing old St. Nick might have on the children. This year our local law school took down its Christmas tree because one non-Christian professor was offended by this obviously bias display. The majority of the students of all faith disagreed with the schools decision, but in the end the powers that be decided to err on the side of the easily offended and never satisfied PC crowd. In many elementary school “Winter Holiday Programs” Christmas carols are no longer a welcome part of the entertainment.

I personally don’t understand it. I have had Jewish co-workers wish me Happy Hanukah to which I replied with a thank you and a Merry Christmas to you. I have had Muslim co-workers sit and explain to me the traditions of their faith and have never felt threatened or offended. I admit I don’t get the whole Kwanzaa thing, but that may come from the fact that none of the African-Americans or native-born African I know actually celebrate it. But if other want to celebrate it I guess that is all right, though I question the elevation of its status to that of the religious holidays like Hanukah or Christmas.

The only thing I can come up with is that these people are less afraid of what Christmas is than what Christmas means. “And God sent his only begotten Son” are powerful words. Maybe the thought that there is a power bigger than the secular world that these people live in, and that that power, our God, would love his flawed creation enough to sacrifice his own son to save us from our sins is too overwhelming for them to accept. After all Hanukah and Ramadan while religion based are celebrations of human endeavors. Kwanzaa as we are all aware is the construct of one very human man and is based loosely on pagan African harvest celebrations with a strong dose of Marxism thrown in. But Christmas in its purest form is about the greatest love that a benevolent God can bestow on an often-undeserving people. And the power of that message may be too much for those who dearly need to believe that man and his works are all there is to this world.

Merry Christmas to all.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Merry Christmas to you.

[Prime Choice]

What is it about Christmas that scares so many people? Every year at this time the papers and airways are filled with stories of groups and individuals going to court to either stop Christmas decorations from being put up or to demand that they be removed.

Grinches come in many sizes and colors. Only the green ones managed to get some actual bad press.

[TommyDale]

What has happened is the spirit of the Anti-Christ. Thank the ACLU and people like Barry Lynn (Americans United for Separation of Church and State) and such. These people have gone almost unchallenged, while the church leaders have sat on their backsides. Parents have not put up a fight at their local school boards, and the common citizens have not spoken up at the ballot box against their local leaders and judges. That's what's happened to Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all...

[AmericanInTokyo]

EVERY AMERICAN COMMUNITY FACED WITH THIS FOOLISH 'POLITICAL CORRECTNESS'/A.C.L.U. MADNESS AND BIGOTRY SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING FOR 2004 (START PREPPING NOW TO GET IT ON THE BALLOT)

Have a PUBLIC REFERENDUM in your community. Have them EVERYWHERE across the USA, everywhere, everywhere possible, simultaneously with the General Election of November 2004, State and Local. Democracy! OK, submit it to a democratic vote!

"Resolved, that the word "Christmas" shall be freely restored to publicly funded year-end holiday events or published year-end greetings, by organizations funded or otherwise under the umbrella of _____City (or ______Township) if the intent of the event is not to solely observe a non-Christmas event: Support or Oppose?"

Then, a) make the politicians go on the record Aye or Noe; and b) turn out the voters.

In probably 95% of American communities across the land, the vote will be overwhelming in SUPPORT of it. We can help revive CHRISTMAS next year, by replacing "Happy Holidays" with "Merry Christmas" as it was 10-15 years ago, (in addition, of course, this year to offering "Merry Christmas!" in love and courage, wherever we go during the Christmas season, on our jobs, in traffic, at the checkout counter, wherever and doing it in subsequent years).

There is NO REASON that this popular guerilla movement to defeat the liberals, atheists, crybabies and Scrooges CAN NOT SUCCEED in a nation where probably 90% of the People either still love Christmas or have no problem with it. Let us slap down the DICTATORSHIP of the EXTREME, HYPERSENSITIVE SMALL MINORITY over the will of the vast majority of Americans!!

Anybody want to join me?

[knarf]

"What is it about Christmas that scares so many people?"

Parse ...

The root to Christmas is Christ
Jesus, the Christ,
the Annointed and Savior,
Given to/for all men (people),
That we might live with God in heaven.

But Satan (Santa sideways, sorta'),Knows his final demise and desires all that pertains to God (Jesus) for himself.

Ergo,
Christ is offensive to anti-Christ(ians)

Christmas reminds man of the miracle birth and his need to be saved from Hell.

I heard the guest host on the Glenn Beck show refer to himself as the president of POOP ....

People Offended by Offended People with Christmas.

Merry CHRISTmas to all.

[Neenah]

.....but, Jesus said this would happen... Let your light shine anyway !

Mark 13:13

[Gabz]

Judging from what I have personally witnessed over the years and all I have been reading lately I'm very lucky in where I now live.

The towns host Christmas parades and Living Nativities are held in town squares. My daughter goes to public school and they recognized the feast of St. Nicklaus early in the month, they drew menorrahs and were taught to use a dreidl, Santa Claus came to see them and they had a Christmas party, not a holiday party.

All in all, I must say compared to other areas, I'm very lucky.

[ravingnutter]

One of my neighbors came over last week and said Feliz Navidad...I told him it was too cold for fleas...it had to be dry skin. It took him a minute, but he finally figured it out (fleasonthedog).

[AmericanInTokyo]

A good, fun tactic, to really throw a person for a loop--who looks liberal to you out in public, say at the checkout counter (without being mean or nasty as that should not be the point), is to say, after "Happy Holidays"

'''Well, as they say in England, "Happy Christmas",

or

(Japan) "Merri Kurisumasu!"

(Spanish) "Feliz Navidad!"

(France) "Joyeux Noel"

You can show them that Christmas IS "Diverse", it is ony their words, actions and our popular culture in the US these days which is being narrow minded, mean spirited, and anti-diverse/anti-international.

Again, this must all be done well rehearsed, then natural and with true love.

Maybe its true, as Dennis Prager said, we can start to change the little, bad things about America bit by bit, one by one, out there... You and me! Have fun shopping (what's left of it) or at work....And, Merry Christmas.

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

We went wrong by allowing people with un-american and anti-religious attitudes the right to speak.When we gave in to the likes of "Mad"-elyn O'hare that was the first mistake.If the free speech rights of the majority can be denied then so can the free speech rights of the minority.THE ABILITY TO SUE TO FORCE PEOPLE TO DO YOUR BIDDING MUST BE STOPPED!People must refuse to do as they are told(taking down Christmas decorations,religious symbols,etc).

[expatpat]

They aren't scared of Christmas. The acolytes of the Socialist Faith are in a religious war with Christianity, and Christmas is the most visible symbol of that religion, and has to be muzzled.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Locally we haven't become Christmasphobic yet. Your plan has much merit.

[Cindy]

A CHRISTmas CELEBRATION ONLINE!
http://www.ilovejesus.com/myhome/cindy/index.htm

[AmericanInTokyo]

There isn't a Japanese I know alive who says or would even entertain the idea of saying "Happy Holidays". That would come out something like "Yoi Saijitsu Wo". How weird sounding.

Nope! In this 80% Buddhist country, it is, has, and always will be:

"Merri Kurisumasu" (spoken) and "Merry Christmas" (written)

Essentially they don't have Kwanzaa and Chunukah to water down Christmas into "Happy Holidays". Everywhere it is "Merry Christmas".

How to you explain to the Japanese, who love Christmas and use the phrase freely, that they got from Christian missionaries in the 1800s and then American GIs from 1945, that it is no longer "Merri Kurisumasu"?

They must think we are all such idiots over in the US for surrendering such a beautiful holiday and holiday greeting, bit by bit, due to the complaints of an upset, hypersensitive and nasty 3% of us!

[ironmaidenPR2717]

You answered your initial question well in your last paragraph.

Might I add, however, that Kwanzah, Ramadan, Allah, Buddha, etc. do not cause the enemy to tremble. Any mention of the Lord Jesus Christ does. Thus, those whom the enemy influences are highly motivated through self-preservation to try their hardest to keep the name of Christ Jesus from being mentioned. (Fat chance! Bow now or bow later!)

Merry Christmas to all!

Ref: Eph 6:12 "Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

[OldPossum]

Thanks for your posts, especially the information on Christmas in Japan.

As for me, I am on the verge of surrender. The America I grew up in (I'm in my 60's) no longer exists. As my wife and I say, we were lucky enough to grow up in the best of times (tremendous gains in technology--especially medical advances--alongside our country's deep religious tradition, among others) but now it appears that those who hate this country's religious traditions have the upper hand and are not going to let go.

It is obvious from developments we see erupt every December that this is the way it is going to be.

I'm too old to fight any fights to try to restore that which is quickly slipping away.

[uncbob]

You can thank all the so called Christians that continue to vote for the democrats

[VxH]

Christmas is about redemption.

The need for redemption implies condemnation.

Lucifer wants us to believe that rejecting Christmas, and Christ, will somehow invalidate the condemnation.

Lucifer is a liar.

The reality is that humans who reject Christ will simply join Lucifer in darkness –eternaly separated from Yahweh, Creator and Lord of the universe.

Misery wants company - and that, IMHO, is what has ~Always been happening to Christmas.

[Ichneumon]

We went wrong by allowing people with un-american and anti-religious attitudes the right to speak.

*That* sounds far more unamerican than those whom you accuse.