The Word is "CHRISTMAS" Say it with me....

This culture is so unbelievably idiotic I'm not sure I can take it anymore, thus today is my long-overdue rant.

People, the word you are looking for is "Christmas". Really. It is a Christian holiday which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, our savior. Thus the name "Christian" ie: one who follows Jesus in the belief that he is the Messiah fortold in the Old Testament. The very Son of God, 2nd person of the Trinity. And the word "Christmas"; this is the joining of two words, "Christ" and "Mass". Which is what we Catholics do on that holy day...we go to MASS to celebrate the birth of CHRIST.

Yes, we are aware that December 25th is not Jesus' actual birthday, because we don't really know what time of year he was born. Yes, we realize that pagan religions celebrate the Winter Solstice or "Yule" somewhere around December 21 or 22. Yes, we realize that originally, wreaths were a pagan symbol, but we have commandeered it and redefined the meaning as a representation of our own beliefs in eternity, everlasting life, resurrection, etc., etc.

We also realize that while we have celebrated Christmas on December 25 for centuries, that some joker decided to invent another holidy sometime in the 1960's, but I have actually never met anyone who truely celebrates Kwaanza...they tend to be more focused on their Savior as opposed to their culture, which they celebrate around the calender.

People take note...it is not necessary to avoid saying the word "Christmas" for fear of offending people who don't celebrate it. Such logic is in fact, not logic at all and only caters to the lowest common denominator: that being the small percentage of Atheists who are money-mongering greed hounds only looking to get their sour faces splashed across history, because without that, they believe they will not exist when they die. So they employ the ACLU (Anti-Christian Liberties Union) to bully everyone into submission...all so they can have a photo in a newspaper somewhere.

Most atheists and agnostics probably couldn't care less that Christians celebrate Christmas, and likely just smile on our beliefs with a certain air of enlightened superiority, much as a parent will smile at a child who still believes that fairies dance in circles in the back yard duirng the spring. Or some other childhood fancy. Offended by our beliefs? No, because as far as most of them are concerned, "to each their own."

And then you have other religions that popular thought apparently has tried and condemned of the very intolerance of the misguided souls making these strange decisions. They have determined that Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, pagans, neo-pagans, etc., might be offended that the word "Christmas" is used.

What idiocy!

If we Christians were NOT celebrating our beliefs, all of the above listed religions and all others would likely think us quite strange. For what is the point of having a faith if we are not going to celebrate it joyfully and publicly? By not proclaiming our joy at the birth of our Savior, not only are we avoiding doing what Jesus himself told us to do (Go and make disciples of all nations), but we are behaving as though this holy day is something to be ashamed of. Not exactly any kind of testimony to the other religions out there who DO celebrate their faiths and would like to continue to do so.

Muslims are not offended that Christians in America celebrate their beliefs. Jews are known to encourage people to know their own beliefs and to embrace and celebrate them. Buddhists and Hindus just want to be left alone to practice what they believe, whether within our without the public eye. Pagans and Neo-Pagans just want to be left alone as well and tend towards relativism - "do what you will". (That last is a Wiccan precept).

If people are offended that Christians would dare to publicly celebrate their beliefs, this is not indicative of a problem with Christianity...it is a problem with those who have chosen to be offended and further indicative of a problem with narcissism. "I don't like it...thus I am going to destroy everyone else's joy to bring them to my level, thus I will be superior."

Give me a freakin' break.

The news media, the newspapers, businesses, etc., are being so careful to avoid using the word "Christmas" it's actually painful. And I don't think it's my imagination, but even the news anchors seem to be a little strained and have let a few references to "Christmas" slip through. I hope they get to keep their jobs in spite of the "offense" they "might have caused".

Throughout the news in the last couple days have been references to "holidays" with clear contextual references to Christmas alone, not to New Year's. Holiday Lights. Give me a break. The only people putting up lights are people who consider themselves Christian in some way. Thus they are "Christmas Lights". It's perfectly ok to call them that. "Holiday Lights" is a meaningless, inane term which says nothing but "that guy over there might sue me or beat me with a club if I make any reference to Christ".

Holiday shopping. Get real. The stores are not marketing to people who do not celebrate Christmas...they are marketing to the main population of the United States, because THE MAJORITY celebrate Christmas and are shopping for gifts for their loved ones. Let's call it what it is; CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.

If someone who does not celebrate Christmas happens to go to the store, they are not being forced to purchase gifts or observe our Holy Day. They can feel free to disregard the hoopla, and you know what? We Christians don't care, either. We do not expect people who don't share our beliefs to celebrate with us, although they are certainly welcome to do so. If that person is offended, that's their problem.

What's amazing is that this careful avoidance of actual reference to the Holy Day Christians celebrate is not carried over to the other holidays of the year, but I can name a few that perhaps should be modified, if we use the dominant lack of logic that dictates public policy:

* Valentine's Day. Perhaps we should change the name or subdue the marketing because this holiday can be extremely difficult for those who may be widowed, or too young to understand what romantic love is, or diabetics who can't have all the sugary treats peppered throughout the stores and sitting out in candy dishes. Or what about singles? Perhaps singles will be offended by such "in your face" focus on happy couples because maybe they are ugly or misfits or will never find their true love. So let's be sure that they are taken into consideration. Or what about those who are unhappily married, seperated, or divorced? Doesn't Valentine's Day just rub salt in the wound? How awful that we dare to celebrate such a day.



* July 4- Independence Day: Yup. With all the patriotic and nationalistic red, white, and blue, flags waving, children's faces painted, fireworks, etc., this holidy should be squashed, too. It might be offensive to immigrants who are unhappy with our current immigration system and their sympathizers. Or offensive to Democrats...for obvious reasons. Or it might be offensive to people who were in wars in the past and suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder...those fireworks could send them sailing in fear! Or what about people who are just visiting the United States? Perhaps our celebrations are an affront to their own national pride, and we can't take the chance of offending tourists, can we?

* Labor Day. Oh, yeah. What an offense against the people on Disability who can't work, or people who have chosen to live in welfare? (Yes, I'm serious) Or what about people who have been laid off, or fired? How DARE we celebrate and honor workers?


* Veteren's Day. Oy, what a holiday that calls the Dems to task! Can't offend the Dems! And those who were rejected from military service for some reason and never had the opportunity to follow their grandfather's footsteps into Veteranhood. We can't offend those people, either. Or those who don't know anyone in the military services. Doesn't this holidy just leave them out on the fringes? We must have holidays that can include everyone.


What IDIOCY! Yet this is the dominant thought in our culture, and we expose the ridiculousness of it when comparing what they do to Christmas to other holidays. There is a clear double-standard here which applies only to Christians and our celebrations.

So let's stop being a bunch of wusses, lift up our heads, our hearts, and our voices, and proclaim from the rooftops that we are celebrating the very birth of Jesus Christ and take the world to task! We have been COMMANDED to Go, and make disciples of all nations, and we are failing miserably because a few bullies have claimed that people they know nothing about may be offended at the expression of our joy in the birth of Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not come to bring peace and goodwill without effort, and in fact, he was quite a revolutionary. He ticked off a lot of people...and died a horrible death because if it. If we are going to allow ourselves to be beaten into submission over a few legal threats, then we don't deserve to call ourslves "followers of Christ." Let's get a backbone and remember what December 25th is really about, and stop being so hesitant to announce it to the world!