The Christmas season is upon us once again, and just as it's been for many Christmases now, some people just can't celebrate and make merry knowing that there are heathens out there who dare to acknowledge other holidays at this time of year. This alleged "War on Christmas," claim pundits, is part of an atheist effort to purge all traces of Christianity from public life and is represented by seemingly innocuous things like store clerks wishing customers "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." This dastardly secular plot has even crawled up to the highest levels of the US government, with President Barack Obama supposedly calling the White House Christmas Tree a "Holiday Tree" instead. Oh, the horror!
Well, first off, the rumor that President Obama is calling it a "Holiday Tree" is completely false. It was a lie in 2009, a lie in 2010, a lie last year, and it's still a lie. It's nonsense brought to us by the same hysterical pundits who want you to think the Commander-in-Chief is simultaneously a Muslim and an atheist. No idea how that's supposed to work, but hey. I guess since "we don't like him because he's black" wouldn't play well in this day and age, this sort of outrage-mongering is what they've stooped to. But even if President Obama did call the tree in the White House by a different name, or even if he didn't put up a tree or celebrate Christmas at all, why should that matter to anyone? To be fair, there are atheists and atheist groups out there who take things way too far by insisting on, for instance, removal of crosses from gravesites; I'm glad to know that there are many atheists who believe as I do that this sort of act is wrong and unnecessary regardless of one's beliefs.
To quote a forum post I made last year about the so-called "War on Christmas:"
If any Christian is honestly offended when someone wishes them "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas," I think the problem is with that Christian, not the other person.As the classic carol goes, "'tis the season to be jolly." It's not the season to get offended and bothered by what other people are doing this time of year.
Besides, there are a lot of other holidays being celebrated this time of year -- therefore, saying "Happy Holidays" is basically saying "Merry Christmas," "Happy Hannukah," "Happy Solstice," and all the other holidays of the season all at once. People who say "Happy Holidays" aren't ignoring Christmas; they're acknowledging it along with all the other holidays being celebrated. Besides, Christmas itself arose from a Christian appropriation of a pagan winter holiday called Saturnalia, and most traditions that we now associate with Christmas are actually pagan in origin. Many Christians, in fact, don't believe that Jesus was actually born on December 25th; and some celebrate Christmas at another time of year because of that. There are also some who don't celebrate Christmas in the typical way because of the pagan origins of many of its traditions, yet I don't hear any pundits complaining about those Christians.
In any case, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all! No matter what traditions you practice at this time of year, enjoy them and don't be bothered by what other people are doing to celebrate the season.
~ Toru771
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