Free Republic

If you were one of those families who had their tree decorated and the Christmas village out and in full swing by Nov. 1, you might be in luck. According to experts, decorating for Christmas early may make you happier, so you might want to consider pulling your garlands and gigantic Santa statues down from the attic a bit sooner. "In a world full of stress and anxiety, people like to associate to things that make them happy, and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood," psychoanalyst Steve McKeown told Unilad. "Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway...

Christmas came early for an expectant waitress in Arizona when she was gifted a very generous tip. Sarah Clark, a server at the Pita Jungle in Phoenix, is nine months pregnant and her fiancé is scheduled to have knee surgery this week. On Saturday, a couple Clark had served before stopped by for a meal — and left her a $900 tip on top of the $61.30 bill. The server says she was over the moon with gratitude

Habitual watchers of "Seinfeld" reruns know that tomorrow is Festivus, the holiday for the "rest of us" created by George Costanza's father for "the airing of grievances." It's in that comic spirit that we offer a holiday grievance of our own: the perception that Christians are victims of religious persecution in America and, more specifically, their warnings of a secular conspiracy to stamp out Christmas. These complaints strike us as melodramatic. For a rising tide of evangelical believers to raise these laments is a bit like the wealthy complaining about high taxes or the Yankees about not winning the World...

Is America ready for C-----mas? Christmas has been sanitized in schools and public squares, in malls and parades where Santa's OK, Jesus Christ is not. "Jingle Bells" rocks, but forget about "Silent Night." Some hope to assure the nation that it's all right to say "Merry Christmas." Champions of creches, live Nativity scenes, Christmas trees, greeting cards and salutations offer compelling evidence that December 25 is still a religious holiday -- not a violation of separation of church and state. They are ready to rumble. "Those who think that the censoring of Christmas is a blue-state phenomenon need to consider...

Christmas Under Siege: The Big Picture Tuesday, December 07, 2004 By Bill O'Reilly Christmas under siege — the big picture. That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo." All over the country, Christmas is taking flak. In Denver this past weekend, no religious floats were permitted in the holiday parade there. In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled the holiday tree and no Christian Christmas symbols are allowed in the public schools. Federated Department Stores, [that's] Macy's, have done away with the Christmas greeting, "Merry Christmas." Now, all of this anti-Christian stuff is absurd, and may even...

VANCOUVER - After years of sending friends anti-Christmas cards, one of which featured a homeless Santa and another battered child angels, Valerie and Trevor Williams decided to "go big" this year. The result can be seen on a billboard looming over the Pat Bay Highway near Victoria, where commuters, rushing no doubt to buy gifts, are faced with this stark message: "Gluttony. Envy. Insincerity. Greed. Enjoy Your Christmas." Mrs. Williams, a 33-year-old Women's Studies student at the University of Victoria, and her husband, a 37-year-old aeronautical engineer, are on a campaign against what they see as the rampant consumerism and...