How the Left Stole Christmas

The American Conservative ^ | 1/19/04 | By Tom Piatak

[nutmeg]

bookmark bump

[Bryan]

True story:

A teacher in Minnesota had a couple of Muslim girls from Somalia in her fifth grade class. She asked the class whether they believed that the GIs in Iraq should be allowed to celebrate Christmas. Of course, the two little Somali girls were the center of attention.

On of them said that the GIs shouldn't be allowed to delebrate Christmas. "It's a Muslim country," she said.

"But you're allowed to celebrate Ramadan here," said the teacher.

"Well, yeah," came the reply. "This is a country of nothing."

Just another symptom of the damage done by the removal of Christian references from our public schools.

[RightOnline]

Great post. This is an overWHELMINGLY Christian nation, and I'm sick and tired of droolers trying to deny it. I'm sick of the ACLU trying to destroy all vestiges of the Christian faith. I'm sick and tired of events like Denver's parade showcasing anything BUT Christ.

Worst of all, I'm sick of Christians putting up with this crap. Time to fight back........and I'm FINALLY seeing evidence of just that.

[Liz]

The transformation of Christmas to “holiday” and the attendant impoverishment of our culture was brought about to accommodate not the small minority of Americans who do not celebrate Christmas but the far smaller minority—comprising those of all faiths and of none—who resent the overwhelming majority who do celebrate Christmas.

This brings into sharper perspective just who is celebrating Christmas.....and "the other" who is not. This small and insignificant minority enjoy their status through the generosity and forebearance of Christians, and because America is a Christian country. Americans heartily endorse Christian values as Nov 2, 2004 demonstrated. Those who chose to ignore that fact are in for a rude awakening.(MAP UPDATE: Bush won Ohio and New Mexico later.)

[lainde]

Christmas celebration bump!

[rmlew]

The author misses the point that the use of real holidays to compete with Christmas trivializes these Holidays as much as Christmas.
Ramadan is a major Muslim holiday. It falls around Christmas only 1/3 of the time. It is a celebration of the Hadj and a key moment in Islam.
Hanukkah is a minor holiday. However, its message is destroyed by comparison to Christmas.
It is not a holiday of religious tolerance, inclusion, or multiculturalism. It is a celebration of the Rededication of the Temple from shared use by Hellenist pagans. The assimilationists and collaborationist Jews were slaughtered by the Zealots in a civil war during the war of liberation.
For assimilationist liberals and Secular Humanists you abuse Hanukkah are making it clear that atheism is their abomination of desolation.

[DouglasKC]

I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin
Hanukkah is traditionally a minor holiday (with no basis in the canonical Hebrew Bible),

I found the juxtaposition here fascinating. While the author takes pains to point out that Hanukkah has no basis in the canonical Hebrew bible, he fails to mention that Christmas has no basis in the canonical Christian bible...

Don't flame me unless you can show me in the bible where God ever sanctified Christmas, made it holy, or made it a day that Christians are supposed to celebrate.

[Kirkwood]

Mathew 16

... And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

[Gabz]

Bookmark for the morning..........

But one note regarding Christmas music on the radio.........while travelling to my husband's boss's house Saturday evening - the local radio station was playing ONLY Christmas music, both religious and secular.

[Cobra64]

What Karen and I do is; when we meet friends, acquaintances and ever strangers during the holidays, we always wish them a "Merry Christmas." Even after Chrismas, we ask, "how was your Christmas?" The idea of "happy holidays" really twists my shorts in a knot. And I ain't comfortable with that.

[Cobra64]

Inaccurate map. 'Catholic' is only one of many Christian denominations. Ever heard of Baptists, Episcopaleans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Adventists...?

[GloriaJane]

My Christmas wish! I wish we could do away with the ACLU and bring back Christ and the celebration of his birth!!

And I wish that saying Merry Christmas and singing Christmas songs in school, on the street, or anywhere else would be recognized as being covered by the freedom of speech and or expression.

[Gal.5:1]

"In one generation—I was born in 1964—Christmas has gone from being a widespread and joyous public celebration to the holiday that dare not speak its name."

I have been experiencing this over the last week shopping out in my community, and it has been very discouraging to me to see this "transformation" from Christmas to "multicultural pap and tawdry commercialism" and worse- the complete deconstruction of the Christmas meaning and tradition and replacing it with a "diverse, all inclusive multi faith, multi cultural spiritual catch all holiday".

The College of Notre Dame do Namur in Belmont is having a concert (symphony and choir) featuring many traditional classic Christmas hymns and choruses -and- 'holiday' music from several world religions including eastern chanting and native earth spirituality.

The local children's theater group (which is in my neighborhood) is putting on the biggest local 'holiday' event in our city. It is called 'Christmas Rainbow' and is about a community is preparing to put on a traditional Christmas pageant when another group comes to enlighten them and help them realize that many people in the community are 'left out' because they do not celebrate Christmas. They end up being changed by the other group, and end up doing a program that is about every tradition, culture and religion equally. Here is the description: The photo shows young teens dressed in sloppy jeans and t shirts (bare tummies for the girls), in a dingy urban setting, leaning back with their arms crossed across their chests with an "attitude" look on their faces.


Description: Broadway By the Bay's Youth Theater Conservatory's 2nd Annual Holiday Show is being staged by over 40 local children ages 8-16. Suitable for all ages, faiths and nationalities, December Rainbow was written by acclaimed Bay Area writer, composer and San Mateo resident Lauren Mayer. This original musical is a fun, upbeat show that makes a serious point about tolerance and embracing diversity. It tells the story of an all-American community preparing its annual Christmas pageant. Soon, however, the townspeople come to realize that they are excluding those from different cultures who celebrate different winter holidays. In the end, "tradition" gives way to understanding and acceptance, resulting in a more unified community - and a more entertaining holiday pageant! Last year's world premiere performances of December Rainbow were a huge success, chalking up unexpectedly large attendance figures and winning the acclaim of families throughout the Peninsula.

Public expressions of Christian faith-even at Christmas is all but completely gone here. When I went shopping I wished the clerk Merry Christmas upon completing the purchase. Each time the clerk said (a little taken aback), "Oh. Uhhh...same to you!"

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Liz]

Look again. ......."All Protestant"....... meaning Baptists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Adventistsis ........is prominently featured.

[Gal.5:1]

oops, the play is called, '*December* Rainbow', adding insult to injury.

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

Don't flame me unless you can show me in the bible where God ever sanctified Christmas, made it holy, or made it a day that Christians are supposed to celebrate.

Most of the American protestant colonists did not celebrate Christmas at all. It really didn't catch on here until sometime after the civil war and before 1900. That should not be suprising if one remembers why many left post-Cromwell England.

[FrankR]

The left is NOT "stealing" Christmas, we are relinquishing it to them in fear of the PC Police.

The Soviet Socialist Republic of the BLUE STATES, in continued alliance with the clinton plan of the tail wagging the dog, has intensified their religious persecution as part of the whine-O-thon over the recent election.

We can either stick by our convictions, and and give a good EFF-U to them, or fold in fear of "offending" the 1% of the Muslims and atheists in the country.

I'm saying "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and I care less who likes it and who doesn't. It's my belief in something sacred wishing you, or whomever, a Merry Christmas. I'm not asking anyone to join my church, believe as I believe, or abandon their beliefs.

If I can't find any Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas" I'll make my own with majic markers and an old paper grocery bag....whatever.

I think we should all send "MERRY CHRISTMAS" cards to all the Grinches out there, like the parade officials in Denver, etc.

[tallhappy]

Don't flame me unless you can show me in the bible where God ever sanctified Christmas, made it holy, or made it a day that Christians are supposed to celebrate.

This logic is wrong. It doesn't address what the author wrote. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ which is in the Bible. The events that form the basis for Hanukah are historic but not scriptural.

Traditionally Christmas has been a major Christian holiday.

Your comment is addressing whether or not Christmas should be a major holiday given the fact that its celebration isn't scriptural. But that is a different issue than the author addresses.