Atlanta, GA – You don’t have to like it. You might be an
atheist that believes in neither God nor Santa Claus. You might be a part of
the roughly 8% of Americans, according to Gallup, who will not be celebrating
Christmas this year. You might be one of those of who gets offended when
somebody says Merry Christmas, or ho ho, ho, but, you can’t deny, its Christmas
time again, and more than a third of the world celebrates it as a holiday.
The war over Christmas has been raging for two thousand
years, ever since it’s first protractor, Herod, tried to nip it in the bud
by mass infanticide. Fortunately the antics of the anti-Christmas crowd have
mellowed since those days, now relegated to Starbucks, (if they are indeed anti-Christmas),
only coloring their cups red rather than saying Merry Christmas, Buick calling
it a “Holiday Sale,” and a large school in Italy canceling their Christmas
Concert because it might offend Muslims.
Christians and others who simply enjoy the greatest holiday
ever have fought back in various ways. At Starbucks they have retaliated by
telling the people at the counter their name is “Merry Christmas,” so that when
their order is ready, the server will be forced to call out “Merry Christmas”
for all coffee lovers to hear. In Italy, at that school of a 1,000 or so
students, where the principle canceled the Christmas Concert, renamed it
“Winterval,” and planned it for January, so as not to offend any of the 250
students who aren’t Christians, the Catholic Church and the prime minister of
Italy lambasted the principle, who resigned in shame, as even the
non-Christians of the school complained, saying they liked Christmas.
Of course, Christmas in America does have its proponents in
the mainstream. Ted Cruz, who sent out an email to supporters to remind them
that he feels "real Americans" don’t care about offending people, and so they should say
“Merry Christmas.” And there is Wal Mart, where every aisle, it seems, greets
you with a massive placard crying “Merry Christmas!”
In past years, Americans have made strides in various places
against possible hate speech, attempting to defend those who love Christmas
from those who get offended because a baby was born to save their eternal soul
from hell. In Texas, a few years ago, a law was passed protecting anyone who
says Merry Christmas from discrimination.
There are those who say that there is a war on Christmas.
That may be true, as a friend of mine tells me her boss has ordered her not to
say “Merry Christmas” because someone might get offended. She has to instead
say “Happy Holidays,” like the people wouldn’t know what holiday she might be
implying. But it would seem really that there is a war on sanity. If you curl up
into a ball and cry because you see a nativity scene, or if Santa, while giving
you free gifts, says “Merry Christmas,” you post on twitter that he’s a hater,
you have problems. If you are such a person, I believe there are still mental
hospitals alive and well across this country. You should really check one out.
Merry Christmas everybody.
Andrew C. Abbott
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