The War on Christmas is what many people have labeled the fairly recent phenomenon of actively attempting to strip Christ from Christmas. Over the past few years, there has been any obvious shift, yet many people claim that this is the stuff of paranoid Christian minds and that this “war” is non-existent.
While you might not see it as a war, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion, no one can honestly say that things haven’t changed. Last year, some retailers even went so far as to forbid their employees from saying Merry Christmas. Their advertising schemes included the words “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” but Merry Christmases were few and far between.
The irony here is that these retailers make huge profits during the holidays, especially Christmas, yet they want to remove what makes this time of year special. They want us to buy lots of gifts, decorations, wrapping paper, treats, and these are what kind of items? Christmas items, but hey, don’t you dare say Christmas out loud.
I’m certainly not offended by the casual use of other holiday greetings, and have often used them myself, but I am offended when it’s a conscious effort to exclude the Reason for the Season. I’m not talking about mandating the word Christmas, but those who believe in it are certainly entitled to only buy “Christmas presents” from retailers who are willing to acknowledge the very reason for celebration and for their huge profits.
Perhaps retailers should give more weight to the feelings of the largest percentage of their holiday customers instead of opting for politically correct language (just a friendly suggestion). Wal-Mart has apparently lifted the ban on Christmas greetings, so I’m assuming the whole PC holiday thing didn’t work out very well for them last year.
I’m still trying to understand the logic… We don’t want anyone who doesn’t believe in God to be traumatized by receiving warm wishes for happiness on a national holiday, so let’s just erase Christ from Christmas. Who cares if we offend the largest majority of people in the nation, who also happen to be the people who celebrate Christmas, the ones who buy the majority of gifts and other items and are -not coincidentally- responsible for the obscene profits. Yeah, that really makes sense. Is anybody else tired of this PC nonsense?
For the record, I don’t say Merry Christmas to offend people or in some twisted attempt to force religion on anybody. I say it because it’s what I’ve always said, it makes sense since that is the name of the holiday and always has been in my lifetime. Secondly, I say it because I truly hope everyone has a wonderful, happy season, and I want to extend that wish to people. “Happy Whatever” seems to lack warmth, but maybe it’s just me.
What do you think about the War on Christmas?
Other Christmas Issues:
Charge it! Cheerful Giving or Buyer’s Remorse?
Enlisting Help for the Holidays