The war on Christmas

The first time I read these words, I laughed. The next few hundred times they popped up I cried. Then I started getting mad at everybody, and honestly I'm sick it all. The idea that there is a war on Christmas is absolutely ridiculous, and most people who claim that there is are using a sensationalistic phrase to grab attention. I don't know anybody who begrudges Christians celebrating a holy day. I think it's rude and presumptive though to assume that everybody celebrates Christmas or even that everyone has a holiday in the month of December. This isn't war, it's etiquette, but apparently that no longer has a place in our world.

I don't think that holiday religious decorations belong on government buildings. As much as I love the tinsel and twinkle lights decorations put up on the streetlights in my hometown, I'm concerned about any government entity in our country recognizing one religion over another, even though it's my religion. Though those lights make me smile inside, if they make another person feel as if they don't belong or if they're not seen as American as somebody else, there's something wrong there. The way I was raised honoring one of the central principles of our Constitution, the separation of church and state, was considered patriotism

I get sick of Christmas decorations going all over the place before Halloween decorations come down. Too many Christmas carols on the radio, and I get nauseous. Some groups have turned Christmas into a three ring circus, and that offends me. If I see one more nativity scene with Frosty the Snowman, Santa, elves and reindeer in attendance, I might get sick. There's nothing wrong with the secular celebration of Christmas, but y'all, please, Frosty isn't sacred. If you're going to honor the original Christmas story with decorations, grant it respect and integrity. All of this minimizes the importance of the holiday, and that is the exact opposite effect it is supposed to have.

At the same time, I'm sick of some people outside of my religion acting as if everybody within Christianity is just waiting to forcibly convert them, make them swear allegiance to Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, decorate an evergreen and spend thousands of dollars on presents only at stores where the clerks say Merry Christmas. Apparently some people believe that Christians just come out of a cookie cutter mold. I've heard it enough that it sometimes makes me want to just concede the individuality my Creator gave me and line up with the politically conservative faction of Christianity. It might be easier than holding true to the beliefs encouraged to me by Bible study and prayer.

I don't want to think that there are people out there who are planning on sucking the joy out of a holiday. I just can't wrap my mind around that, but I can and will state that we disrespect the holiday when we take it for granted or use it as tool for a political, commercial or personal agenda. That may be the real war on Christmas, and if that's the case, I and millions of other people need to look twice at what we're doing.