Anti-Christmas and
Anti-Anti-Christmas Sentiment
in American Society

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.

This material came from akdart.com 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.


Saudi Arabia: 41 people arrested for "plotting to celebrate Christmas".  Sharia Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places.

Washington Post Publishes Op-ed Urging 'Let's Give Santa the Boot'.  Dante Chinni calls himself "a card-carrying member of the East Coast Media Establishment Complex," and he proved in on Sunday [12/23/2012] with an article in Sunday Outlook section of The Washington Post:  "Instead of leaving cookies, let's give Santa the boot."  Secular liberals always first want to save the country for science and rationality, and Santa Claus is "reality's exception" for little kids.

Christmas in an anti-Christian age.  While undeniable that Christianity entails a belief in the supernatural, the miraculous — God became man that first Christmas, Christ raised people from the dead, rose himself on the first Easter Sunday and ascended into heaven 40 days later — consider what atheists believe.  They believe that something came out of nothing, that reason came from irrationality, that a complex universe and natural order came out of randomness and chaos, that consciousness came from non-consciousness and that life emerged from non-life.  This is a bridge too far for the Christian for whom faith and reason tell him that for all of this to have been created from nothing is absurd; it presupposes a Creator.

Confronting Christmas.  As godless secularism becomes more and more entrenched in our culture, the Christmas season is one of the most contentious times in our calendar.  Every year, there are stories in the news of banned Christmas trees or of Christmas trees renamed "holiday trees."  Christmas concerts at public schools draw threats of a lawsuit (even when the poor in Africa are the beneficiaries!), and U.S. congressmen are barred from wishing their constituents a "Merry Christmas" in their official mailings.

Lakemba Mosque imam issues 'fatwa against Christmas' - report.  The head imam at Lakemba, Sheikh Yahya Safi, reportedly told the congregation during Friday [12/21/2012] prayers they should not have anything to do with Christmas.  The fatwa reportedly warned:  "Disbelievers are trying to draw Muslims away from the straight path."  It said Christmas Day and associated celebrations are among the "falsehoods" for a Muslim to avoid.  "Therefore a Muslim is neither allowed to celebrate the Christmas Day nor is he allowed to congratulate them," it said.

Holiday tolerance.  It's almost Christmas.  Lights are up, trees are decked and, where it's still legal, Nativity scenes are on display.  This is the time of year when even high school orchestras playing carols to raise money for charity wind up being challenged by atheists who profess to be offended.

On Christmas, Einstein And Atheists:  It's that time of year when secularists and atheists join forces to eradicate all signs of Christmas from the Christmas season.  Thus Christmas trees become "holiday" trees and timid Christians swallow the attacks on their faith and their intelligence.  It's become second nature for secularists like Bill Maher to mock Christians as fools for believing in intelligent design and something as ridiculous as the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection.

Have You Bought Your 'Abornament' Yet?  Yes, abortion rights activists have reached a new level of depravity.  Apparently, as everyone indulges in the holiday spirit, the pro-choice camp decided to create abortion ornaments — or 'abornaments' — to be part of the commemoration of the birth of Christ.  The fact that pro-choice Americans threw this in the face of those who practice religion, or hold pro-life beliefs, is offensive in the extreme.

Don't Be Intimidated.  The joyous seasons of Christmas and Hanukkah always seems to always bring out different forms of intimidation from the coo-coo birds on the left. [...] They take much pleasure in destroying the simple traditions of religious celebrations and symbols, but they only attack certain established religions, beliefs, or philosophies, why?

Parents Say Christmas Carols are Form of Bullying.  A group of parents in Missoula, Mont. are upset over the religious nature of Christmas songs performed at a local elementary school — alleging the songs about the Baby Jesus is unconstitutional and a "form of bullying."  The parents, who declined to be identified, are threatening to sue the Missoula County Public School District unless songs like "Joy to the World" and "Good Christian Men Rejoice" are replaced with secular tunes.

Atheist Bah-humbug in Times Square.  The atheists, who spend their time largely fighting against an enemy they insist is not there, don't seem to be able to curb the will of the merchants who rake in up to one third of their yearly receipts during the Christmas season.  Don't worry, the merry will go on if they have anything to say about it, and the day the Christians give up the Christmas observance, the merchants will be the first to try to 'save Christmas.'  This writer is not naïve; I am fully aware that Christmas is a religious holiday created by the Catholic Church and is not a scriptural mandate.  We are never instructed to celebrate any birthday.  It is also known today, that if anything, Christ was probably born sometime in early April, not December 25.

Nativity scene returns after Warren man gets permit.  A longtime Nativity scene on Mound Road is back this Christmas after a four-year absence.  On Saturday morning [12/15/2012], John Satawa once again erected his 8-by-8 foot manger and statues in the median just north of Chicago Road, although this time he will do it with a permit he fought for years to get.

Denying The War On Christmas.  Children who attend Terry Elementary School in Little Rock, Arkansas know about the War on Christmas:  their planned trip to a local church to see "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was cancelled.  An anti-Christmas billboard in Times Square that shows a depiction of Jesus crucified is testimony to the vile nature of the War on Christmas.  There is no shortage of such examples.

NBC Editor Denounces "Religious" Part of Christmas.  NBC's medical editor denounced the religious part of Christmas during a panel discussion about the holiday on Today.  "I don't like the religion part," said Nancy Snyderman, the network's chief medical editor.  "I think religion is what mucks the whole thing up."  The "religion" she was referring to is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Navy Cancels Nativity over Atheist Complaint.  The Navy directed service members serving in Bahrain to cancel and dismantle a "Live Nativity" after receiving a complaint from a military atheist group who said the manger scene endangered Americans serving in a Muslim country and violated the U.S. Constitution. [...] The "Live Nativity" was a long-standing tradition at NSA Bahrain that featured the children of military personnel dressed as shepherds, wise men, along with Mary and Joseph.  It was part of a larger festival that included a tree lighting, Christmas music and photographs with Santa Claus and a camel.

The Editor says...
 Oh, I see.  Apparently the troops weren't in any danger until they celebrated Christmas.

Man Faces Fines for Giant Santa.  The owner of a New Jersey business is facing thousands of dollars in possible fines after he refused to remove a 40-foot tall inflatable Santa Claus from his rooftop.  Santa us up on the rooftop of Seasonal World, owned by Tony Schiavone in Millstone Township.  He told television station WNYW that he's been hit with at least five tickets from town officials who believe the yuletide decoration violates the law.

University Students Want to Ban Salvation Army.  The University of California in Berkeley is considering a student government resolution calling for Salvation Army bell ringers to be banned from campus over allegations the charity is "anti-gay."

Ben Stein: People who attack Christmas not 'well in the head'.  Economist Ben Stein said there is an underlying sense of anger behind the so-called "War on Christmas" and that he doesn't consider people who attack the holiday "well in the head."

Secular Humanists Bid All 'A Merry un-Christmas'.  An atheist group is upset an Arkansas school offered students an optional, meaning not required, school field trip to see a production of "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" which just happened to be showing at a local church.  The November 29 letter sent to the Little Rock Arkansas School District by the Appignani Humanist Legal Center speaks to separation of church and state and complains:  "The message of the play is clear:  Jesus Christ is the son of God and the messiah, and the real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the anniversary of his birth.  It is completely sectarian in nature and expressly rejects any secular version of Christmas...".

Seniors Outraged Over Christmas Tree Ban.  Residents of a senior adult apartment complex in California staged a protest after the management of their building announced a ban on Christmas trees and menorahs in communal areas.  "We're all angry," resident Fern Scheel told the Los Angeles Daily News."  We want that tree.  Where's our freedom?  This is ridiculous."

Gov. Lincoln Chafee: It's Not 'Tradition' to Call It a Christmas Tree.  Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I-R.I.) told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that his administration calls the decorated evergreen tree erected in the Rhode Island State House in December a "holiday tree" — rather than a "Christmas tree" — because that is what the tree is traditionally called.

The Real Root of Atheists' Anti-Christmas Rage.  Why do some atheists embarrass themselves year after year trying to eradicate Christmas from American culture?  Why do they make themselves societal hemorrhoids during this hallowed season?

7 of 10 Americans prefer 'Merry Christmas' over 'Happy Holidays'.  By a wide margin, 68 percent to 23 percent, Americans prefer stores with signs that say "Merry Christmas" during the Christmas holidays than the more generic and secular "Happy Holidays," according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.  And in all 34 of the categories the accurate and prominent pollster looks at, "Merry Christmas" was the hands-down winner.

68% Prefer 'Merry Christmas' Over 'Happy Holidays'.  Most Americans still prefer signs in stores that say "Merry Christmas" rather than ones with "Happy Holidays."  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 68% of American Adults prefer Merry Christmas.  Just 23% like Happy Holidays instead.

Santa Monica may bar Nativity scenes in public areas, judge rules.  In a closely watched case, a federal judge denies a church coalition's request that the court require the city to allow Nativity scenes in Palisades Park this year, as it has for nearly 60 years.

The Santa Monica Nativity Scene Case: Why We Lost.  When Tuesday (11/19/2012), United States District Court Judge Audrey B Collins delivered a 28-page ruling denying my client the right to continue a 59-year-old tradition of exhibiting Nativity scenes along Ocean Boulevard in the City of Santa Monica this Christmas season, another dagger plunged into the heart of America's twilight customs and traditions.  The sneered-at "war on Christmas" was effectively lost for good.

Why One Poll Says 45% Would Rather Skip Christmas.  Some 45 percent of those polled said the holiday season brings so much financial pressure, they would prefer to skip it altogether.  Almost half said their level of stress related to holiday expenses is high or extremely high.  That's probably because nearly the same amount — some 45 percent — say they do not expect to have enough money set aside to cover holiday expenses.

Battle over coastal Xmas display goes to LA court.  Santa Monica officials snuffed the city's holiday tradition this year rather than referee the religious rumble, prompting churches that have set up a 14-scene Christian diorama for decades to sue over freedom of speech violations.

Brussels Bans Annual Christmas Tree Display — It May Offend Muslims.  Brussels replaced its popular Christmas tree exhibit this year at the city center due to concerns that it may offend the local Muslim population.

Bah, humbug! No Christmas play here.  Yes, in another one of those "only in Davis" moments, officials of the Davis Joint Unified School District have stepped in to cancel Emerson Junior High School's production of a stage version of Charles Dickens' 1843 classic, "A Christmas Carol."  The reason:  that ugly word "Christmas."  Students in the play were informed of the decision at Monday's [10/8/2012] rehearsal.

There is Really No War on Chistmas is There?  The religious clauses of the First Amendment and Christmas displays on public property coexisted with little conflict for many years, until a few disgruntled secularists discovered they could get the masses to bow to their selfish whims, if only they complained enough.  If the central theme of Christianity is to turn the other cheek, the parallel theme for the FFRF is never to resist the opportunity for ridicule and mockery.

Steyn mocks Western world's 'war on Christmas'.  The war on Christmas has taken many forms, from substituting words in Christmas carols to banning expressions of the holiday, like nativity scenes and Christmas trees.  National Review columnist Mark Steyn thinks this assault on Christmas is not only "nuts," but that it demonstrates the Western world's "institutional self-loathing."

It's Called 'Christmas,' Stupid.  It's a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree.  It has always been a Christmas tree and those afraid to mouth the word "Christmas" just appear foolish.

California atheists block out nativity scenes.  In Santa Monica, California, there is apparently one particular stretch of road alongside a park which has traditionally been set aside for Christmas displays.  The nativity scenes on display have been popular with residents and tourists.  But in order to be fair to everyone, the city used a lottery to allocate space to groups wishing to put up Creche displays and related scenes.  Now, a group of atheists are accused of swamping the lottery and taking over the lots.

Merry Christmas.  The latest front in the war on Christmas is found in the piney woods of east Texas.  Recently, a group of local volunteers in Athens, Texas placed a donated nativity scene on the far corner of the courthouse square.  They have done this every year for the past 10 years with no complaints from the residents.  This year, a group of out-of-towners, not from Athens, not even from Texas, but from a thousand miles away in Wisconsin, have self-righteously objected to the nativity scene in Athens.

The Editor says...
 "Self-righteously", indeed.  Nobody is more self-righteous than an atheist, at any time of year.

Americans still prefer 'Merry Christmas' over 'Happy Holidays'.  For many, it's an annual December conundrum — greet people with the traditional "Merry Christmas" or the secular "Happy Holidays"?  It's a small decision with seemingly oversized cultural significance, coming amid pressure to "keep Christ in Christmas" while also remaining inclusive of people who don't celebrate the Christian holiday.

Atheist group threatens to sue if city fails to put up anti-religion sign.  Giving the Grinch a run for his money this year, an attorney — acting on behalf of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and local atheist complainant Douglas Marshall — has sent a letter to the mayor of Warren, Mich., threatening legal action against the city unless the mayor allows an "equal time" anti-religion sign next to a nativity scene in the city hall lobby.

U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Pays Homage to Obama — But Not Jesus.  The 63-foot Sierra White Fir lighted at the U.S. Capitol Grounds on Dec. 6 as the official 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree includes a prominently displayed ornament paying homage to President Barack Obama, but includes no ornament readily visible to a person standing near the tree's base that uses the word "Christmas," or includes an image of the Nativity, or bears the name or image of Jesus Christ.  On the north side of the tree — at a height of about 4 feet and easily visible to people standing near it — there is an ornament that says:  "I ♥ President Obama."

House members want to say 'Merry Christmas'.  Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., and Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., are collecting signatures for a letter they plan to send to House leadership asking that they rescind the Franking Commission rule that bans lawmakers from addressing their constituents with "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah."

Saugus school head yields, allows Santa in schools.  He reversed his decision later in the day after an outcry from firefighters and citizens who say Santa is a secular symbol.

TX Attorney General Tells Atheists: "Don't Mess With Texas".  The Texas Attorney General has offered to defend a Texas county under attack by a group of Wisconsin atheists who are demanding that a Nativity located on the lawn of the Henderson County courthouse be torn down.  "Our message to the atheists is don't mess with Texas and our Nativity scenes or the Ten Commandments," Attorney General Greg Abbott told Fox News & Commentary.  "I want the Freedom From Religion Foundation to know that our office has a history of defending religious displays in this state."

"I can't wait to see what those courageous atheists come up with for Ramadan."
 Even Christians taking Christ out of Christmas.  Christmas in America is a season of time-honored traditions — the sacred performance of the annual ACLU lawsuit over the presence of an insufficiently secular "holiday" tree; the ritual provocations of the atheist displays licensed by pitifully appeasing municipalities to sit between the menorah and the giant Frosty the Snowman...

Congressmen can't say 'Merry Christmas' in mail.  Looks like the PC police have threatened members of the House of Representatives against wishing constituents a "Merry Christmas," if they want to do so in a mailing paid for with tax dollars.  Members who submit official mailings for review by the congressional franking commission that reviews all congressional mail to determine if it can be "franked," or paid for with tax dollars, are being told that no holiday greetings, including "Merry Christmas," can be sent in official mail.

Attorney: 'Silent Night' is Unconstitutional.  A group of five, six and seven-year old children will be able to sing 'Silent Night' in their Christmas program after Alabama school officials decided to ignore a complaint filed by a group that called the song "unconstitutional."  The news came as a relief to students and teachers at G.W. Trenholm Primary School in Tuscumbia, AL after they found themselves thrust into the war on Christmas.

Stop Secularist Scrooges in Our Schools.  Public school officials are saying "Humbug!" to students who voluntarily celebrate Christmas at school, illegally depriving children of their freedom.  Candy canes, gift-giving, poinsettias, and now even Santa have been banned because of their connection to a holiday with Christian roots.  This is "secularist" (in other words, anti-religious) discrimination.

Atheists Continue War on Christmas.  For a number of Americans, the Christmas season is a time for joy and love, but for others, it's an opportunity to stage a war against Christianity.  The latest battle entails a blasphemous nativity scene from a group of atheists, which they have defended as a response to counteract the Christian "War on the Constitution."  Wisconsin is once again at the center of a major dispute, this time because Governor Scott Walker made the mistake of referring to the "holiday" spruce as a "Christmas tree."  That prompted the Freedom from Religion Foundation to call Walker "a Teabagger governor wearing religion on his sleeves."

Texas Town Braces for Battle With Atheists Over Nativity Scene.  Driving through the tiny rural town of Athens, Texas, and you'd be hard pressed to find something that might catch national attention — or so it was until about a week ago.  An hour and a half outside of Dallas, the Athens town square is dominated by the county courthouse, and this time of year, Christmas decorations are on each corner.  But it is the nativity scene across the street from the Taco Bell that has caused controversy.

Atheist displays displace Nativity scenes in Calif. park.  Atheist groups have snapped up all but three of the 21 spaces in Santa Monica's Palisades Park that Christian groups have used for almost 60 years for annual Nativity scenes, the Santa Monica Press reports.  The 14 displays, featuring life-size figures, that normally appear along the length of Ocean Avenue are confined to three spaces this year because of a random lottery system set up to more fairly allocate the space.

U.S. Post Office Bans Christmas Carolers.  A group of Christmas carolers was thrown out of a U.S. Post Office in Silver Spring, MD, after the post office manager told them they were not allowed to sing Christmas carols on government property.  A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service confirmed the incident occurred Saturday [12/10/2011] at a branch office in the Aspen Hill Shopping Center.  A trio of carolers walked into the building dressed in attire reminiscent of Charles Dickens and began singing.

Eric Bolling Boots Atheist Off His Show For 'Denigrating The Name Of Jesus Christ'.  A Wisconsin based group of Atheists called the Freedom From Religion Foundation have asked a town in Texas to take down a nativity scene that is set up on public property.  Last night, a spokesman for that atheist group Dan Barker appeared on Fox Business Network's Follow the Money, and engaged in a spirited discussion over religion, Christmas and Jesus Christ with host Eric Bolling, which ultimately led to Barker's abrupt dismissal from the show.  It was a "War on Christmas" miracle!

Town Vows to Defend Nativity "Until Hell Freezes Over".  A group of east Texas pastors has decided enough is enough — declaring their intentions to to fight back against Wisconsin atheists who are demanding that a Nativity located on the lawn of the Henderson County courthouse be torn down.  "It's time that Americans stand up and take America back for the faith that we were founded upon," said Nathan Lorick, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Malakoff.  "We're going to stand up and fight for this."

Only after political pressure exceeded safe limits...
 Gov. Patrick agrees it's a Christmas tree.  Gov. Deval Patrick capitulated over the controversy surrounding today's tree lighting ceremony in the State House agreeing it's not a "holiday tree" but a Christmas tree.  Talking to reporters this afternoon in his office — adorned with poinsettias, ivy and a wreath — Patrick embraced the Dec. 25 holiday.

Texans stand up in defense of nativity scene.  Henderson County, Texas has a population of more than 78 thousand people.  The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has a nationwide membership of 17 thousand people.  For over three decades local groups have displayed a nativity scene at the Henderson County Courthouse without incident, but this year something has changed.  Madison, Wisconsin based FFRF has chosen the nativity display in East Texas as one of its prime targets in this year's war on Christmas.  The extremist group with has been linked to George Soros is used to getting its own way by intimidating spineless politicians and bureaucrats, but this time they are up against County Commissioner Joe Hall.

School Bans Poinsettias, Santa?  Controversy is embroiling a California town over allegations that elementary school teachers have been told they cannot display poinsettias or Santa Claus in their classroom over fears that it might offend people.  "District office would like to remind everyone when displaying holiday decorations in and around school to be mindful no association to any religious affiliation i.e. Santa, poinsettias, Christmas trees, etc," read a document obtained by News 10 in Sacramento that was reportedly sent to teachers at Claudia Landeen Elementary School in Stockton, CA.

How Walgreens Stole Christmas, and Got Off Looking Like Snow White:  In the Walgreens flyer the Sunday before Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the company highlighted "Holiday Gift Wrap" and "Holiday Stockings," among other items.  One conservative organization called for a boycott of Walgreens, and counted 36 uses of the term "Holiday" and no mentions of "Christmas."

Skeleton Santa display removed by citizen.  The display in question may have been spotted on the way in to Historic Downtown Leesburg where a skeleton Santa is on a crucifix, but it was later torn down by a vandal around noon on Dec. 5.  According to Rick Wingrove, president of the Virginia Chapter of American Atheists, the skeleton Santa was dismantled by a woman as a Loudoun County Sheriff's deputy watched.

RI Gov. Defends 'Holiday' Tree in Statehouse.  Rhode Island's governor said Tuesday that lawmakers upset with his decision to call the blue spruce erected in the Statehouse a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree" should focus their energy on feeding the poor.

Fort Worth Bans Santa From Classrooms.  Students and parents in Forth Worth, TX are outraged after the school district declared that Christmas celebrations — including visits from Santa Claus would no longer be allowed during the school day.  The Fort Worth Independent School District also banned students exchanging Christmas gifts after they determined that public schools could no longer "endorse or sponsor any religious activity or doctrine."

Backpedaling:
 In Fort Worth, Santa Claus can go to school but not to class.  Santa Claus may not be allowed in the classrooms of the Fort Worth school district, but administrators want the public to know that he's not banned from schools.  "Fort Worth ISD loves Santa Claus and continues to support his universal message of generosity and kindness," officials said in a statement posted on the school district's website Friday morning [12/2/2011].

Report: N.Y. second-grade teacher tells students there is no Santa Claus.  A New York elementary school teacher is the subject of some Christmas controversy this week after she apparently told her 7-year-old students there is no Santa Claus, according to a report on LoHud.com.  During a discussion of the North Pole, the second-grade geography teacher, who was not named in the report, apparently told the children their holiday presents were purchased by their parents, not Santa, the report said.

As the Muslim population grows, you'll see more of this:
 Radical Muslim Cleric: Christmas the Pathway to Hell.  Radical Muslim Cleric Anjem Choudary, most infamous for saying Shariah law will take over America, is calling the day celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ the "pathway to hell."

Obama Couldn't Wait: His New Christmas Tree Tax.  President Obama's Agriculture Department today [11/8/2011] announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees — the Christmas Tree Tax — to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

Blowback for Obama on Christmas Tree "Tax".  Starting today [11/9/2011], the government is imposing a 15-cent fee on most fresh-cut Christmas trees, but before critics compare President Obama to the Grinch, officials want to explain this is a growers' arrangement to boost tree sales.  And they insist it is not a "tax."

Less than three hours later...
 Obama Administration to Delay New 15-Cent Christmas Tree 'Fee'.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation and revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News.  The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009, was first announced in the Federal Registry yesterday [11/8/2011] and has generated criticism of President Obama from conservative media outlets.

Nine days later...
 Christmas Tree Tax Officially Dropped.  A few weeks ago I brought you the not-so-merry news that President Obama was going to impose a 15 cent tax on all fresh cut Christmas trees in order to pay for a big, fancy government advertising campaign about... Christmas trees.  Well, today [11/18/2011] there is good news, Obama has officially nixed the Christmas Tree tax plan.

The Editor says...
 The writer of the article immediately above had written another piece nine days earlier on the same subject, so the claim that it was "a few weeks ago" is an exaggeration.

Sanity Continues Losing Ground in the School Culture Wars.  The Hillsboro, Oregon school board just held a vote on what to call the time off school around Christmas and New Years.  It had traditionally been called "Christmas Break."  But new calendars, produced by school staff, changed it to "Winter Break."  The school board voted 4-3 to call it "Christmas Break."  From OregonLive.com:  "[School board member] Janeen Sollman said winter break 'respects everyone in the community.  This isn't about religion, it boils down to respect.'  Later, Hillsboro Education Association president Kathy Newman sided with Sollman and reminded the school board that equity is among its goals and 'the district calendar should reflect that.'"

Top 10 Assaults on Christmas.  [#1] Federal Reserve examiners forced a small-bank in Perkins, Okla., to remove various religious symbols from its lobby.  The feds deemed that a Bible verse of the day, buttons that said "Merry Christmas, God With Us," and crosses on the teller's counter were inappropriate and violated national banking regulations.

Nevada High School Stirs Controversy Over Ban on Christmas Greetings, Decorations.  There is controversy and confusion in the town of Mesquite, Nev., after teachers and staff members at the local high school were told to stop saying, "Merry Christmas," according to an attorney with a conservative advocacy group.

Yes, Virginia — you can say 'Merry Christmas'.  I happen to be Jewish.  And I've lived most of my life in New York City, where, on the whole, contrary to rumor, people of every faith, language and hue do a pretty good job of getting along.  Not once, ever, publicly or privately, have I heard anyone — Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Cherokee, atheist or Aqua Buddhist — say he or she was insulted by a sincere holiday greeting that included the word Christmas.

Obama's "Christian Label" and the War against Nativity Scenes.  'Tis the season to be litigious.  In Pittsburgh, Staten Island, Brookville, Ind., and Jackson, Miss., Nativity scenes have been challenged, sometimes removed, then (in Pittsburgh) eventually replaced.  The manger scene has become such a potent symbol in the "war over Christmas" that its revolutionary meaning is being lost — even by some who "embrace the Christian label," as news articles said of President Obama this week.

'Tis the Season to Be Politically Correct.  Yes, I know it's old news now.  Frosty the Snowman nixed as a white "male icon" that helps "to substantiate an ideology upholding a gendered spatial/social system."  NPR's Nina Totenberg apologizing for uttering the word "Christmas" (think of all she had to apologize for and she picks Christmas!).  The preposterous, pre-fabricated holiday of "Kwanzaa."  The greeting "Merry Christmas" banned at sundry companies and municipalities throughout the domain formerly known as Christendom.  All in a day's work for those wishing to target Christianity in the name of political correctness.

The Red Cross bans Christmas.  Christmas has been banned by the Red Cross from its 430 fund-raising shops.  Staff have been ordered to take down decorations and to remove any other signs of the Christian festival because they could offend Moslems.

Naturally...
 Muslim body slates 'excessive' Christmas.  Indonesia's top Islamic body said on Thursday [12/23/2010] that Christmas decorations in malls, amusement centres and public places were "excessive and provocative" in the Muslim-majority country.

More about The Religion of the Easily Offended.

Christmas Without Christ.  2,000 years ago, there was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn in Bethlehem.  Fittingly enough, in the past two years, there was no room for their baby at the network evening news shows.  Every year, millions of Americans celebrate the most important Christian holiday by reflecting upon the significance of the birth of Christ.  Families attend church, count blessings and exchange gifts, and yet the evening news broadcasts for ABC, CBS and NBC almost completely ignored these religious traditions by leaving Christ and God out of Christmas.

In other Christmas-related news...
 Government's Not-So-Jolly Intervention in Christmas Tree Industry.  The "Christmas Tree Checkoff Task Force," [is] a select group of natural Christmas tree producers and importers who are so troubled by "increased competition" and "changing consumer habits" in the Christmas tree market that they've asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a "Christmas Tree Promotion, Research and Information Order."  The order would create a "Christmas Tree Promotion Board" to promote the sales of natural Christmas trees.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
 Feds Force Oklahoma Bank To Remove Crosses, Bible Verse.  A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won't let it keep religious signs and symbols on display.  Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of regulations.  The examiners came to Perkins last week.  And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller's counter and buttons that say "Merry Christmas, God With Us." were inappropriate.  The Bible verse of the day on the bank's Internet site also had to be taken down.

Federal Reserve Orders Private Bank to Remove Crosses and Bible Verse.  While the Injustice Department is suing an Illinois school district on behalf of a Muslim teacher and a federal judge has issued an injunction against an Oklahoma measure prohibiting the use of Sharia law in court decisions, a private business in the Sooner State no longer seems to have First Amendment rights.  Outrageously, the Federal Reserve has ordered the small Payne County Bank in Perkins, OK to remove religious symbols and sentiments in deference to an anti-discrimination regulation.

Republicans rip the Fed after examiner tells Oklahoma bank to hide religious items.  The Federal Reserve quickly withdrew an order to an Oklahoma bank to remove religious items from public view on Friday [12/17/2010] after two Republicans blasted the action as an "assault on faith."  Sen. James Inhofe and Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma sent a pointed letter to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday asking him whether he stood by a Federal Reserve examiner who told Payne County Bank officials to remove the religious references from their business.  The Fed examiner told the bank the religious items could discourage a person from seeking an application.

'Grinch List' Highlights Businesses That Won't Recognize Christmas.  A Dallas Church has launched a Web site that alerts holiday shoppers to area stores and businesses that refuse to use the phrase "Merry Christmas" this holiday season.  The First Baptist Church of Dallas launched GrinchAlert.com as a protest against retailers using what it views as politically correct, generic holiday language and displays during the Christmas season.

University Silences Christmas Bells.  The clock tower at Southern Illinois University has played Christmas carols for nearly 15 years.  But this year, someone complained — and that led university officials to briefly silence the holiday tradition until they could add a more diverse selection of music.  "We got a complaint about not being inclusive in the music," university chancellor Rita Cheng told Fox News Radio.

Is Hollywood mounting a war on Christmas?  It's hard to know how much is cultural, how much is financial and how much is cyclical.  But whatever the reason, there isn't a single Christmas movie on studios' calendar this December.

Chase orders Southlake bank to remove Christmas tree.  Chase Bank told a businessman to remove the Christmas tree he donated to a local branch because it could offend people.  Antonio Morales, owner of Bellagio Day Spa in Southlake, had assembled and decorated a 9-foot-tall tree in the lobby of the Chase Bank branch at 1700 E. Southlake Boulevard as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients.

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.

This is an original compilation, Copyright © 2013 by Andrew K. Dart


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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Updated December 28, 2012.

©2013 by Andrew K. Dart