2010 archive

J. R. Labbe in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Proclaiming one’s faith through an uttered “Merry Christmas” — or becoming angry at the restaurant manager who doesn’t — isn’t the way to display our humble faithfulness to the mission our Father gave us — to love our neighbors.

Living out that faith — putting our muscle and minds and money into tackling hunger and poverty and homelessness — is what keeps Christ in Christmas.

She goes on to suggest that, once Christmas became a national, that is, secular holiday, secular influences were inevitable, and suggests renaming the national holiday (Festivus, anyone?) and leaving the religious holiday to the religious.

I congratulate her for a rational view, but I suspect that trying to engineer away the phony war on Christmas would be pointless.

Those who promote it care not for facts, only for faction.

‘Twere better to ignore them.

Some years ago, I was making the rounds of my office saying farewell to my coworkers before leaving for vacation over Christmas.

I said to one fellow, who happened to be jealous, “Merry Christmas!”

The Director (who was one of the worst bosses I ever knew–fortunately, he wasn’t my boss) said, “You can’t say that to S.; he’s Jewish!”

S. got a hurt look on his face and said plaintively, “Aren’t I allowed?”

Jamie Katz writes in the Chicago Tribune (I suggest reading the whole column for context):

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.

Of course, if you’re aware that someone celebrates a different tradition, it’s nice to acknowledge that too. And if you have no idea whether he or she prefers Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Omisoka, you can always say, “Happy Festivus for the rest of us!” or even “Happy holidays!” It’s not that bad.

But just as Americans of every stripe acknowledge English as the common tongue, we all know that a hefty majority of us profess Christianity in one form or another. As long as we are free to do otherwise, where’s the problem? Sane adults understand that a cheerful greeting is not an intolerant decree.

The phony war on Christmas has nothing to do with Christmas.

It is a strategy to foster hate in the name of the God of love, a strategy embraced by those who fear and loathe anyone who they think is different from them.