Here we are in December.\u00a0 Christmas is right around the corner – the trees are decorated, the lights are strung, and the carols are playing.\u00a0 And if it is December, we are again hearing false claims of a \u201cwar on Christmas.\u201d \u00a0Put bluntly, it is a ludicrous notion.\u00a0 There is not a single person in our great and free country that is not able to celebrate Christmas (or any of the other seasonal holidays).\u00a0 Every family in the country is free to gather in their homes and churches, pray however they desire, sing carols at home or in the community, exchange gifts in their own traditions, etc.\u00a0 And they can even wish each other a \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d if they wish.<\/p>\n
Some claim there is a ban on saying \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d and that is what they cite as evidence of a war on Christmas.\u00a0 First, nobody is \u201cbanned\u201d from saying Merry Christmas.\u00a0 There are certain special environments with diverse audiences such as public schools wherein the better course of action is often to use the phrase \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d rather than \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d to avoid ostracizing children who may not observe Christmas.\u00a0 The intent is to be respectful of all members of society, not as a limitation on Christmas.\u00a0 It is an incredibly small imposition, if even one at all.\u00a0 Are we to believe this one attempt at consideration infringes on anyone\u2019s ability to celebrate Christmas in their own way?\u00a0 Well, there is always parochial school\u2026 \u00a0Remember, members of the public are all free to say, \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d or any other holiday greeting as they see fit.<\/p>\n
As someone who does not celebrate Christmas, it does not bother me in a store, restaurant, etc., when someone, intending to be kind, wishes me a Merry Christmas.\u00a0 There is nothing offensive or wrong about it just like there is nothing wrong if someone chooses to say, \u201cHappy Holidays,\u201d or offer some other seasonal greeting.\u00a0 When you do not know the people with whom you are interacting, \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d may be safer as more of a catch-all.\u00a0 The crucial thing is that these people, regardless of which greeting they offer, are intending to be friendly, kind, and in the spirit of the season.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it wonderful, especially in these divisive times, that someone was just trying to be considerate and nice?\u00a0 Let\u2019s accept it in that positive spirit and not read ulterior motives into simple greetings.\u00a0 If someone chooses to wish you \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d instead of \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d does that truly hurt your ability to worship and celebrate the holiday?\u00a0 Of course not.<\/p>\n
As a national holiday Christmas is indeed a special time of year, but especially so for those who celebrate the religious holiday.\u00a0 The religious meaning and original intent of Christmas seems overshadowed by the focus on sales, vacations, government closures, office parties, etc.\u00a0 Therefore, ironically, the closest thing to a war on Christmas comes from those who purport to celebrate it.\u00a0 The worst attack comes from the over commercialization and focus on material things that seems to transcend the more spiritual basis of the holiday.\u00a0 Christmas has become so much about gifts, fancy parties, and even extreme lighting competitions.\u00a0 To be fair, there are wonderful people and organizations out there ensuring disadvantaged families have a nice meal for Christmas.\u00a0 They demonstrate the true meaning of Christmas and religion generally.<\/p>\n
For those who celebrate a holiday other than Christmas, most communities attempt to be inclusive with displays acknowledging all the seasonal holidays.\u00a0 Civic and municipal displays should acknowledge multiple faiths because they represent diverse communities and all members of our society deserve fair respect.\u00a0 That in no way detracts from Christmas.\u00a0 Religious institutions, private entities of all kinds, and individuals are free to do as they please.\u00a0 So where is this war on Christmas?\u00a0 Every where I go I see displays ranging from Christmas trees, lights on facades, nativity scenes and all kinds of things commonly associated with Christmas.\u00a0 Does the occasional Hanukah or Kwanza display really lessen the Christmas holiday for those maintaining a more religious observance?\u00a0 Surely not, especially as the overwhelming percentage of displays, etc., are for Christmas.\u00a0 After all, we do live a free society.\u00a0 Nothing about these other holidays that occur during the same season detracts from Christmas or families\u2019 ability to celebrate and worship as they please.<\/p>\n
There is no war on Christmas.\u00a0 Nobody is prevented from practicing their faith.\u00a0 However, the converse must also be true.\u00a0 Nobody should be forced to celebrate a holiday or faith not their own and not consistent with their own belief systems.\u00a0 While all people have the right to celebrate Christmas, all people have the right not to celebrate Christmas.\u00a0 The choice is theirs.\u00a0 If we respect each other and traditions, we are fulfilling our great traditions and freedom, not to mention the Constitution.\u00a0 Merry Christmas to all, may everyone enjoy a special time of year with family and friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here we are in December.\u00a0 Christmas is right around the corner – the trees are decorated, the lights are strung, and the carols are playing.\u00a0 And if it is December, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[117,316],"class_list":["post-217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-freedom","tag-war-on-christmas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whoobazoo.com\/thebooth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}