Fighting For Christmas

Christmas is NOT a four-letter word.

But in the same way that people find acceptable words to substitute for offensive language, people have been substituting "Holiday" for "Christmas," and it's not right.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, who wrote the excellent book, America's Real War, had a column November 23 in WorldNetDaily, entitled, "Merry Christmas is not offensive!"

Rabbi Lapin is Jewish. He is not a Christian. And he is not offended by the existence of Christmas. Here's how he opened his column:

Well, December is nearly here, which means the dreaded "C word" is upon us. Put politely, "the holiday season" is nearly here. We shall all hear those "Happy Hanukkahs" and "Happy holidays," but rarely a "Merry Christmas." Secular fundamentalism has successfully injected into American culture the notion that the word "Christmas" is deeply offensive. I think we Jews may be making a grievous mistake in allowing them to banish Christmas without challenge.

And here's how he ended it:

As an Orthodox rabbi with an unquenchable passion for teaching Torah and devoting myself to the long-term interests of Judaism and America's Jewish community, I believe we Jews must turn our backs on the secularism that will sink us all. An act of friendship would be welcome. Let us all go out of our way to wish our many wonderful Christian friends – a very merry Christmas. Just remember, America's Bible belt is our safety belt.

Don't forget to read the middle.

At work, they're encouraging attendance at the annual "Holiday Party." And the email they sent out asking for support for Toys for Tots started with these statements: "Here's your chance to share the holiday spirit with local children in need by donating unwrapped toys. The Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program has been a holiday tradition since 1947."

And what holiday might that be?

Congress (at least the House of Representatives) is finally coming around. Speaker Dennis Hastert has renamed the Capitol Holiday Tree as the Capitol Christmas Tree. It's been called a Holiday Tree since the late 1990s.

"To rename a Christmas tree as a holiday tree is as offensive as renaming a Jewish menorah a candlestick," [president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, Mathew] Staver said.

We talked about this, including the various stores that have instructed their employees to say "Happy Holidays," in our Bible Study class on Sunday. Our teacher had a good suggestion.

When you go into a store to do your Christmas shopping, ask to speak to the manager (a checkout clerk can't be counted on to relay the message). Ask the manager if the store's employees are wishing people "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays."

If it's the holiday greeting, then let the manager know how disappointed you are. "Oh, that's too bad. I don't want to buy holiday gifts. I'm doing my Christmas shopping." Then leave the store.

Our teacher expects to do most of his Christmas shopping this year at little boutique shops that wish him "Merry Christmas," rather than at the big stores who are afraid of December's "C word." I may be doing the same.