Let Christians Enjoy Christmas

December 4, 2002

Oh, the Christmas season is here.   Andy Williams was right.   It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.   I love the music, the parties, the memories of my childhood and the building of memories for my boys.   It’s a magical time of year but not for everyone.   There are some who don’t celebrate Christmas.

That fact was never more apparent than when we lived in Philadelphia.   We moved into a Jewish neighborhood.   That may sound anachronistic but segregated neighborhoods are still very much a reality in the Philadelphia area only we didn’t know proper real estate etiquette.   We saw a house we loved and we bought it.   We’re glad we did.   It was a great experience for us all.

 

We were the only Christians on our street.   Needless to say, our Christmas decorations screamed ‘gentile.’   Our neighbors couldn’t have been nicer.   We didn’t change a thing about how we celebrated our Christian holidays and no one expected us to.   Neighbors brought our kids gifts for Christmas and Easter and we, in turn, learned about Jewish holidays and traditions, attending the Passover Seder with friends.   We were very respectful of their religion and they were respectful of ours.

One of my Jewish colleagues at work so adored the Christmas tradition that she decorated a tree each year and surrounded it with presents.   She also clued me in on another Jewish tradition.   She and her friends always spent Christmas day eating at Chinese restaurants and going to movies, the only businesses open that day.

No one got uptight or offended by Christmas, even with the area’s large Jewish population.   It was either a part of your culture or it wasn’t.   Nowadays, the politically correct feel violated by Christmas because of its omnipresent nature this time of year.   Even PC Christians are somehow afraid of offending someone by their public display of Christmas.

I read a recent review in a Dallas newspaper of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular .   The critic was offended when, midway through the show, a live Nativity scene appeared on stage and a narrator told the story of Christmas.   He wrote: “ But to lure spectators of all faiths [and non-faiths] with the promise of an entertaining holiday revue, and then to ambush them with Christian theology, is dated and borderline offensive, especially at a time when understanding of other cultures and beliefs is more important than ever.”   It’s a ‘ Christmas Spectacular’ you idiot!  

He goes on to whine that the “creators are wrong to assume that Jews, Muslims and other non-Christians don't have the same right to holiday fluff that Christians do.”   What!?!   A right to holiday fluff?  

This guy’s not alone.   More and more people are claiming to take offense to Christmas to a point where they want to ban the White House Christmas tree and end the practice of taking Christmas Day off as an official holiday.   Christmas parties have now become Holiday parties.   Christmas holiday at school is now Winter Break.   It has gotten ridiculous.

Look, I love Nat King Cole singing The Christmas Song .   I love Santa Claus and reindeer and watching The Grinch every year.   I love reading my Bible and learning more about the true meaning of Christmas and attending Christmas services at my church.   I love excited kids and mysterious presents.   I love the smell of Christmas trees and unpacking my favorite ornaments each year.   I love everything about this time of year.   You don’t have to love Christmas, too.   If you don’t, that’s fine, but please be considerate enough not to screw it up for the rest of us.