3 years ago I wrote that the “War on Christmas” was a load of crap. Guess what? I was right then and I’m right now. And here’s why:
Christmas is everywhere. There used to be 3 TV specials for Christmas- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Charlie Brown Christmas. I lost count how many there were right year, but I’m betting it’s more than the 40 I counted in 2013. There were several big Christmas albums released this year including offerings from Pentatonix and Garth Brooks and Trishia Yearwood, and they all contained mentions of baby Jesus. Every mall has a Santa, usually complete with a workshop full of elves and presents. Signs counting down the number of days until Christmas can be found everywhere from banks to fast food joints. There is plenty of Christmas all around and it’s only getting bigger every year.
“But that’s not the kind of Christmas I’m talking about” I hear you saying. “I’m talking about when I was a kid and Christmas was all about the birth of the Christ Child. Everyone said Merry Christmas- none of this PC Happy Holidays crap”. There are two fatal flaws with that line of reasoning:
#1 “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” are both long standing greetings that have been around and used by everyone for many decades without anyone taking offence. Take a look at any collection of vintage/ antique Christmas cards. Plenty of them say something other than “Merry Christmas” on them and had pictures of something other than a baby in a manger on them and yet were still sent by and enjoyed by Christians every year without incident.
Or, perhaps you’d rather consider the many beloved Christmas carols- all of them 70 plus years old if they’re a day- that make zero mention of the words Christmas, Jesus Christ, or even Santa Claus. Ones I’ve heard in the past week include “Deck the Halls”, “Sleigh Ride”, “Winter Wonderland”,” Jingle Bells”, “There’s No Place like Home for the Holidays”, and “(May the Calendar Keep Bringing) Happy Holidays To You”. I’m sure you can think of many more off the top of your head.
#2 Not everyone is a Christian and therefore not everyone celebrates Christmas. We are compelled by law as well as common decency to allow folks of all faiths to worship as they choose.
You can choose to support mission/ outreach campaigns with your time and dollars. You can choose to invite friends and neighbors to worship with you or join you in another church activity. You can choose to consider how your actions demonstrate your faith and behave accordingly.
Or, you can choose to be offended by someone taking the time to wish you a Happy Holiday. You can choose to make a big stink over your child getting time off for “Winter Vacation”. You can choose to make sure your loved ones have all the expensive gadgets and toys they asked Santa for even if you have to shove other shoppers out of the way to do it and then wonder what’s happened to Christmas.
Christmas is STILL just fine. The war’s over and we won.
#1 “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” are both long standing greetings that have been around and used by everyone for many decades without anyone taking offence. Take a look at any collection of vintage/ antique Christmas cards. Plenty of them say something other than “Merry Christmas” on them and had pictures of something other than a baby in a manger on them and yet were still sent by and enjoyed by Christians every year without incident.
Or, perhaps you’d rather consider the many beloved Christmas carols- all of them 70 plus years old if they’re a day- that make zero mention of the words Christmas, Jesus Christ, or even Santa Claus. Ones I’ve heard in the past week include “Deck the Halls”, “Sleigh Ride”, “Winter Wonderland”,” Jingle Bells”, “There’s No Place like Home for the Holidays”, and “(May the Calendar Keep Bringing) Happy Holidays To You”. I’m sure you can think of many more off the top of your head.
#2 Not everyone is a Christian and therefore not everyone celebrates Christmas. We are compelled by law as well as common decency to allow folks of all faiths to worship as they choose.
You can choose to support mission/ outreach campaigns with your time and dollars. You can choose to invite friends and neighbors to worship with you or join you in another church activity. You can choose to consider how your actions demonstrate your faith and behave accordingly.
Or, you can choose to be offended by someone taking the time to wish you a Happy Holiday. You can choose to make a big stink over your child getting time off for “Winter Vacation”. You can choose to make sure your loved ones have all the expensive gadgets and toys they asked Santa for even if you have to shove other shoppers out of the way to do it and then wonder what’s happened to Christmas.
Christmas is STILL just fine. The war’s over and we won.