The Alleged "War on Christmas"

Much is made around this time of year about the "War on Christmas." This supposed "war" has been taking place for many years now. It started many years ago with "the enemy" using the abbreviation of "X-mas" in an effort to "Take Christ out of Christmas." I'm not going to repeat work that's already been done for me...go read this link that pretty much completely debunks that "battle":

"X-mas" Abbreviation myth debunked

The next great "battle" waged against X-mas was the "forcing people to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". Again, I will not re-invent the wheel....

Home Depot "bans" the word Christmas from its website...debunked.
Target "bans" use of word "Christmas"...debunked!

A recent iteration of this particular "battle" I will return to in great detail later in this post.

Let's turn to the latest "battle" in the "War on Christmas." Obstructionist members of Congress are now bemoaning that having to actually do some sort of work in this last two weeks before Christmas is somehow sacrilegious and/or an affront to the "most holy" of Christian Holidays. My first thought when I heard this was "wow, do these idiots not smell the stench of the crap that's falling out of their mouths??"

But I can't just leave it at that, can I? Of course not! There's just way too much hypocrisy to shove back down their throats. So let's make a detailed list of just how hypocritical such a statement is:

1. And I put this as number 1 for a reason, though the rest of the list will be somewhat random in order: Dear Congress: Are you aware that the vast majority of working people in this country have to work right up until Friday, December 24th, and will return to work on Monday, December 27th, if not sooner? And there are even people who have to work on the actual day of Christmas itself? If their jobs are that important, what in God's name makes you think yours isn't??? And while you're at it, go ahead and whine to the tens of thousands of men and women in our armed forces who will be thousands of miles away from their loved ones on Christmas...and working to boot! Go ahead...I DARE YOU! And let's not forget about the 10% of this country's population who wish they had a job that forced them to work right up to Christmas!
2. "We can't run a piece of legislation with such importance to National Security (START Treaty) through Congress in a few days without full deliberations." Uhm...yeah...The Prez signed that treaty in June. You've had six months to review it, send your questions to the White House, and have every one of them answered.
3. "We can't pass a Trillion-dollar Omnibus bill filled with Pork in a few days time without full deliberations." Oh...you mean that Omnibus bill that was a bi-partisan effort and has a really large chunk of Pork requested by you in it??
4. Where was your concern for working up until Christmas over the past year while you were using every foot-dragging tactic you could dream up to keep from having to do any work, or take any responsibility, for doing the job you were elected to do?
5. A quick glance at this Timeline search on Google shows that it is not unusual for Congress to work up until the 22nd or 23rd of December: Congressional Christmas Adjournment Timeline Search. *checks calendar* Oh...yeah...today's the 17th!!!!!

Okay, I think that's enough rubbing of their noses in the crap falling out of their mouths. Now let's turn to what's really got under my skin recently about the so-called "War on Christmas." And I will say up-front it will probably make people who have "said" these words grind their teeth...and perhaps never speak to me again. I'm ok with that.

Anyone who uses FaceBook on a regular (or even semi-regular) basis knows that it's really popular to post cut-and-paste status messages. While I generally hold a dim view of such status messages (see my previous post A Nation of Lemmings), I am particularly irked by this one, for different reasons:

We Can't say MERRY CHRISTMAS anymore, We Now Say HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! We Can't call it a CHRISTMAS TREE, We Now Call It a HOLIDAY TREE, Because it might offend someone! They call it CUSTOMS, We Call it TRADITIONS. This is OUR COUNTRY! If U Wanna Live & Work here have Some RESPECT! If U Don't like it, TOO BAD! GO HOME! If you agree with this, PLEASE post as your status. OH, By the way.☆※◦MERRY CHRISTMAS!!


First of all...yes you CAN. You can say "Merry Christmas." You can call it a "Christmas Tree. You see, we have this thing in this country called the First Amendment that gives you the right to say just about anything you want to say. Including "Merry Christmas." So the basic premise of this statement is just patently false.


Secondly, the back half of this post should completely offend your sensibilities as an American. I am going to completely skip the whole customs vs. traditions statement as it makes no damn sense whatsoever!  I am, however,  going to address every statement of the back half of this blurb, one by one.

1. "This is OUR COUNTRY!" Yes...it is. OUR country. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc, etc, etc. This country has spent well over 200 years growing as a Melting Pot of people of all faiths, nationalities, and races from all over the world. Every "faction" of people who have come to this country has had influence on what we have become. For a Christian to claim it as "our country" is so offensive to me that I literally have to rinse the bad taste of it out of my mouth. Oh...and btw...I was born, raised, and still consider myself...a Christian!
2. "If you wanna live & work here have some RESPECT". For what? Someone who insists that I kowtow to the concept of a country that they "OWN"???
3. "If you don't like it, TOO BAD! GO HOME!" Really? You're telling all the non-Christians who live in this country to "go home"? Even though their families...just like yours...may have been here for 3, 4 and 5 generations? This IS their home...just as much as it is yours!
4. "If you agree with this (blah blah blah)": after reading points 1, 2, and 3...Congratulations! You're a self-righteous, sanctimonious, hypocritical...LEMMING!!!

Lastly, may I point out my reason for saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"? It's simple. There are multiple religions who have holy celebrations during the month of December. Just like most of you, I am sure, I have friends of many different beliefs. Christians: yes. Hindus: yes. Muslims: yes. Buddhists: yes. Sikhs: yes. Jews: yes. To me, it's not a matter of "offending" them by saying "Merry Christmas." It's a matter of wanting to include them, no matter what their particular belief may be, in the wonderful feeling that the celebration of one's beliefs can bring...by saying "Happy Holidays."

Merry Christmas,
Kirk