Christmas is Kicking Ass in the War on Christmas

[Redfairen]

The plane landed before dawn on a late November morning, the temperature hovering around freezing. A hired driver assured me that he could navigate an airport road pocked with giant potholes, ferry me safely into Manhattan, and take me past Rockefeller Center before dropping me at my hotel. The towering symbol wasn't yet on display. But subsequent news reports confirmed its arrival, and Christmas pilgrims from all over the country began to visit: In the heart of New York, workmen uncontroversially erected a 76-foot Christmas tree, decorating it with 45,000 lights and framing the sight line from Fifth Avenue with angels.

The tree-lighting ceremony, held in early December, included remarks by Michael Bloomberg, the city's Jewish mayor, who called the Christmas tree "one of New York City’s most beloved and iconic landmarks." Entertainers at the tree-lighting ceremony included global celebrities Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Jewel. Millions watched the event, which aired on NBC, one of America's oldest and most watched broadcast networks. 

Of course, Christmas trees aren't the most religious of the many holiday symbols, so on my visit, I asked New Yorkers on the street if they could recommend any activities to a religiously inclined Christian visiting the city during December. One noted that the Oratorio Society of New York has been performing Messiah, George Frideric Handel's extended reflection on Jesus Christ, since 1874. "May they reign—along with the newer Trinity Wall Street 'Messiah'—for ever and ever," the New York Times wrote in its 2013 review. Most people recommended that I visit one of the numerous Christian churches in New York, many of which display nativity scenes. Thirteen different options were suggested to me in the course of an hour spent chatting up passersby.

The opposition's counteroffensive: Having already secured a ban on nativity scenes in NYC public schools, a small faction of atheists paid for a billboard in Times Square that says, "Who Needs Christ During Christmas?" Zero politicians showed up to celebrate its unveiling, along with zero entertainers and zero broadcast networks. Meanwhile, in shopping districts throughout the city, an army of retail workers busied themselves erecting Christmas displays and covering floor space in the distinct colors of the holiday. A couple days later, when I departed from Grand Central Station (itself the site of a large Christmas tree) I hadn't any worries about my Christian friends who'd remain through the New Year. If a War on Christmas was being waged in New York, Christmas was winning. 

http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/christmas-is-kicking-ass-in-the-war-on-christmas/282515/

[Aristus]

1. Far from reassuring the 'War On Christmas' blowhards, I expect

it will simply stand in opposition to their cult of perpetual grievance.

[Bassist Donna]

2. War on Christmas...an oxymoron if I heard one.

I finally had enough of people complaining about those who use the greeting, "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." A Facebook acquaintance posted that the more generic "Happy Holidays" was invented by atheists who want to "take over" Christmas.

I barely knew where to begin. I wrote that the celebration of Yule, or the Winter Solstice, predates Christmas by centuries. If any faction "took over" any holiday, it was the Christians making the winter solstice into a Christian holiday. (The historical Jesus was actually thought to have been born in the spring or early summer.) For me, it kinda turns the "reason for the season" thing on its head.

But even aside from all of that, I maintained that "Happy Holidays" was actually being used to wish peace and happiness of the season to everyone of all beliefs. I don't care a whit if someone wishes me a Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Happy Kwanza, Season's Greetings, or even Happy Hanukkah (though I'm not Jewish). The thought behind the wish is what really matters. That person is wishing me peace and happiness in a season that regardless of beliefs is a wonderful time to gather with friends and family in peace and joy.

Why can't people simply take all greetings and good wishes received with the spirit in which they're given? If anyone is threatening the "kill" Christmas, it would be those who insist that the season be celebrated their way. The War on Christmas is a violent notion that has no place in a peaceful, loving and joyous time of the year.