Should Christmas be Shelved?
Monday, December 22, 2008 @1:49pm CST


For some, the greeting “Merry Christmas” is offensive as month old eggnog and promotes a myth that has spawned wars, racism and commercial greed.

Even the virgin birth of Jesus is no longer sacrosanct in many Christian circles with some scholars believing Mary was more likely raped by a Roman soldier than the untainted recipient of an immaculate conception.

Has the miracle of Christmas become obsolete in modern day America? Should Christmas trees be reinvented as “Holiday Trees”? Should Christmas greetings be politely rephrased as we move to be a more inclusive society so as to avoid offending anyone?

To that I would say, “Bah Humbug!”

Christmas has been a federal holiday since 1870, when Republican President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law. According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 84% of Republicans still support Christmas with over half of all Democrats joining them.

In the poll, 67% of respondents preferred signs that proclaim “Merry Christmas” to the phrase “Happy Holidays” — considered by some to be a generic rewrap of Christmas.

In 2005, the hardware retailer Lowe’s advertized “Fresh Cut Holiday Trees” on store signs throughout their chain, but underneath in Spanish the signs read “árboles de Navidad” (Christmas Trees).

Maybe Lowe’s figured they could slip that one by anyone that wasn’t Latino, but after receiving complaints from customers of every color, hue and political party, they recognized that they figured wrong and discarded “Holiday” and reinstated “Christmas.”

Californians weren’t so lucky in 2002 when they failed to pass a law to rename the state “Holiday Tree” to the merrier “California State Christmas Tree.”

While attempts to sterilize Xmas with political correctness and Scrooge the rest of us out of a Christian holiday have been effective, retailers like Lowe’s are increasingly getting the message that offending the majority can cost them cash.

Of course, it is understandable why one minority group in particular might find Christmas objectionable. Some religious Jews blame the baby Jesus for highjacking Hanukkah, possibly forgetting that Christ is the most famous Jew in all of history.

To be consistent, anyone other than Jews who find Christmas offensive should find the Tooth Fairy to be just as objectionable. After all, if it’s just make-believe why should one tall story sting more than another?

Nevertheless, to greet friends with a cheerful “Happy Holidays” is a wonderful message, but we shouldn’t permanently trade-in “Merry Christmas” in exchange.

Christmas is here to stay.

Alas, there will always be some that will overreact to Christmas. Maybe, just maybe, they fear that aspects of the Christmas fable are actually fact.

I suspect some don’t want to be reminded they are in denial or admit they have a knee-jerk reaction to anything that smacks of “organized religion.”

It is interesting to note that many who find organized Christianity offensive still teach their small children that Santa Claus keeps a naughty & nice list and then will come down the chimney bearing gifts to reward their little ones for good behavior.

For them, here’s a reminder — the real Santa Claus was and is a follower of the babe born in Bethlehem.

Saint Nicholas of Myra was a 4th-century Bishop in what is now modern-day Turkey. He was known for gift giving and for providing dowries for women to rescue them from lives of prostitution. Nicholas’ Christian example has since been memorialized as the fantastic fable for children.

When I found out who my personal Santa Claus really was, I immediately responded to my mom that I had wondered why the toy company Mattel was stamped into my plastic machine gun. Maybe Santa was subbing out the elves?

Nevertheless, that revelation didn’t spoil the fun of Christmas.

Even though I wasn’t raised in a Christian family, I still enjoyed being driven around to see the Christmas lights, decorating the Christmas tree with an angel, singing Christmas songs about the baby Jesus lying in a manger, and the ultimate childhood experience of opening Christmas presents.

For most of us, the Christmas season was a time for family and friends to get together, a time to get our cheeks pinched by various relatives, and a time to empty our piggy-banks and learn how to sacrifice for others. After all, isn’t sacrifice what Christmas ended up being all about?

Sunday I visited South Pointe church. Trace Michaels, the popular radio personality turned pastor, preached a sermon on the sacrifice of the one who Christmas is named after.

Michaels asked us to consider a world without Jesus. He commented that there would be no Harvard or Yale, and added that there wouldn’t even be the three universities in Abilene, because they all began as Christian institutions of higher learning.

There would be no Hendrick Medical Center, which was originally the West Texas Baptist Sanitarium. There would be no Red Cross, no Salvation Army, and the list went on. All of these great institutions came about due to the great personal sacrifice of those impacted by Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

Michaels added that he was going to make it a point to stop before opening any Christmas presents and give thanks to Jesus for what he did. He asked us to consider stopping to recognize Jesus’ sacrifice as the ultimate gift before opening any of our gifts as well.

As for that concept, I can’t think of anything else to add but this…Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


CORRECTION: Don Wilson, the pastor of First Christian Church in Abilene, preached the sermon mentioning what the world would be without Jesus. Trace Michaels ended his Sunday sermon about giving thanks to Christ before opening his gifts. Two great sermons in one day melded into my mind as one. Please forgive my late night goof.


Lance Hunter Voorhees is a political columnist and former radio co-host of “A.M. Big Country.” Feel free to email Lance@TheLanceReports.comor visit his Blog at www.TheLanceReports.com © 2008 Lance Hunter Voorhees