Anyone know if there is actually a War on Christmas?

[jasmeel]

It seems to be just an invention of Fox news. I don't know of any liberal mvmt to stop the use of the word Christmas on school campuses etc... I am wondering if there's any way to prove this. For ex is there a place where one can determine if there are pending/recent lawsuits against schools, workplaces for using the word Christmas at work? I haven't heard anything other than what i hear indirectly from Fox news.. Anyone know?

[jasmeel]

1. I have checked things on snopes.com and they ALWAYS

state that these lawsuits against schools by the ACLU etc are made up. Snopes is all I've got so far...

[brendan120678]

2. Don't know...but some people want to pretend there is.

Here's an article from my local paper.

Ho-ho-no: Waterbury principal says no Santa Claus

BY MICHAEL PUFFER | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY — In the weeks leading up to Walsh Elementary School's Dec. 21 "winter celebration," staff will carefully avoid religious and secular symbols of Christmas such as Santa Claus and Christmas trees.

Walsh Principal Erik Brown has banned Christmas parties in classrooms and many decorations since arriving at the school five years ago. These, he said, can offend some students, who would be forced to leave while celebrations are ongoing.

"It is a state law that a public school can't knowingly exclude children," Brown said. "This is not a church. It's a school and it's a public school. I have to do things that include every child. So what we do is celebrate winter."

This struck a sour chord with Board of Education member Paul D'Angelo, who said he's received complaints from one teacher and one parent. He's requested School Superintendent David L. Snead to send a message to all staff that Christmas celebrations are allowed.

If Snead doesn't respond accordingly, D'Angelo says he'll ask the Board of Education to adopt a policy forbidding principals from stopping holiday celebrations.

"There seems to be a war specifically targeted against those of the Christian faith," D'Angelo said. "There's not much we can do about it in the world. But I can do whatever I can as a school board member to make sure it doesn't infest our schools."

- Excerpt. More here: http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2009/12/03/news/local/453024.txt

[mbperrin]

6. So in other words, the school board is overruling an underling who

decided Christmas was out. Seems like the war is over.

[Jennicut]

9. Ah, Waterbury. My husband works there for CL&P.

I think the Winter Celebrations seem good enough and doesn't Waterbury have more important issues to solve?

[brendan120678]

16. You'd think so. (nt)

[Pyrzqxgl]

12. Celebrate Winter: bring an ice cube to school

[BrklynLiberal]

13. ROTFLMAO!!!!!

[MineralMan]

18. What I did, way back in the 60s was ask the school Snow Queen

for a date. She turned me down...cold.

[Jennicut]

3. I am a liberal and still celebrating Christmas. I think some idiots out there

just need to their choice of religion constantly validated by every store, commercial, tv program, etc. Pathetic, really.

[JuniperLea]

11. Even when the symbols of their festivities were co-opted from Paganism...

I always find it funny when I see my Fundy cousins arguing about the use of Christmas trees in public decorations.

[Jennicut]

34. Yup, it was all taken from Pagan traditions.

They need to do some research some time!

[Viking12]

39. How about a "Keep Christ in Christmas" sign next to a manger scene where Santa looks over baby Jesu

Actual display in my neighborhood. And 'they' say irony is dead :evilgrin: O8)

[JuniperLea]

41. I saw dolphins pulling Santa around in Huntington Beach...

[hootinholler]

42. Do you live in Littlestown Pa?

I saw a sign exactly like that and cracked up. I'll try to get a photo if I'm back that way before it gets taken down.

Maybe it's available from some printer?

-Hoot

[Viking12]

45. Northeast WI. Apparently, religious dimetia is a nationwide phenomenon.

[mbperrin]

4. Same crap they've been pedaling for years.

Some teacher here was claiming you couldn't so much as say Merry Christmas inside the school. This in spite of the 10' tall decorated tree in the main hallway about 20 feet from where we sign in every morning.

Go figure.

[lapfog_1]

5. You can't see 'em

but the secular humanists are fighting a ongoing battle against Christmas. They're everywhere!

:sarcasm:

[JuniperLea]

7. Good question...

I've not seen one. I've seen a lot of compromise in this area where the Pagan symbols used by various religions were all included in celebratory decorations. Seems to me the Pagans should be the group to be pissed... but I'll keep my Tree of Life anyway:)

[dgibby]

36. Beautiful! n/t

[onehandle]

8. Some DUers would want one.

Luckily, they are about as relevant as teabaggers.

[Occam Bandage]

10. Yes. There is.

Have you ever wondered why NORAD tracks Santa every year? Maybe you should ask yourself who's in control of our nation's arsenal of missiles now. Or what's going to happen when our first Muslim, non-Christmas-celebrating President sees an unidentified aircraft invading US airspace late on Christmas Eve.

Or maybe you should ask yourself why this nation passed smoking bans all of a sudden. Could it be for the same reason food nannies are trying to ban junk food--to try to outlaw a certain fat pipe-smoker? Is this all part of the liberal plot to legislate Santa Claus out of existence?

[BrklynLiberal]

15. Aha!!! You have made some VERY valid points there!!!

So all this war on Christmas crap is NOT just an attempt by some RW/Neocon/ fundies to distract the unsuspecting public from more important and meaningful issues?

[MisterP]

14. no: every damn thing that conservatives complain about since the 50s has been synthetic

Soviet global domination, Rios Montt's benevolence, the actor President, birth certificates, the global-warming hoax, hippie treason and patricide, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, Ollie North's mujahedeen and Contra slideshow, the Soviet atomic threat, yada yada

[LeftHander]

17. shhhhh....not so loud...operation "grinch" is under way...nt

[MineralMan]

19. This year, I'm putting god back in the holiday...by

saying "God Jul!" to everyone, with a Norwegian accent. I celebrate Jul.

[alterfurz]

20. Hell Yeah!

Time to wish everybody a Happy Chrismahanukwanzahkah!

[StarfarerBill]

21. Nope; just Faux Spew's war on reality.

[Posteritatis]

22. There is, but it's been a statemate since III Reindeer Corps stopped the Marines at Devon Island. nt

[Lorien]

23. The GOP can't exist without an enemy, or without being able to promote

itself as the "underdog". Of course there isn't a "war on Christmas". they just get upset because most of us prefer the term "Holidays" (Holy days) because it's inclusive. They HATE it when there's any mention of beliefs outside of their own. It's not a lack of recognition of Christmas that they're upset about (it's promoted relentlessly to all of us) it's the fact that some people might want to include Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other Holy day as well.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

24. MAKE THEM SO FAR UNDER THAT THEY HAVE NO POWER

[smoogatz]

25. If we told you,

we'd have to kill you. There are some things the general public's better off not knowing.

[Individualist]

26. It's the product of conservatives' obsession with the persecution complex.

[Romulox]

27. Yes there is, and you won't believe what they're trying to do this year!

They're trying to take a holiday that's about family, humility, and thanks giving, and turn it into a consumerist orgy! :wow:

[FLyellowdog]

31. Too late! It's already been done. nt

[central scrutinizer]

28. I fired my shot yesterday

Went to a U-cut Christmas tree farm where they had a sign saying. "Keep Christ in Christmas". So I wrote the check to "Johnson's Xmas Trees"

[jasmeel]

30. nice (n/t)

[TrogL]

29. Mostly the singing

oh, and all that pagan stuff like decorating trees, mistletoe, lights...

[jmondine]

32. Yes there is, and it all started with Bing Crosby

This whole "War on Christmas" idea started with the observation that many retailers had replaced the phrase, "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" in order to include those horrible people who dare to recognize other religions. The nerve!

This insidious phrase , "Happy Holidays" first gained popularity in the song and movie, "Holiday Inn" starring Bing Crosby. Since then, it's spread like a virus, until it threatens our very sense of entitlement!

It was Bing! Bing Crosby is Anti-Christmas!

[Froward69]

33. mistletoe is just the beginning of

loosening "moral standards". yet the right hangs it up routinely.

[dgibby]

35. It's a figment of Bill O's imagination. n/t

[Viking12]

37. Didn't you get the memo? This year's call to arms was sent out with the recently updated Gay Agenda

[kestrel91316]

38. Yes, there is. The RW says so. And emails exist. So a conspiracy is a given.

[HopeHoops]

40. I'm mounting a gun turret to the top of my minivan so I can take out inflated decorations.

I'm going for the syndicated ones first, then I'll double back and nail the generic Santa and snowman inflatables.

BWAAAA-HAAA-HAA-HAAAA!

[pipi_k]

43. I had my eye on an inflatable Bart Simpson on someone's lawn the other day...

but he looked so pathetic flopping around in the breeze that I let him live.

[NMMNG]

44. It's all bullshit concocted by O'Lielly and AFA

The only "war" is their attempt to force everyone to kowtow to their religion and holiday and ignore the fact that there are numerous other holidays between November 1 and January 1, and that not everyone is a Christian.

[TexasObserver]

46. Only in the minds of rightwing assholes.

They're at war with anyone who doesn't embrace their "it's my God or the highway" view of the holiday season.

Fuck them and the dogma they rode in on.