Christmas was a holiday long before the formation of this country. Christmas is a national
holiday: Federal employees get Christmas Day off, and no one claims this to be
an establishment of religion. (Not yet.) Every year, Christmas comes
under more intense attack by politically correct troublemakers. There seems to be
no objection (from the left) to Kwanzaa,
Hannukah, Ramadan, or the pagan celebration of the winter
solstice, but the leftists say Christmas has got to go.
Political correctness demands that we keep from offending those who don't celebrate Christmas. In some
cases this might mean recent immigrants, but it usually means people of other religions, or no religion.
Pay attention to the press coverage of this issue and you'll see that the "offended" individuals almost never
object on their own — they get legal help from organizations like the
ACLU. It is a tiny minority of troublemakers,
maybe one person out of a thousand, who wants all references to religion removed from public property, but
unfortunately these are the people who are sought out by the news media.
The people who insist that Christians are not tolerant and inclusive are the same people who cannot tolerate
Christmas and want it excluded from our society. Christmas is here to stay, so get used to it. If
Christmas offends you, leave the country. (Canada
wants people like you. Grab your coat and head north.)
There is a special subsection at the bottom of this page about the
incident at the Seattle airport.
A Blue Christmas for the
ACLU. Have you wondered why the American Civil Liberties Union hasn't been carrying out its
usual war on Christmas this season? There is a one-word explanation: money.
'Tis The
Season For The Tyranny Of The Minority. Statistics show that more than 88% of Americans
believe in some form of religion and 76.5% call themselves Christians. Ergo, the majority should rule,
yet the minority seems to pull the strings every time, especially at Christmastime. Its influence has
been so great that some department stores have ordered their employees to stop saying "Merry Christmas" and
replace it with "Happy Holiday."
US lawmaker battles
'war on Christmas'. A US lawmaker, describing himself as unhappy about the trend of replacing
"Merry Christmas" with "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays," has introduced a symbolic resolution to
preserve Christmas.
Appeals
Court: School district can ban Christmas carols. The federal appeals court in
Philadelphia has upheld a New Jersey school district's ban on religious songs during the Christman
holiday season. In their ruling, three judges of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals noted that
such songs were once common in public schools, but that times have changed.
The Editor says...
Perhaps the times have changed, but the First Amendment has not changed.
Is Christmas a Dirty Word?
When I was a child in the 1950s, the magic of Christmas was promoted in the schools. We sang Christmas
carols in the classroom. There were cutouts of the Nativity scene on the bulletin board, along with
the smiling, chubby face of Santa and Rudolph. We were all acutely aware that Christmas was more
than a season to receive — it was a special time to give as well. Fast forward a mere
50 years, and Christmas is being eradicated.
Deconstructing
Christmas. Inside the studios of talk radio and cable news, the hot talk about a "war on
Christmas" has cooled somewhat in 2009. But the controversies over Christmas, which seem as eternal
as religion itself, continue on a number of different levels. There's the schoolhouse war over
politeness to religious minorities — and even more unnecessarily, the altogether non-religious.
Criminalizing
Christmas Cookies, Candy Canes, and Crèches. This year, America is receiving a subliminal
holiday message that Nativity scenes pose a more imminent threat than Gitmo detainees being tried on American
soil. Regardless of personal Christmas traditions, most Americans agree that the Nativity visually
represents the biblical story of Jesus's birth. Thus, controversial crèche issues are not about
Christmas, but Christianity.
Pagan Propaganda:
The Other Attack on Christmas. Ah, Christmastime. Manger scenes and mistletoe, trees and
tinsel, Santa and celebration, gift-giving and gratitude... and the ACLU roasting traditions on an open fire.
Sadly, the last thing has become as much a seasonal expectation as the others, and the ACLU's practice of
suing our culture into oblivion has gotten a lot of ink. Yet there is another attack on
Christmas — actually, another attack on Christianity itself.
Obama attempts to equate Christianity with socialism...
Jesus the socialist.
Apparently not content with his congressional majority that wishes to force Americans on a long march to health
care disaster, President Obama has invoked the name of Jesus to broadcast his gospel of spreading around the
wealth. ... The president spoke of what Jesus "symbolizes for people all around the world," which, he said, "is
the possibility of peace and people treating each other with respect." Then, in the best tradition of a
community organizer, the president said Jesus is about "doing something for other people."
I
wonder... Is
Obama really a Christian?
Would a Christian president allow this?
Transvestites,
Mao And Obama Ornaments Decorate White House Christmas Tree. Why let a holiday season come
between the White House and making some political statements? The White House pegged controversial
designer Simon Doonan to oversee the Christmas decorations for the White House. Mr. Doonan, who is
creative director of Barney's New York has often caused a stir with his design choices. ... For this year's
White House, he didn't disappoint.
White
House Christmas Decor Featuring Mao Zedong Comes Under Fire. Critics of President Obama are
setting their sights on the official White House Christmas Tree, which features controversial ornaments
including an orb depicting Mao Zedong and another showing drag queen Hedda Lettuce.
First Battle of the 2009 Christmas Culture
War is here. The Christmas culture wars for 2009 have begun and ground zero is the Detroit
suburb of Warren, which for 63 years has hosted a privately maintained Nativity scene set at the
crossroads of the city.
I saw a tree. I saw an angel. Boo hoo.
After Complaint About a Star, an Order to
Remove Religious Symbols. It was the week before Christmas when Irv Sutley, a former warehouse
worker, first saw the offending ornament in a government building in Sonoma County, just north of here.
"I was turning around in the lobby, and I noticed the tree," Mr. Sutley said. "And then, I noticed the
angel." Mr. Sutley, an atheist, said he then went to the office of the county Board of Supervisors.
"And there was a star," he said.
Christmas is Not
Negotiable. [Scroll down] Bad news for the anti-Christmas hordes: Christmas has
become an integral part of our culture and will be defended as such. Yes, it is part of the Republic
of the People, by the People, and it is as secular as all other values and rights. ... It is simple:
crushing Christmas is crushing a cultural identity, and that will generate a national resistance.
Is
It A "War On Christmas?" Or Is It A New, Acceptable Bigotry? Has the "war on Christmas" returned?
Some would say that, yes, to the extent that there ever was a "war" against the language and symbolism of Christmas, it most
certainly has returned this holiday season, and it's worse now than it has been in previous years. But unfortunately,
I think something even more troubling is emerging in our country — an assault on the freedom of conscience, if
you will — and all Americans should be alarmed by this.
Nativity Scenes Vandalized Nationwide.
Every year we are flooded with reports from across the nation about nativity scenes being vandalized. This
year was no different.
Most Americans Say 'Merry Christmas'.
A Fox News poll reveals most Americans say "Merry Christmas." The poll taken December 9-10 shows
77% of Americans prefer "Merry Christmas" as opposed to saying something with less meaning. The poll
found that larger numbers of Republicans (87%) say "Merry Christmas", but Christmas numbers were lower with
Democrats at 72%.
Do Your Christmas Decorations Reflect Your Personality
and Lifestyle? It's that time of the year again when some houses blaze with Christmas lights
and some are more restrained. What are the owners like? Are those blazing houses nuisances or
fun and fine?
Scientists warn Christmas
lights harm the planet. Scientists have warned that Christmas lights are bad for the planet due
to huge electricity waste and urged people to get energy efficient festive bulbs. CSIRO researchers said
householders should know that each bulb turned on in the name of Christmas will increase emissions of
greenhouse gases.
The Editor says...
Strictly speaking, every breath you take "will increase emissions of greenhouse gases". But the lights
used to celebrate Christmas are no more wasteful than the energy used to make stained glass, steeples, and
bells for churches. These are the ways people choose to use abundant energy — as
well as their time and money. It's called freedom. It is not a matter of
scientific debate.
Merry Christmas' and Other Offenses.
It's Christmas time but Christmas cheer isn't abounding as it did when we were kids. The lack of cheer
is not due to the recession (which the mainstream media can't quit talking about) but because of the myriad
atheistic "Grinches" who have made it their life's goal to steal Christmas.
The
Atheists Who Try to Steal Christmas. Tis the season... for atheist Grinches to display their
hatred of Christmas by trying to stomp out one of the most visible displays of Christianity in a country
founded, and still operating on, Judeo-Christian principles.
A UN-Approved Christmas
Dinner. The year-end news isn't pretty. The dictatorship-dominated United Nations has its
eye on our Christmas hams as a key source of allegedly man-made global warming and planetary suicide.
"We haven't come to grips with agricultural emissions," warned Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in a front page article in the New York Times on December 4,
"From Hoof to Plate, a New Bid to Cut Emissions." Before he gets the UN to go after the belching and flatulence
of hogs, you'd think Dr. Pachauri would make sure that global warming is actually occurring, and that if it is,
that it's in fact man-made, or pig-made, and not just due to solar activity or natural cycles.
As Christmas Approaches, Muslims
Erect 'Allah Has No Son' Banner in Nazareth. As Nazareth's Christians prepare to celebrate
Christmas, they are playing down the appearance of a confrontational Islamic banner that challenges an
elemental Christian belief. Journalists visiting the city saw two large banners — one in English,
one in Arabic — hanging in the plaza in front of the Basilica of the Annunciation, with a verse from
the Koran (112:1-4) contradicting the New Testament proclamation that Jesus is the "only begotten" of God.
Defending
Christmas — From Left and Right. Attacks on Christmas originate most often from the secular
left but this year journalists have begun highlighting Yuletide criticism from disgruntled commentators on
the religious right.
School choir forced to pull out of Christmas concert.
A school choir was forced to withdraw from a Christmas event because organisers branded its carols 'too
religious'. Around 60 children aged between seven and 11 had spent six weeks practising favourites
including Once In Royal David's City and Silent Night for the Corringham Winter Festival. But they were
let down at the last minute when their headteacher was informed their programme did not 'dovetail' with the
festival's theme.
The
Vicar who refuses to sing O Little Town of Bethlehem. A vicar has banned the Christmas carol
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" from his services after witnessing the strife-torn state of Jesus's birthplace.
The Rev Stephen Coulter has decided that the words "How still we see thee lie" are too far removed from the
reality of Bethlehem today and should not be sung in his parish.
Scrooged! Edison says 'Bah, humbug!' to
Christmas lights. One Clifton Place resident is calling it "The Utility That Stole Christmas."
Many were shocked when they came home Thursday to find workers from Southern California Edison taking down
Christmas lights that adorned streetlight poles. After all, the lights were plugged into metered
outlets outside the Valencia residents' homes.
Atheists'
National Holiday? Atheists from England to the West Coast of America are stepping up their
efforts this year to make a bigger antagonistic splash on the Christmas scene. From London and
Washington, D.C., buses to Colorado billboards, skeptics are skewering religions with little respect
to the adherents of the religions.
Gretchen Carlson
Is Right. Carlson's criticism, and the passion with which she delivered it are right on the
mark. She is but the latest to confront eye-rolling skepticism if not outright hostility as a defender
of Christmas, joining both O'Reilly and Fox's John Gibson.
Sheep and Goats.
Liberals are so intolerant they often can't even bear to have people say "Merry Christmas" in their presence.
In fact, they can't even bring themselves to recognize it as a celebration of a pecific event. Instead,
they dismiss it as the holiday season or the winter solstice. Isn't it funny how nobody feels the
compulsion to exchange gifts or attend church services or decorate their homes for the summer solstice?
Well, in spite of Kwanzaa and Chanukah, this is Christmas season because most Americans are celebrating the
birth of Jesus Christ. Even though I'm Jewish, even I have to acknowledge it's a special occasion ...
Do You Hear What I Hear? Whether it's
dogs barking "Jingle Bells" or Hannah Montana Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, this piped in music is the auditory
equivalent of trees and tinsel. Consumer research has shown that music, when it isn't torture, indeed has a
significant effect on buying behavior.
'Christmas is the pathway to hell': Muslim lawyer. A
Muslim lawyer has launched an extraordinary rant against Christmas, branding the celebration 'evil'.
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary claimed the festival was the 'pathway to hell' and urged his followers to boycott
it. 'In the world today many Muslims, especially those residing in Western countries, are exposed to the
evil celebration Christmas,' he raged in a sermon broadcast on the internet.
Costco Makes 'Naughty' List for
Avoiding the Word 'Christmas'. The American Family Association (AFA) has issued its annual "naughty
and nice" list of retailers that ban, avoid — or in some cases, use — the word Christmas to
describe merchandise in stores and in advertising. Included on the "naughty" list is Costco
Wholesale, the country's largest warehouse-club retailer with more than 20 million members and
almost 500 stores. "(Costco) makes a conscious attempt to avoid the word Christmas," Randy
Sharp, director of special projects with AFA, told CNSNews.com.
Woman told to remove Christmas lights to avoid offending non-Christian
neighbours. Dorothy Glenn decorates her home in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, with hundreds of
festive lights every year, including a giant tree and a 4 foot Santa Claus. But this year she was
astonished when an employee of South Tyneside Homes called at her house and informed her that the decorations
she was displaying might be offending her neighbours.
This is obviously an attempt to make one religion morally equivalent to another:
Star and crescent
joins Christmas tree, menorah. When they light the town Christmas tree in Armonk on Sunday,
there will be a Jewish menorah right alongside, as usual. There will also be something new this
year -- an Islamic crescent and star. And if there are any Buddhists or Hindus in town who want
to see their symbols, the town is welcoming applications.
Courts Are to Blame for the
War on Christmas. For generations, Christmas trees, nativity scenes, Menorahs and
other traditional holiday items have been displayed in places of business and public squares,
largely without objection. Groups could sing carols, schools could hold pageants, children
could exchange Christmas cards, and towns across America could place Christmas trees and menorahs
in front of courthouses. Today, however, it seems the first order of business every December
may soon be for Americans to consult their lawyers.
[Is it the courts, Senator, or is it the lawyers?]
Merry
you-know-what. It was just a small thing but I was taken aback when I received a
memo saying that the offices at work would be shut down during "winter closure." Then it
dawned on me that "winter closure" was what we used to call "Christmas vacation."
The War on
Christmas: Christmas is approaching. Yes, I said it: CHRISTMAS! That means
snow, trees, stockings, Santa and yes, Christ. For me and Christians worldwide, Christmas is more than
waiting for old St. Nicholas to come down the chimney, more than hanging stockings and hoping for gifts
and not coal — it's a celebration of our Savior Christ Jesus' birth. To those who are offended by
this, I have something to say to you: get over it already.
In England...
School cancels Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim Eid celebrations.
Greenwood Junior School sent out a letter to parents saying the three day festival of Eid al-Adha, which takes place between
8-11 December, meant that Muslim children would be off school. That meant planning for a traditional pantomime were
shelved because the school felt it would be too difficult to run both celebrations side by side. The move has left
parents furious.
The Twelve Rules of
Christmas®. Unfortunately, Christmas has become a time of controversy over
what can or cannot be done in terms of celebrating the holiday. In order to clear up
much of the misunderstanding, the following twelve rules are offered….
Who's Afraid of Christmas? The
Christmas Deconstruction Alliance just does not get it. They are dumbfounded as they have
not been able to fully secularize Christmas. They throw tantrums because of the tenacity
with which the vast majority of us hold onto our Christian beliefs and traditions. They
do not understand why the United States does not roll over, accept the abolition of Christmas,
close down our churches, and remove the crosses from our cemeteries. They are failing in
their attacks on Christmas.
Whose Christmas Is It
Anyway? Here we go again. Even before the Thanksgiving turkey made it through the leftover
cycle, the now-annual, national Christmas squabble began. Neighbors in a stew over a manger scene in
somebody else's front yard; call the ACLU. A store won't call their evergreens Christmas trees; it
makes the evening news. A company's catalog says "holiday" instead of "Christmas"; a boycott is
announced.
Christmas vs. Holiday: [The "War on Christmas"] arises
from the enmity to all things Christian among atheists, civil libertarians, leftists, and public school unions,
as well as the political, cultural, and financial elites, who abhor anything restraining mass consumerism and
"individual liberty." Simply put, it's God vs. Mammon. Manifestations of the war against Christmas
abound, including the American Civil Liberties Union's legal war against "unconstitutional" manger scenes
depicting the Nativity in the public square, and even renaming Christmas trees "holiday trees," again,
on the public square.
Florida
university bans Christmas decor. A Florida university has annoyed many of its employees and students by
ordering a complete ban on Christmas decorations in public areas. That means Florida Gulf Coast University is not
holding its greeting card contest this year, the Fort Myers News-Press reported. The giving tree in one building
will be a "giving garden."
Wisconsin Lawmakers to Vote on Calling Holiday
Evergreen 'Christmas Tree'. The 35-foot tall balsam fir standing proudly in the rotunda of the
Wisconsin Capitol is a familiar annual December display, but it'd be a mistake to call it a "Christmas tree,"
much to the dismay of one Badger State lawmaker now leading a legislative fight to change the name of the
evergreen.
Chinese Demand Sends Christmas
Tree Prices Soaring. Demand for Christmas trees is rising due to increasing exports and the
growing number of single-person households. Meanwhile the supply of trees has decreased because several
thousand hectares of tree plantations in Germany have been given over to more profitable uses, such as
lucrative biofuel crops.
Thinly
disguised war on Christianity thrives. In this self-congratulatory age of multiculturalism and
hyper-tolerance, what religion other than Christianity is treated as inherently offensive? In fact,
haven't our cultural high priests instructed that we dare not find other religions offensive, but must even
enthusiastically embrace them for contributing to our diversity of ideas and values? Of course they
have, but that admonition — as all but the most inattentive recognize — doesn't apply
to Christianity, as this year's annual war on Christmas demonstrates once again.
Freedom Of Religion, Not From It. On the table at
the back of my church, a wicker basket held buttons signifying the insanity of the season. I put one of
the "You may wish me a Merry Christmas" pins on my coat so I could shop at stores that don't seem to understand
exactly who's buying gifts at this time of year. The tyranny of a small but vocal minority has completely
warped this time of year into a season of litigation and constitutional confusion.
Stand
Up for Christmas and Christianity. As our nation continues to drift into a state
of secular monotony that guarantees that nobody is offended (unless you are a Christian), we
are again witnessing many retailers deciding to abolish "Christmas" in favor of the "holiday
season."
Christmas Clashes
2007: Some of the Grinches seem to be scaling new heights of peevishness and absurdity.
And although the national news media are largely ignoring the cultural battle underway, local news sources
have been rich with detail.
City Scrooges challenged on Christmas
ban. Oklahoma City officials received a memo from the city manager stating holiday decorations
with an explicitly religious theme would be banned from the workplace because it posed a legal liability
to the city.
Now
the Okie Napoleon is banning 'Christmas'. [Oklahoma Attorney General, W.A. Drew] Edmondson issued
an advisory opinion to officials at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford advising them that
the word "Christmas" should not be spoken by any employee of the state school, not written in any official
holiday decorations.
A Brief History of Christmas:
History does not tell us exactly when in the year Christ was born, but according to the Gospel of
St. Luke, "shepherds were abiding in the field and keeping watch over their flocks by night."
This would imply a date in the spring or summer when the flocks were up in the hills and needed to be
guarded. In winter they were kept safely in corrals. So Dec. 25 must have been chosen
for other reasons.
The absurdity of political
correctness: Now that the Christmas season is fully upon us, it may be worthwhile
examining how the purveyors of politically correct thinking are slowly but surely pecking away at
this Christian tradition with the avowed objective of taking away all references to Christ, God,
or Lord, and turning it into "the holiday", a non-descript, meaningless, politically absurd time
of the year. The absurdity was demonstrated last Christmas by an Ontario Judge who ordered a
Christmas tree removed from the lobby of the courthouse because it was a "Christian" symbol ...
Taking
Christ Out of Christmas: We've reached a sad state in the West when we acquiesce
in a hate-filled campaign to deny our Christian roots and heritage. Athens and Jerusalem
are both foundation pillars of Western civilization, and the presence of a few people who object
to Socrates or Christ doesn't change this fact one bit. The malcontents are suffering from
historical amnesia: they don't seem tor recognize that most of our secular values from
compassion to the preciousness of human life are the distinctive legacy of Christianity.
Fighting against a
Christless Christmas. In the fourth century A.D., the Catholic church made a big mistake.
Acceding to the popular tradition that Jesus Christ had been born on December 25 and wishing to keep
Christians from participating in the infamous orgies of the year-end pagan festival of Saturnalia, the Church
established December 25 as the feast of the birth of Christ. Thus, for seventeen centuries,
Christmas and Saturnalia have competed for the attention of the public. By now, I think we must admit
that Saturnalia has won and that Christmas has been thoroughly de-Christianized.
The Attack on Christmas
2007: How Retailers Rate. Information designed to equip citizens to express their
feedback (both positive and negative) to retailers concerning their Christmas advertising approaches.
[PDF]
Numerous
Nativity Scenes Vandalized Nationwide. With Dec. 25 only days away, a central image in the
celebration of Christmas — the manger scene featuring replicas of Joseph, Mary and the baby
Jesus — has become the focus of attacks by vandals and leaders of "the secular Left," Christian
groups charged on Wednesday [12/19/2007].
Bah,
humbug! A stern bah, humbug for the perpetrators of this week's rash of Christmas-display and
nativity-scene trashings. The contrast of this pure hooliganism with the Yuletide spirit couldn't be
worse.
Christmas tree does not need to be
renamed in Arizona town. A reference to the name "Christmas tree" has been axed by misled
officials in an Arizona town. [Alliance Defense Fund] attorneys sent an informational letter to the town
of Queen Creek stating that the use of the word "Christmas" does not violate the Constitution.
The ACLU's Bogus
Constitutional Case Against Christmas. If you're a rational human being, you might think the
greatest risks to America are murderous terrorists like Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, or
hostile nations like North Korea or Iran. But if you're with the ACLU or a committed leftist, your list
of risks to America is very different — it includes: the Boy Scouts, the Pledge of Allegiance, and
now Christmas. To the ALCU and to the left, Christmas trees, carols and nativity scenes are dangerous
instrumentalities that threaten America's foundation.
Merry Christmas to you
too ... ACLU! What is the true motive behind 14 percent of the population here in America
trying to destroy the traditions of Christmas? Well, there are probably many reasons, but the main reason
is to try and move secularism (without God to hinder the underground movement) closer to becoming a reality.
But what they fail to take into consideration is the fact: God is not going to cooperate — nor
His people.
Is There a War on Christmas? You
Betcha! Perhaps you saw the story out of the state of Washington last week, where a Jewish rabbi
wanted to have a menorah (seven-branched candelabrum) put up at the Seattle-Tacoma airport alongside the
"holiday" trees that are traditionally on display this time of year. Before political correctness came
along, we all knew that these trees were called Christmas trees.
Britain's Escalating War on Christianity:
The war being waged by the quasi-establishment and quasi-government Left in Britain against the nation's own traditions,
values, identity and, perhaps most of all, religion, has been escalated and its battle-lines redefined with a
report by a leading Labour Party-aligned think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, recommending
that Christmas, which cannot be obliterated, should be down-graded to promote multiculturalism.
British
leftists go mad. The political fashions that begin in Britain tend to find their way
to Canada extremely quickly, especially when they come from the left side of the body politic.
A new report from the think-tank of the governing Labour Party states that, "Britain is no longer
a Christian nation and Christmas should be downgraded in favour of festivals from other religions
to improve race relations."
Survey:
Most prefer 'Merry Christmas'. Retailers shouldn't be shy about wishing customers
a "Merry Christmas." A new survey found that 67 percent of American adults prefer
the holiday-specific greeting in seasonal advertising, while only 26 percent want to see
"Happy Holidays."
Red and green lights to be banned?
A special task force in a Colorado city has recommended banning red and green lights at the Christmas holiday because
they fall among the items that are too religious for the city to sponsor. "Some symbols, even though the
Supreme Court has declared that in many contexts they are secular symbols, often still send a message to some
members of the community that they and their traditions are not valued and not wanted. We don't want to
send that message," Seth Anthony, a spokesman for the committee, told the Fort Collins, Colo., Coloradoan.
Christmas
lights in Switzerland spark concerns over electricity. As the number of lights increases in
Switzerland every Christmas, questions are being asked about whether they are a waste of precious electricity.
There are concerns about the climate and a shortage of electricity in Switzerland after the year 2020.
Many towns and villages used to decorate a local tree with lights at Christmas, but nowadays street decorations
and illuminated shop windows shine alongside the rising number of electric window displays put up in private
homes.
California Man Sets Himself, American Flag,
Christmas Tree on Fire to Protest Religious Names. A man used flammable liquid to light himself
on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter
and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation. The man, who was not immediately identified, on
Friday [12/22/2006] also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica,
said Fire Captain Garth Milam.
Respect for all
religions is easy only for those who know little about any religion. The decision of a judge to
move a Christmas tree from the main corridor of an Ontario courthouse because it might offend non-Christians
has set off the customary seasonal wrangle over what we mean by "multi-culturalism." Such Christmas
squabbles have become so recurring they might soon become an established and indispensable part of our
Canadian observance.
Politically Correct Holidays: Have you noticed
this past week that we have not heard as many greetings of "Happy New Year" as we might have heard in the
past? Why might that be? Well, the bullies have settled on "Have a Happy Holiday" as the preferred
greeting, and they will tell you that not everyone celebrates New Year at this time. The Chinese have
their own new year as do the Muslims and the Jews. So it is a good bet that in the years to come, "Happy
New Year" will have gone the way of "Merry Christmas."
School
Assignment: Prepare a Christmas Ornament Without a Christmas Reference. Some of the issues
surrounding the Christmas holiday in the schools borders on the absurd. This is certainly the case for
students at Unity Drive Elementary School in New York. Zachary is a student at Unity Drive Elementary
and was given an assignment by his teacher to decorate a Christmas ornament that would be displayed in the
school.
Here's a twist...
ACLU to county: Get a Christmas tree or
else. It probably shouldn't take the threat of legal action to get into the holiday spirit,
but that was what spurred Maui County into action. County workers raised a festive tree at the
Kalana O Maui Building Wednesday with just five days to go before Christmas, after receiving a letter
from the American Civil Liberties Union warning that the existing holiday display of a Hanukkah menorah was
unconstitutional. The letter threatened a federal lawsuit if the display was not corrected.
Bay area condominium complex lacking
holiday spirit? Some Harbour Island residents are complaining their condominium board is banning
many holiday decorations and controlling what they can put up in their own homes. Ronnie Pownall has done
a lot of decorating inside his Park Crest condominium, but a lot of holiday decorations won't be found.
"I would have liked to have a live Christmas tree and I would have liked a wreath on my door," Pownall
said. Those are two items banned by the Park Crest Board of Directors.
The Editor says...
If you can't put a Christmas wreath on the front door of your own house, then it really isn't your
house after all. This is not about anti-Christmas sentiment as much as it is about private
property rights and neighborhood associations with way too much leverage.
A
Little Perspective on the War on Christmas: However shifting the legal ground the ACLU stands on
in the United States, compared to the hostilities third-world Christians must endure, their activities seem more
like a nuisance than persecution. This is not to suggest that the war on Christianity in America isn't
real, but in other parts of the world, that war has a body count.
The war
against Christmas. Unless you are just in from Mars, you can hardly have escaped noticing the
nationwide campaign to eliminate all references to Christmas from the public square. … Even ordinary
public chatter is being cleansed of allusions to Christmas, supposedly to avoid hurting the feelings of
non-Christians. Hence "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," and so on. Who is
behind this campaign, and why is it happening just now? By far the biggest institutional promoter of the
purge of Christmas from the public square is the American Civil Liberties Union, which endorses the
interpretation of the First Amendment as forbidding the slightest taint of religion in our public life.
Liberal
Scrooges. Let's draw a sketch of the average American liberal. To begin with, he'll be the
first to raise an objection to the mention of the word "Christmas" — even by a clergyman. He'll
file suit to prevent Nativity scenes from being placed in front of City Hall … Christmas carols from being
sung at school concerts … the Salvation Army from taking up Christmas collections outside discount
department stores. He says "bah, humbug" to anything that reminds us of the miracle of Christ's birth.
He complains that the Virgin Mary is anti-feminist and that the whole Nativity story is paternalistic.
[This just goes to show you that Liberals are out of step with
mainstream America.]
Christmas Carolers
Silenced in Southern California. The Rubidoux High School Madrigals were singing Christmas carols
at the Riverside Outdoor Skating Rink at an event featuring Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen. A city
staff member, accompanied by a police officer, approached the carolers while they were singing "God Rest Ye
Merry, Gentlemen" and asked them to stop.
Parade draws fire for dropping 'Christmas'.
A famed fireworks company is pulling out of a holiday boat parade because "Christmas" was dropped from the
event's name. Fireworks by Grucci won't lend its sparkle to Patchogue's Nov. 23 parade — decorated
yachts on the Patchogue River — because the organizers have renamed it the Patchogue Holiday Boat Parade.
It was the Patchogue Christmas Boat Parade last year, when the Grucci company donated $5,000 worth of fireworks.
The battle over "Ho Ho Ho"
When "Ho, Ho, Ho" is used as a cheerful Christmas expletive, there is generally no doubt about the
speaker's intended meaning. It's true that the same word could be used as a derisive aspersion
of someone's character; however, English is spoken with inflection and in context, which
alter the meanings of many words and phrases, and in this case, resolve any ambiguity.
In any event, the "normal" people in our society must not allow the politically correct
fringe and the minority subculture to hijack yet another word and turn it into something
perverse, as they have already done with words like gay and queer in the
last few decades.
Ho-ho-ho
is a no-no for store's Santa Claus – because it is 'offensive to women'. A shop has
sacked its Santa Claus for saying Ho-ho-ho. John Oakes, 70, got his marching orders after the store
decreed that women might be offended because 'ho' is American slang for a whore. Instead, he was supposed
to say Ha-ha-ha.
Santa fury at 'ho, ho,
ho' ban. He is an unlikely revolutionary but this Christmas, Santa is a rebel with a claus.
He is having the last laugh on political correctness -- and it's a great big fat belly laugh. Santas
across Sydney are rebelling against attempts to ban their traditional greeting of "ho, ho, ho" in favour
of "ha, ha, ha".
Ho,
Ho, Ho a No, No. Everybody knows Santa's jolly laugh, but these days some want Santa to just
say no to "Ho, Ho, Ho." In Australia Santa has been banned from saying ho, ho, ho because the word
"ho" is slang for the word "whore" or a not-so-nice girl.
'No
offense' is no defense. The holiday season is here, and that means it's time
to engage in the time-honored Christmas tradition of objecting to every time-honored Christmas
tradition.
Atheists'
bleak alternative. From the land that produced "A Christmas Carol" and Handel's "Messiah," more
evidence that Christianity is fading in Western Europe: Nearly 99 percent of Christmas cards sold in
Great Britain contain no religious message or imagery.
Christmas
trees to remain in the classroom. A debate has been raging in Switzerland for several days about
whether Christmas celebrations hurt Muslims' feelings and should be banned at school.
Christmas
With The ACLU: Eliminating Freedom, To Protect Liberty. This Christmas, while most Americans
are looking for presents under the tree, the American Civil Liberties Union will be following their own hallowed
holiday tradition: looking for scapegoats, under the guise of preserving liberty.
Do we deserve it?
The Christmas season reminds many Americans of the attack on religion. A number of stores have
caved in to pressures to ban Christmas celebrations, greetings and symbols, among them: Target,
Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears, Costco, Kohl's, Barnes & Noble, Toys 'R' Us, and
Walgreens. Cities have banned nativity scenes. Some schools have banned the singing of
Christmas carols.
Greatest gift. Christmas
is a time of traditions. If you have found time in the rush to decorate a tree, you are sharing in a
relatively new tradition. Though the Christmas tree has ancient roots, at the beginning of the
20th century only 1 in 5 American families put up a tree. It was 1920 before the
Christmas tree became the hallmark of the season. Calvin Coolidge was the first president to
light a national Christmas tree on the White House lawn.
Greetings
under siege: A lot of people have been complaining lately about the media's failure to
report more good news about the war. I'm inclined to agree with them, not about the war in
Iraq, but about the war against Christmas.
Lowe's
Apologizes for 'Family Trees' in Christmas Catalog. An early skirmish in this year's "War on
Christmas" ended on Tuesday [11/14/2007] when the nationwide home improvement chain Lowe's apologized for
referring to Christmas trees in its holiday catalog as "family trees."
Have Yourself a Merry Little
Vacuum: The Intellectual Cowardice of Unbelief. Atheists and secularists like to think of
themselves as open-minded and intellectually curious. In fact, one of their favorite epithets to use
against those who take faith seriously (second only to "intolerant") is "close-minded" or
"small-minded." But the evidence shows that it is the atheist and the secularist who
refuse to engage the intellectual challenges raised by their position — not
the Christian, Muslim, or Jew.
Christmas:
crucified by do-gooders. My rubbish bin is full of Christmas cards. I threw them
there. … The discarded items have one thing in common: they are not Christmas cards at all, by which
I mean, as well as having no Christian images, Nativity scenes etc, they don't even mention the "C" word.
I'm afraid that "happy holidays" simply will not do.
Sentamu attacks 'move
to throw away crib'. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, attacked "aggressive" secularists
and "illiberal" atheists yesterday [12/7/2006] for "throwing out the crib at Christmas". In his strongest
assault yet on attempts to purge Christianity from public life, Dr Sentamu said such people were undermining
the country's cultural traditions. The Archbishop's comments reflect the growing fury of Church leaders at
reports of companies banning Christmas decorations and schools leaving Jesus out of nativity plays.
The Jewish Case for "Merry
Christmas": You may find the title confusing. After all, religious Jews don't celebrate
Christmas. So why should a Jew care if a store clerk says "Merry Christmas?" Why should the public
disappearance of Christmas matter to the Jewish people? Patience. All will be explained in due
course. In the meantime, 'tis the season to be politically correct — a coast-to-coast
harkening-free zone and the tyranny of hyper-sensitivity.
Endless carols endless torture,
groups say. The UK Noise Association and labor unions are suggesting legal action on behalf of
store employees who listen to endless looped recordings of holiday music, the Observer said Sunday
[12/24/2006]. "What we're saying is that, if Christmas carols are being played on the same CD
repeatedly, that could create an unhealthy working environment.
[This isn't just an issue at Christmas. That kind of thing goes on 365 days a year at
most grocery stores. Wal-Mart shoppers and employees are bombarded with
audio and video 24/7.]
In Chicago, a Fairy and Santa Are In, Jesus Is
Out. The Christkindl, or Christmas Fairy, is welcome at a Christmas festival in Chicago.
So is Santa Claus. But a film about the birth of Jesus has provoked city officials to lower the boom.
Chicago officials deny actually ordering Christkindlmarket officials to cancel an exhibit of "The
Nativity Story." They just sort of asked them to dump it, kind of the way Da Bears ask an opposing
runner to gently drop to the turf.
Chicago
officials: Forget movie about Jesus' birth. City officials sent a message to a movie
studio that hoped to help sponsor a Christmas festival with advertising for its film about the night Mary
and Joseph couldn't find a room at the inn: There's no room for you.
Post Office Says "Bah Humbug" to Religious Christmas
Stamps. The United States Government has joined the secular war on Christmas. That's
right, the U.S. Postal service will not be selling any "overtly religious" Christmas stamps this year.
Non-religious
Christmas stamps criticised. Royal Mail has been criticised for taking "Christ out of Christmas"
with this year's collection of festive stamps. Instead of religious images adorning the Christmas
stamps — which go on sale from Tuesday — they have pictures of Santa, a snowman, a
Christmas tree and a reindeer. Religious groups say they are concerned the stamps have no connection
with the real meaning of Christmas.
Christmas trees
or winter trees? Recently, I was talking to some kids at school about our upcoming Christmas
break. One of the boys said that he prefers to call it winter break because some people don't celebrate
Christmas. To me, those are fighting words. Or, at the very least, arguing words.
Merry Christmas' theme returns to
stores. Bowing to pressure from conservative Christian groups, several U.S. retail stores are
reverting to the "Merry Christmas" theme this holiday season. Leading the way is Wal-Mart, which is
moving away from last year's generic "Happy Holidays" to return to Christmas this month in all its seasonal
marketing in the Untied States, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Ho-ho-no! Holiday
play axed at school. For more than a week, Mary Anne Bender helped her 10-year-old daughter
learn her Christmas pageant lines and daydream about what costume she'd sew for the after-school play at
Windmill Point Elementary. But on the second day of practice, fifth-grader Kayla Vance was told she
can't play Mrs. Claus in "A Penguin Christmas" because the principal has axed any mention of the
word "Christmas" in holiday festivals.
[What about the word "holiday"? Does the principal know where that word came from?]
Merry
Christmas. An old saying tells us to avoid bringing up the subjects of politics or
religion. So here's a novel idea — let's bring up both topics at once! The
media this holiday season have published and broadcast many news stories and commentaries on the
so-called "war on Christmas." The religious-centered holiday has become a social issue, and
even a political one.
In California, of course...
City's holiday
fest bars 'Jesus Christ Dancers'. At the city's annual holiday celebration, a rabbi
lighted a menorah. A dance troupe performed a traditional prayer to the gods. ["The
gods." With a little "g."] But six young girls were told they they couldn't perform
because they were wearing shirts emblazoned with a silver cross and the words "Jesus Christ" on
the front.
Tension Over Christmas
Observance Begins. It's weeks before Thanksgiving but already interest groups are
preparing for an intense year of conflict over Christmas observances by cities and public schools,
with one conservative group lining up hundreds of attorneys to work on the issue.
Christmas
Under Siege: A Report on the Elimination of an American Tradition. Across
our nation, signs wishing people a "Merry Christmas" are being taken down and "Happy Holidays"
banners are going up in their place. In schools, cities and workplaces around the country,
the trend is to treat Christmas like the illegitimate child of the winter holidays.
Skipping
Christmas – by Official Order:- A teacher in Texas discontinued all Christmas
celebrations and substituted the celebration of Kwanzaa, during which first graders were taught to
worship their ancestors.
- An Oklahoma public school banned all religious music and displays during the Christmas season.
- Kindergartners in Missouri were told they could not sing Christmas carols in school during the holidays.
- Students in South Carolina were told to write an essay on a topic of their choice during the month
of December, but when one student wanted to write about Christmas, the teacher refused to grade his essay.
Lines drawn in the battle over
Christmas. An increasingly vocal number of Christians are attacking what they
say is a "war on Christmas" by those determined to enforce a rigorously neutral holiday season
reflecting America's constitutional separation of church and state.
[The article above is on the BBC web site, so they can be forgiven for not knowing that
the term "separation of church and state" is not in the US Constitution.]
Not
so silent night. While TV personalities, junk mail letters and some of the
ordained bemoan the increasing secularization of culture; perhaps some teaching might be
helpful from the One in whose behalf they claim to speak.
God Rest Ye Merry ...Persons.
The
war on Christmas. [Bill] O'Reilly led the charge in exposing how secularists and
anti-religious types have for years been stripping the season of its original meaning. Now
[John] Gibson has written a well-documented book illustrating just how absurd and prevalent the
efforts are.
CHRISTmas Is Under Attack: Fight
Back! Indiana University Law School removed its Christmas tree at the insistence of
one radically left professor, Florence Roisman. She lamented that "a Christmas tree makes her
feel less welcome, less valued, that we are allowed to be present by sufferance only." … The
South Orange/Maplewood School District in New Jersey declared last year that school bands will be
limited to songs such as "Winter Wonderland" and "Frosty the Snowman."
Christmas Wars Continue in Public
Schools. A few examples of some school-related controversies.
Senior Citizens Deprived of
Christmas. Seniors in Florida, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts will now celebrate
Christmas after Liberty Counsel intervened.
Jews and Christmas. Once terribly
divided, Jews and Christians are finding the walls between them coming down. They share concern over
the increasing violation of religious freedom in America. Primarily, Jews, primarily conservative ones,
are standing with Christians over the assault against Christmas and discrimination against Christianity as
a whole, something they know about.
Fight for Christmas! What if a
battalion from overseas landed in this country intent on abolishing our heritage, traditions, and the rituals
dear to us — all of which make our lives worthwhile? No doubt, we would call them an enemy
and fight with all we have. Simply because those now doing so are citizens within our own country,
living among us, makes them no less an adversary, requiring from us no less a counter-offensive.
This holy
day shall not remain nameless. Nobody sent me a Christmas card this year. I got
Happy Holidays cards. I got Seasons Greetings cards. Even my brother-in-law sent me a
card that reads Happy Holidays AND HE'S A PRIEST.
The 'C' word stirs
controversy. Skittish politicians, retailers and other private sector
managers are so hyper-politically correct they shun the word Christmas for fear of
offending non-Christians. Instead, we're treated to such meaningless remarks as
"happy holidays or "seasons greetings."
A Christmas
quiz. The "winter program" at Ridgeway Elementary School In Dodgeville, Wisconsin,
changed the lyrics of the Christmas carol "Silent Night" to the more inclusive "Cold in the
Night." ("Cold in the night, no one in sight, winter winds whirl and bite.")
The
Jewish Grinch who stole Christmas. I never thought I'd live to see the day that
Christmas would become a dirty word. You think it hasn't? Then why is it that people
are being prevented from saying it in polite society for fear that it will offend?
No, Virginia, There Isn't a Santa
Claus. What rot. I tire of Santa defined as the embodiment of wide-eyed innocence
and naïve wonder. Santa's merits are wasted in his role as spokesman for this particular
brand of narcissism and self-indulgence. Rightly understood, belief is not a decision you make,
but a life you live. If you're deciding to have faith, then you've already lost it. So
the movies cheat. They give characters all kinds of hints and miracles with which to inspire
belief, although such belief is merely a reasonable conclusion based on the evidence of the
senses. The Polar Express is the worst offender.
Conservatives Are Right to Fight Back
Against War on Christmas. The nation is far more homogenous than diversity-mavens would
have us believe. America is 85% Christian. (And 96% of us celebrate Christmas.) They
don't say "Have a Happy Holiday" in Israel at Hanukah, though a third of the nation isn't Jewish. They
don't say "Seasons Greetings" in Egypt, when Ramadan rolls around. Why must America be the only
nation on earth that refuses to acknowledge its religious roots? Why must we be the only nation
to studiously ignore the majority's faith?
Americans demanding end to
generic holiday. If this were allowed to continue, we'd soon be stringing "holiday" lights
on the "holiday" tree, wishing each other "Merry Winter" and going "celebration" shopping at the department
store's Seasons' Greetings sale. But now, after years of all this "holiday" grinching, Americans are
revolting and demanding Christmas back.
Why avoid using 'Merry
Christmas'? While Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and in some years Ramadan and Diwali,
share the same season, last year's polls show around 96 percent of Americans celebrate
Christmas.
The
campus crusade for Christmas. Campus speech codes were not designed to preserve
our Judeo-Christian heritage through an equal application of rules. They were designed
to destroy it through a selective application of rules.
Away
with the Manger. The multicolored nativity scene on the Samona family's front yard is
under attack. The Samonas' neighborhood association has ordered the Novi family to remove its
seven-piece plastic display or face possible fines of $25 to $100 per week.
Update:
Novi
sub backs off, baby Jesus stays put. Neighborhood association backs off after blizzard
of support for family.
Jewish
Group Defends 'Merry Christmas' Greeting. A Jewish group that describes its mission as
combating anti-Christian bias wants the "politically correct" to know that it's okay to say "Merry
Christmas."
Another school
censoring Christmas? Teachers at a Georgia elementary school reportedly were told to
nix any religious pins and refrain from referring to a party as a "Christmas" party, while the local
district has censored certain religious Christmas songs from its "winter" program.
Christmas lights fail to shine
in equality zone. A Council [in England] is planning to scrap grants for festive lights
because Christmas does not fit in with its "core values of equality and diversity".
Christmas
lights under threat. Britain could be facing a bleak mid-winter as the cost of following health and
safety rules is forcing councils to consider scrapping Christmas lights, business leaders have warned.
Battle Over
Christmas Debated in Britain. Christmas in Britain appears to have become a cultural battleground
as legislators decry the rise of anti-Christian attitudes. In a recent parliamentary session, Conservative
lawmaker Mark Pritchard said people of all faiths are growing alarmed at the increasing marginalization of
Britain's Christian history, heritage and traditions.
Silent Night, Secular
Night. "Christmas is under attack in such a sustained and strategized manner that
there is, no doubt, a war on Christmas." So writes Fox News Channel host John Gibson in his
new book…. Blue state or red state, putting up a Christmas tree and not having to call
it a "friendship tree" or a "giving tree" can often be quite the battle. Gibson relays some of
the stories in The War on Christmas.
Giving
in America: Tis the Season. Generosity cuts across political lines. Republican or
Democrat, it doesn't matter. The key variable is religious participation. The link is
indisputable: charitable giving and religious involvement go hand-in-hand. Giving in America is a
part of our national fabric, our national soul — and that soul definitely has religious roots.
Christians
in the crossfire. Yes, it's maddening when politically correct bureaucrats ban
nativity scenes and Christmas carols in the name of "diversity" and "tolerance." We are
under attack by Secularist Grinches Gone Wild. But the war on Christmas in America is a mere
skirmish. Around the world, a bloody, repressive war on Christians rages on.
Claus for alarm:
The False Equation of Secularism
with "Political Correctness". The attempts by governmental bodies around
the country to eliminate the term "Christmas" are being perpetrated largely in the name
of "political correctness" — to avoid offending anyone, particularly Muslims,
whose beliefs would exclude them from any Christmas celebrations. "These efforts
represent, not secularism," says Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand
Institute, "but the standard liberal, subjectivist philosophy of multiculturalism, which
seeks to prohibit any 'offensive' actions and words — and it is a philosophy
that should be denounced."
M****
C********, if you know what I mean. Let's just say the "Merry Christmas"
backlash has officially begun. After years of politically correct "Happy Holidays,"
and the annual assault on all things Christian in the public square, many Americans are
declining to turn the other cheek. The MC backlash isn't only for, by or about
Christians. It is a quintessentially American revolt against absurdity, the
inevitable result of narcissistic, nihilist ninnies pushing too far.
Merry
Christmas. Led by the American Civil Liberties Union and the People
for the American Way, liberal activists are working overtime to erase the real
meaning of Christmas from American culture. Secular elites who spend millions
of dollars annually to ensure unfettered distribution of condoms to schoolchildren
and the unabridged "right" of teenage girls to have abortions now deem Christmas
carols too controversial for schools and urge banning public displays
of nativity scenes.
It's (Still)
A Wonderful Life. Those who seek to banish Christmas have the mistaken notion that the
foundations can be razed from our nation, with the edifice of laws intact.
From
this Christmas onward. Why would anyone murder a pregnant woman? Apparently,
it is oftentimes an extreme form of abortion. [Washington Post reporter Donna] St. George
noted that many cases involve husbands or boyfriends. Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center
on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University, told her, "It seems to me that these guys hope
against hope for a miscarriage or an abortion, but when everything else fails, they take the life
of the woman to avoid having the baby."
Post Office Treats Christmas
Stamp Like Pornography; Sells It from "Under the Counter". Why does the "U.S.
Postal Store" in Miami hawk Kwanza, Hanukkah, and Eid stamps from splashy displays while
selling Christian-themed Christmas stamps from a drawer under the counter?
Goodbye
Christmas? It is Christmas time, and what would Christmas be without the usual
platoon of annoying pettifoggers rising annually to strip Christmas of any Christian
content. With some success: School districts in New Jersey and Florida ban Christmas
carols. The mayor of Somerville, Mass., apologizes for "mistakenly" referring
to the town's "holiday party" as a "Christmas party." The Broward and Fashion malls
in South Florida put up a Hanukkah menorah but no nativity scene.
Plano school district bans Christmas
colors. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Legal Institute filed a federal
civil rights lawsuit [12/15/2004] against the Plano Independent School District for a discriminatory policy
that censors the Christmas religious expression of students and their parents. "The policy is a perfect
example of politically correct extremism," said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. "School officials have
gone so far as to prohibit students from wearing red and green at their 'winter break' parties
because they claim they are Christmas colors. Even the plates and napkins must be white. The
district's policy is ludicrous to even the most common observer."
A Jew says "Merry
Christmas". In Maplewood and South Orange, N.J., the school board has banned all Christmas carols,
even instrumentals, from holiday concerts. In Denver, the city's annual Parade of Lights included German
folk dancers, a gay and lesbian Indian group, and belly dancers — but a Christian-themed float was
banned because it would have included a message reading "Merry Christmas." In New York City, official
school board policy authorizes displays of "Christmas trees, menorahs, and the [Muslim] star and
crescent" — which it describes as "secular holiday symbol decorations" — but prohibits
depictions of the nativity.
Liberals' efforts
to purge "Christmas" have backfired. This is nothing to do with
Christianity. "A Christmas Carol" is a secular work — there's no
more God or Jesus in it than there is in "White Christmas." And, if works of music that
reference God are banned from schools, that cuts out a big chunk of the aural glories of this
world, including the best of Bach and Mozart. Forbidding children from being exposed to Handel
and Dickens is an act of vandalism and, in the end, will eliminate any rationale for a public
education system.
Lawsuit
Challenges NJ Schools' Christmas Music Ban. A New Jersey school
system has been sued over its ban on traditional Christmas music. The
Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center has filed a federal lawsuit
on behalf of a parent and his two children, challenging the Maplewood Public School
District's prohibition of all religious music. The lawsuit contends that
the district's policy was implemented to prevent students and student groups
from playing traditional Christmas music at school events during the 2004
holiday season.
Just
Say Merry Christmas. Perhaps nothing exposes the gap between secular liberals
and conservative Christians as much as Christmas. It may also help explain why the
Democrat Party, which has been taken over by a small, but powerful cadre of secular
liberals, is slipping into political oblivion. Even though practically the
whole country is adorned with Christmas decorations, all across America secular
liberals are doing all that they can to suppress the public acknowledgment of Christmas.
Keeping
Christ in Christmas. Substituting Li'l Red's fairy-tale trip to
Grandma's house for Mary and Joseph's biblical trip to Bethlehem may sound like
something that happens down the rabbit hole, but Reuters reports that things are
on the level: "The teachers said the famous tale was a fitting representation
of good and evil and would not offend Muslim children." And Muslim children,
it turns out, are the only "non-Christians" in the Reuters story. Not Jews,
not atheists, not whatever other minorities are content to live in a historically
Roman Catholic country and just walk on by the old creche without "taking offense,"
that traumatic postmodern condition more damaging and contagious than any plague
or pestilence.
A
case of collective projection. We've seen the acceleration of attacks
on Christmas throughout the nation: the discriminatory banning of Christmas carols,
Christmas cards and nativity scenes, the substitution of politically correct terms
to replace "Christmas," and the systematic effort to paint Christmas as a symbol of
exclusiveness and intolerance.
The
Secularization of Christmas: Sometime, somewhere, the Grinch pulled the
switch and ordered America to cease using the word Christmas. All you hear now
is "happy holidays." The stars and angels signifying Jesus' birth came off the
tops of the mall Christmas trees, replaced by teddy bears or more "tolerant" symbols.
Mistletoe,
Snow and Subpoenas? With the day of celebration of our Lord's birth just
weeks away, it is distressing to think that true freedom of worship for Christians is
hindered by political correctness. In recent years, America has taken a turn for
the secular and removed many religious elements of the Christmas season from public schools,
spaces and events.
There
is more at stake than just Christmas. The Christmas Deconstruction Alliance
just does not get it. They are dumbfounded as they have not been able to secularize
Christmas. They throw tantrums because of the tenacity with which the vast majority
of us hold onto our Christian beliefs and traditions. They do not understand why
the United States does not roll over, accept the abolition of Christmas, close down our
churches, and remove the crosses from our cemeteries.
"Gay"
Activists Target Salvation Army Bell Ringers. A legal battle pitting
homosexual activists against the Salvation Army has been churning in the
Minneapolis-St. Paul area at the same time that Minneapolis-based Target
Corporation's decision to ban Salvation Army bell ringers is making headlines.
Target Bans
Salvation Army, Again. Once again this year [2006], Target Stores has banned the Salvation Army
bell-ringers from their stores. Local supermarkets, Walmart and other retailers don't seem to have a
problem with the Christian organization founded by William Booth to help the downtrodden. So why does
Target? Probably because it is a Christian group dedicated to saving souls.
School
Holiday Celebrations: Are students allowed to sing Christmas carols
with religious themes at school events or in holiday programs? Yes. You
should be aware that no court has ever banned the singing of religious Christmas carols
by public school choirs.
Christmas censors: The
annual assault on Christmas comes in many forms. First, there is the barrage of litigation by the
American Civil Liberties Union, which is reliably offended by almost any representation of Christianity
in the public square. Small towns, facing the prospect of expensive litigation over religious displays
on public property, often cave in simply out of fear. Part of the intimidation is that if the towns
lose, they must pay the legal fees of the ACLU.
The ACLU
Targets Christians. In their never-ending quest to completely eradicate all things religious
from public life, the ACLU's latest lawsuit is an all-out frontal attack on the freedom of speech and the
free exercise of religion. Let me ask you — when did a children's Christmas program become
"an illegal activity"? When did the nativity story and Christmas songs become unconstitutional?
This is the outrageous and dangerous charge the ACLU has leveled against a school district in Tennessee.
A children's Christmas program has been deemed to be an "illegal act" because of the ACLU.
PETA Crashes The Christmas
Party. As the Christmas holiday season begins this week, the animal rights nuts at People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) remind us all that their ridiculous philosophy knows no bounds. No
longer satisfied with merely intimidating fur shoppers or recruiting grade-school children into its vegetarian
army, PETA has begun attacking churches that re-enact the Nativity scene with live animals.
Religious Holiday Displays:
The Constitution protects the rights of private citizens to engage in religious speech in a "public
forum." In a leading First Amendment case, the Supreme Court held that a private group could erect a
cross in a public park during the holiday season. … There is virtual unanimity among the federal courts
that private religious displays in public fora are constitutional. In parks, town squares, plazas, and
even government buildings which have been opened for public expression, citizens, civic groups, and churches
can erect private religious displays without violating the Constitution. Under certain circumstances,
localities can deny private individuals the right to put up displays (for example, by prohibiting "unattended
displays" in a public forum), but such policies must be based on content-neutral criteria rather than the
"religious" nature of the display. Arguments that privately-erected religious displays cause an
Establishment Clause problem are completely devoid of merit.
ACLU subjected to Christmas
carols. A group of demonstrators sang Christmas carols in front of the Washington, D.C., office
of the American Civil Liberties Union today [12/8/2004] to protest the organization for its attempts to take
religious references out of the public square.
Principal cancels dramatization
of "A Christmas Carol". The Dickens classic is considered too religious for school.
700 lawyers ready to fight ACLU
lawsuits. Is it illegal to sing Christmas carols in public school? Or to display a manger
scene or even to say the words "Merry Christmas" in those halls of learning? Many public school officials
act as though such prohibitions were clearly laid on in the Constitution and defensively ban every vestige
of "religious expression" out of fear of an expensive ACLU lawsuit.
School
bans saying "Christmas". At a time when Americans of many faiths — and
even no faith — gear up to celebrate Christmas this year, a first-grade teacher in
Sacramento Co., Calif., says she's been ordered by her principal not to utter the
word "Christmas" at school.
School
bans Christmas, but Halloween is OK. When Patrice Reynolds called to
schedule a presentation this year in her daughter Grace's fourth-grade class at the
Sage Canyon School, she was rejected, with the teacher telling her even instructors
were not permitted to wear jewelry with a Christmas theme.
Teacher takes "Christmas" out of
carol. 2nd-graders will sing "winter" instead at an upcoming concert.
Santa's Surprising Origins:
"Shortly before Nicholas's death, which occurred on December 6th, the date of his annual visit, it was learned
that he was the individual who brought so much joy to so many families. Five hundred years later, in the
9th Century, Nicholas was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, hence the name, Saint Nicholas."
Christmas
CD banned for mentioning Jesus. In a move that many might consider ironic
at the least, a charity Christmas CD has been banned from distribution because it mentions
the baby Jesus. The decision by the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh,
Scotland, was instituted because of fears it could offend people who belong to a faith
other than Christianity.
ACLU
loses Christmas case. The Constitution allows a Rhode Island city
to have private religious holiday displays on its front lawn, a federal judge
ruled yesterday [11/15/2004] in a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties
Union. "The ACLU long ago decided it wanted to be Uncle Scrooge and expend
its energies saying 'bah humbug' to public Christmas displays, but they are out
of touch with the 96 percent of Americans that celebrate Christmas," said
Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund.
District
bans instrumental Christmas carols. A school district's long-standing
policy banning Christmas songs with religious references is under scrutiny after
officials clarified that it includes the prohibition of the performance of instrumental
numbers without lyrics. Instead of tunes about Jesus, and even Santa Claus, the
40-member Columbia High School brass ensemble will be limited for the first time to seasonal
selections such as "Winter Wonderland" and "Frosty the Snowman," the Newark Star-Ledger reported.
Christmas
Float Barred from Holiday Parade. If groups celebrating American Indian holy
people, German culture and the Chinese New Year can march in the city's Parade of Lights, why
can't a Christian group march to celebrate Christmas? That's just one of the questions
bothering prominent Denver-area Pastor George Morrison. He said he was barred from
participating in the parade because his multicultural church group wanted its Christian-themed
float to feature traditional yuletide hymns and a "Merry Christmas" message.
Christmas in Secular
America: As we celebrate another Yuletide season, it's hard not to notice
that Christmas in America simply doesn't feel the same anymore. Although an
overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, and those who don't celebrate
it overwhelmingly accept and respect our nation's Christmas traditions, a certain shared
public sentiment slowly has disappeared. The Christmas spirit, marked by a wonderful
feeling of goodwill among men, is in danger of being lost in the ongoing war
against religion.
Salvation
Army banned from outside Target stores. Every year the Salvation Army
relies on volunteers to ring the bell for their annual fundraising campaign outside
stores all across the country. When some places say they are no longer welcome
to set up outside their business, they have to find some place else to go.
Bell
curve. Donations are becoming harder to get and kettle-keepers harder
to find for the venerable Salvation Army. Nonprofits have copied parts of the
Salvation Army's strategy, setting up shop very close to Salvation Army kettles. And
in the case of Target, the competition for prime spots outside of entrances provoked the
retailer to enforce its no-solicitation policy, leaving formerly grandfathered organizations
like the Salvation Army scrambling for a backup plan.
Celebrating the Christmas
Holiday in Public Schools: Unfortunately, Christmas has also become a time of controversy in
public schools as teachers, school administrators, parents and students struggle to determine their legal
rights and responsibilities concerning the celebration of the holiday in the schools. [PDF]
It's the winter solstice, Charlie
Brown! David Limbaugh's new book, "Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against
Christianity," will make you cry for your country. (But don't pray for your country if you're
anywhere near a public school!)
Censorship across the divide:
"Epithet" that! Everyone has a war story from the Yuletide front, where Christmas comes under
such heavy fire that Americans wave the preemptive white flag of "Happy Holidays" to avoid giving what is
known as "offense" and receiving what feels like censure.
It's
Time to Dump "Happy Holidays". The phrase used to be another way to say "Merry Christmas."
Now, it's a way to avoid any recognition of Christmas.
Web site:
The Committee to Save Merry
Christmas. A covert and deceptive war has been waged on Christmas to remove
any mention of it from the public square during the Christmas season. During the past
several years, and with great effectiveness, we have observed a consistent and relentless
move to culturally pressure merchants, businessmen and individuals to remove the
words "Merry Christmas" from their advertising, decorations and promotional materials.
Keeping
Christmas: The ACLU and other groups are performing their annual ritual
of keeping the public square (including the public school) clean of any mention of
Jesus Christ, unless that mention is intended as a curse word. In such a case, the
ACLU will leap to the defense.
Teachers
Decry Schools' Anti-Christmas Bigotry: Every year the attacks on Christmas
by intolerant leftists seem to be more ludicrous and start earlier. But at least some
teachers are denouncing the anti-Christian bias of New York City's failed government
school monopoly.
No
Christian symbols at Christmas: Fearing they might offend
someone, Red Cross stores in Britain have taken the Christian out of Christmas
this year, banning any display of overtly religious decorations.
Christmas
in America becomes a battleground: The fact that atheists
view Christmas with disdain is not astonishing, since they've attempted to
remove the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God we
trust" from U.S. currency, as well as Ten Commandments displays from numerous
publicly owned places.
Will December 25th Soon Become "Happy
Holiday" Or "Inclusion Day"? What do they mean, Happy Holiday? It's Christmas, but it's
beginning to sound a lot like something else.
School
to allow girl use of "religious" book. A Massachusetts schoolgirl
now can bring her favorite Christmas book to school without fear of being reprimanded
after a school district backed down from a policy that barred the student from sharing
a book about the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christ
Pushed Further Out of Christmas: The past holiday season saw numerous
attempts to purge Christianity from the public sphere, resulting in legal tussles and
plenty of outrage. In one of the most egregious examples of religious discrimination,
one school in New York City decided that religious holiday symbols could be
displayed — with the exception of the nativity or any other symbols
specific to Christianity.
Merry C*********S to all!
Excellent:
Political Correctness at Absurd Levels
During 'Christmas Season: It appears there is no religious tolerance among many educators,
bureaucrats, and city government leaders across America for the name of Christ during this Christmas holiday
season. Recent cases point to the growing intolerance of religion in the public place — most
noticeably against the Christian religion.
British
Red Cross Removes Christmas Decorations: The removal of a Christmas display from a second-hand
store operated by the British Red Cross has led to allegations that the charity has "banned" the holiday.
Zoning out the Christmas
spirit: Ebenezer Scrooge is alive and well in Virginia Beach, Va. That's where government
officials have launched a punitive legal campaign against a Christian-based charity that distributes toys
and food to the poor.
Christmas fails PC test in more public
schools: An increasing number of public schools nationwide are becoming no-Christmas zones this
year in an effort by school officials to accommodate different cultures and not offend non-Christians.
School bans saying
"Christmas": At a time when Americans of many faiths — and even no faith —
gear up to celebrate Christmas this year, a first-grade teacher in Sacramento Co., Calif., says she's been
ordered by her principal not to utter the word "Christmas" at school.
Reaction: When Christmas
Becomes Illegal: Imagine that. Christmas banned in a public school classroom. This
interdiction is actually quite predictable, because the word Christmas and the concept of a holiday bearing the
name of Christ contradict the situational ethics that pervade many public school classrooms. If there is
no true right and wrong, there must not be a notion of a Savior or the need of a Savior.
Bah Humbug to "A Christmas Carol":
Our Disappearing Culture. Slowly, but surely, many of the things we once treasured are beginning
to disappear. Take, for instance, a New Jersey middle school that cancelled a field trip to attend
a performance of a play based on Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" because some might find it "offensive."
Indeed, one news source attributed the cancellation to a complaint from a Jewish parent who was offended by the
play's so-called Christian theme.
PC Canadians Rule Out
Christmas: Christmas is becoming an endangered word in parts of Canada in a rash of politically
correct behavior - such as renaming a Christmas tree a 'holiday tree' - that even non-Christians
dismiss as silly.
Yonkers pulls the plug on holiday
decorations: All ornamentation with a message stronger than a generic "happy holidays"
or "season's greetings" has been banned from the city's public schools.
I Want Mine, Too!: Ah,
Christmas in America, 2001. Excuse me, the holidays in American 2001. In today's hyper-PC
environment, it is no longer about "Christmas" or even the "Christmas season."
I Heard the Bells:
Those worldly wise who will not allow or tolerate Christmas and its symbols are building a little world of
airless and sterile and fragile towers.
Me**y
Chr***mas (Censored for your viewing pleasure.)
Santa
Is Appalled: In Seattle, a King County executive named Ron Sims sent out a memo to county
employees asking them not to say "Merry Christmas" and to be "religion neutral." [Other ridiculous cases
of anti-Christmas rulemaking are discussed in this article.]
Educrats Censor
Christmas: The thought police who run America's government schools are censoring Christmas at an
even more alarming rate than usual this year. Read appalling examples that show how anti-religious
fanaticism is one type of bigotry that the left encourages.
Arizona
AG's Ban of Santa Claus Called "Wacky Liberal" Idea: Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano,
who is also considering a run for governor, has banned Santa Claus displays and other religious
symbols this holiday season.
Note:
For each of the last nine years, the lights in the hedges in front of my house have
been blinking holiday
greetings in morse code!
The Incident at the Seattle Airport
Christmas
cards are losing their religious message. Only one in 100 Christmas cards sold in Britain contains
any religious imagery or message, a Daily Mail survey has revealed.
'Tis not the season at Seattle Airport. There
will be no more Christmas trees at Sea-Tac Airport this season after the Port of Seattle received a complaint
about them. For more than 25 years, the airport has celebrated the holidays with Christmas trees
over its entrances. But now the trees that decorated the entrances to Sea-Tac can only be found down back
hallways out of the public's view, after the Port of Seattle ordered all 15 trees removed.
Airport puts away holiday
trees rather than risk being "exclusive". As odd as it might seem, Sea-Tac Airport officials were
hoping to avoid controversy when they had maintenance crews working Friday's graveyard shift dismantle nine
holiday trees festooned with red ribbons and bows. The airport managers ordered the plastic trees removed
and boxed up after a rabbi asked to have an 8-foot-tall menorah displayed next to the largest tree in the
international arrival hall.
Seattle rabbi regrets Christmas tree
removal. A Chabad rabbi in Seattle expressed regret that his request to add a menorah to the
Seattle-Tacoma Airport's display of Christmas trees resulted in the trees' removal.
Airport's trees stoking
"war on Christmas". The departure of Christmas tree displays at main passageways at Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport — the Port of Seattle's response to a local rabbi's insistence that an electric
menorah also be put up — is accelerating into an international spectacle in the so-called "war on
Christmas." And that is not what Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky wanted.
Airport Christmas
trees removed. All 15 Christmas trees inside the terminal at Sea-Tac have been removed in response
to a complaint by a rabbi. A local rabbi wanted to install an 8-foot menorah and have a public lighting
ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn't put up, and gave a two-day deadline to remove the
trees.
[A rabbi should know this: He who makes waves is often left to swim in them.]
Update: Problem solved.
Squabble's settled and all can return to
enjoying season. It's just not the holiday season anymore unless someone is making a fuss over
symbols in what many see as an ongoing "war on Christmas." But the latest up-and-down (uh, more correctly
down-and-up) flap over Christmas trees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport may be the ultimate in
overreaction — at least until the next cultural/religious clash comes along.
Let's call a truce in the
'war' on Christmas. A rare case of common sense broke out at the Sea-Tac airport in the much-hyped
(and largely bogus) "war on Christmas." It started when Seattle Rabbi Elazar Bogomilski simply asked for
some equal time; he wanted a menorah (ceremonial candle holder) placed on display to note the Jewish holiday
of Hanukkah. He offered to donate an electronic one. And he said Monday [12/11/2006] that he never
intended to file a lawsuit to bring down the Christmas trees.
[That's not what the rabbi told the people at the Seattle airport. At least
that is not the way the story was reported by various news outlets.]
Carols
give away Christmas conspiracy. The ridiculous hassle over Christmas trees at the Seattle airport
this week screams politically correct run amok. Officials there, confronted with a rabbi's protest that
such a Christian holiday display should have been balanced with a Jewish menorah, in celebration of Hanukkah,
chose to remove the trees. When the rabbi said he didn't mean for that to happen, they put the trees
back up. Oy.
Commentary. The airport was
worried that if it displayed a menorah, it would have to put out symbols of other religions and cultures.
The president of the agency that runs the airport notes that the rabbi never asked that the Christmas trees be
removed. … After the big trees were removed, some airline workers decorated ticketing counters with their
own miniature Christmas trees.
Christmas
Tree Dispute Erupts At US Airport. At SeaTac Airport, 14 Christmas trees, that stirred
controversy, have now been returned to the terminal. Managers touched off this controversy late
last week, when they yanked the trees from the airport after a local rabbi had threatened to sue because
the display did not include a menorah.
Deck the halls with bows of
folly. There was some story out of Seattle the other day about a rabbi who objected to the
"holiday trees" at the airport and threatened a lawsuit unless they also put up an 8-foot menorah. So
the airport officials say, "Oh, dear, you're threatening a lawsuit? OK, we'll take down the trees."
And in an instant the trees were history. Not "history" in the sense of a time-honored tradition
legitimized by its very antiquity. But "history" in the sense of the contemporary American formulation
of something you toss in the landfill in the interests of "diversity."
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