Unless you’ve been living in an Al-Qaeda cave somewhere, you should be aware of what has been called the ‘War on Christmas’.
The War on Christmas is the attempt to secularize Christmas in response to complaints – real or imagined – from religious and ethnic sects other than Christianity. The secularists want to remove any and all public displays of Christmas including Nativity scenes, Christmas Carols, Christmas trees, red and green lights – and even Santa Claus – so as not to offend a long list of whoever the secularists deem may be offended including Jews, Hindus, Muslims, agonistics and atheists. The secularities want to replace Christmas with the word Holiday and its symbols with inoffensive snow flakes and icicles.
Merry Christmas is not to be uttered. Happy Holidays is to be used. Christmas tress are to be called Holiday trees. Songs of Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer are now the correct way to sing praise to the season and not Christmas Carols. Christmas Parades are now to be called Holiday Parades. And Jesus is not to be alluded to in any fashion what so ever.
So what have the secularist gained by this attempt to stamp out the pubic display of Christmas? Maybe the better question is what have the secularists lost?
Tell me one religion or ethnic belief other than Christianity that uses as its central theme of the season Peace on Earth. Good Will Towards Men (LUKE 2:14). Tell me one religion or ethnic belief other than Christianity that sings praises to God in some of the most beautiful music ever written? Tell me one religion or ethnic belief other than Christianity who has a Saint that brings joy and wonderment to children all over the world?
The secularist’s attempts at eliminating Santa Claus from public celebration is the most hideous tactic of all.
Like Christmas Eve itself, Santa Claus is magic - not because there's magic in the world but because children see the world as magic. He's all that's good, unselfish and generous, and he is an important part Christmas. He is the embodiment of children’s wishes and dreams.
And to take that symbol of wishes and dreams away for them and hide him from public view is the secularist biggest mistake. For those who no longer wish, no longer dream. And those who lose their dreams lose their hopes. And those who lose hope are easy to control.
So what have the secularist gained by this attempt to stamp out the pubic display of Christmas? They have exchanged the warm, hopeful symbols of Christmas for the cold, hard celebration of snow and icicles.
Other religions and ethnic beliefs should seek to emulate not eliminate the symbols and meaning of Christmas. We need Christmas and Christmas needs all of us for no other belief system comes close – secular or otherwise - that offers the hope and dreams of people for a better and more peaceful world in the coming year.
3 comments:
Bah, Humbug.
I FAIL to understand, and always have why we cannot CELEBRATE other religions' holidays with and for them RATHER THAN find offense at anything anyone else has and does.
As a jew, I have always loved the feeling of being in our closest friends' catholic church Christmas eve. It's been that way since junior high school.
If we're in church no one cares if we're jewish or martian, or if we don't take communion, or don't kneel. When our friends are in temple to celebrate with us no one cares if they don't wear talit.
These people who are compelled to always feel offended, probably seethe at the success of their friends, brothers and sisters.
Christmas is great. There's a definitive reason for that and it's not gifts, sales or crowds.
The compulsion which drives the professionally offended, and the professional atheists to strip meaning from the sacred is an uncontrollable inner need as disgusting as bigotry, IF IT IS NOT OUTRIGHT BIGOTRY ON ITS OWN
We watched "The Santa Clause" last night. It is a sweet film. To watch it is to understand how precious childhood and believing and giving of oneself is.
Having spent a few Christmases out of the country I have noticed something last year and this as we returned to the U.S. Yes, I have noticed the "happy holidays" greeting...and I respond with "Merry Christmas!"and a smile (I have also noticed that people appreciate "Merry Christmas" and smile back). I have also noticed and increased celebration of Christmas in my sphere, more lights, more music...and of course more stuff.
I do not remember that people put their trees up as early, used as many lights, wrote so m as they do now and as many new songs celebrating Christmas back in my childhood and teen years. (I also don't remember people celebrating Halloween as much either).
So this morning I said to my husband,"people need Christmas, especially when times are hard. They need to forget the hardness of life and the struggle...and celebrate." As you have so well put it, they need Hope. And Christmas is about hope.
Now I might add that I am a follower of Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord, and Christmas is so much more to me than Santa Claus and Christmas trees, but even those things,(which we used to refer to as "secular") comfort the aching weary heart. Lights bring comfort, and childhood nostalgia brings comfort.
Garrison Keillor says that "Childhood is the land we had to leave behind and at Christmas we get to go back and speak our old language,"
Well, I am rambling now and I have a Christmas program to attend at my granddaughter's school....it is a public school, and it is probably a Holiday Program...it will be interesting to see how the public schools in our town do it. Our kids attended Christian school.
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
and Merry Christmas!
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