The blowback against the “war on Christmas” is a worthy fight.
Liberals’ pettiness over creches in front of town halls is public
square pluralism at its cheapest. Instead of permitting the
discussion and celebration of all faiths, the fake pluralists ban
them all, or at least the Christian symbols, as John Gibson details
in his new book The War on Christmas. Conservatives have
fought back valiantly for the right to celebrate Christmas in
public, but some efforts are growing absurd. I have in mind those
that are targeting businesses that don’t wish patrons “Merry
Christmas” in their greetings or advertising. In a culture that has
fully commercialized and secularized Christmas, this is a silly
effort.
Bill O’Reilly campaigns against “Happy Holidays” transgressors,
identifying them on his blog. The Catholic League sent an email
press release last week, outraged that Lands’ End omits “Christmas”
in its Christmas catalogs. The Liberty Counsel, a religious freedom
non-profit affiliated with Rev. Jerry Falwell, is also on the watch
for “stores that refuse to recognize Christmas.” Similar efforts to
hector private businesses into honoring Christmas are afoot.
The “Merry Christmas” nags seem disingenuous. They are quite
selective in defending Christian tradition from business
disrespect. Where have they been over the years as more and more
businesses opened their doors on Sunday? In the Washington, D.C.
area, two bank chains proudly advertise their Sunday
availability.
Retailer affronts to Christ’s Mass are much more egregious than
wishing shoppers “Happy Holy-days.” Safeway plays Christmas music
as early as the week before Thanksgiving. Some retailers decorate
their stores for Christmas in early November and strip them before
the 12 days of Christmas are even concluded. Saccharine secular
Christmas songs pollute the radio the day after Thanksgiving. Where
is the Christian indignation over such widespread secularization of
Christmas and Advent traditions? Its absence suggests the “Happy
Holidays” outrage is more faux fodder for the talk show yell fests
than part of an overall respect for the true meaning of
Christmas.
Business regard for Christmas matters, but in so far as it
indicates our cultural disregard for the true spirit of Christmas.
On a Fox News panel last weekend, columnist Cal Thomas noted the
strange character of this campaign, “I don’t care what the culture
does; they don’t mean it anyway. They’re trying to exploit
Christmas to make money.” Thomas is right. It has to come to this:
the culture warriors are targeting the engines of commercialism in
defense of a religious holiday.
Their ire is misplaced. Listening to O’Reilly, you’d think the
sacredness of Christmas hinges on retail advertising. In his
December 3 Creators Syndicate column, O’Reilly wrote, “Frankly, the executives who
have banished Christmas from their advertising are insane. By doing
that, they are offending tens of millions of traditional Americans
who respect the Christmas season and want it called exactly what it
is — Christmas.” As evidence, O’Reilly cited polls reporting that
85 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians.
Elsewhere, it’s been reported that 95 percent will celebrate
Christmas. Contrary to O’Reilly’s prediction, Wal-Mart reported Monday that it is maintaining its 2-4
percent growth prediction for the month of December. Perhaps most
Christians don’t care if businesses explicitly honor the holiday
for which they’re purchasing gifts.
Those who mostly celebrate Christmas through commercialism would
find this retail trend disturbing. That may be why the issue has
such traction: Americans are realizing that “Merry Christmas” is a
last remnant of a Christian age that solemnly prepared for the
coming of Christ and joyfully marked His arrival. Many American
Christians acquiesced long ago in Christmas’s conversion to a
secular, commercial holiday. In many homes, Christmas begins the
day after Thanksgiving and ends December 26. Santa Claus (whose
costume, as my priest pointed out Sunday, is a bare shadow of the
bishop’s garb of St. Nicholas of Myra) takes preeminence over the
Christ child. The Christmas tree, a symbol of God’s eternal
presence, is hauled to the curb well before the Epiphany, or even
the traditional end of the Christmas season in February.
Let Christians lead the way in renewing the proper observance of
Advent and Christmas. Traditionally, Advent is a period of
expectation and some fasting. It is properly practiced through
prayer, being watchful, and readying oneself for the coming of
Christ. Ephraem, a fourth-century Syrian saint, said of the meaning
of Advent, “Though the Lord has established the signs of the
coming, the time of their fulfillment has not been plainly
revealed. These signs have come and gone with a multiplicity of
change; more than that, they are still present. The final coming is
like the first.” If Bill O’Reilly and his allies are truly
concerned about American respect for Christmas, they’d do well to
consider how American Christians embrace its spirit and traditions,
not just its name.
