The single biggest threat to Christmas — Hanukkah, of course — is coming to a close today.
But Focus on the Family’s war against religious holidays other than Christmas is still going strong.
Focus pundit Carrie Gordon Earll applauds efforts to commercialize Christmas — provided that retailers of cheap foreign-sweatshop goods withhold recognition of the season’s other religious holidays. Earll said yesterday:
And so it’s a little silly for the retailers to ask for our purchasing dollars in the month of December, but not to recognize Christmas. And when you look at the polls, the majority of people in this country prefer “Christmas” over “Happy Holidays.”
Focus does not wish to encourage retailers to recognize specific religious holidays other than Christmas. In order to keep Christian Rightist minds focused solely and selfishly upon Christmas, Focus has created a fancy new website where consumers can help commercialize and politicize Christmas by rating 29 retailers on whether they single out Christmas for special treatment.
If you favor commercialization of Christmas at the expense of other religious celebrations, then — Focus says — you truly “Stand for Christmas.”
If, however, you oppose retail materialism, respect non-Christian gift-giving, or recognize that Christmas was a pagan holiday long before it was Christianized, then — it would seem — you are at war against Christmas and therefore Christianity.
The reason why we should commercialize and idolize Christmas, Focus says, is to “remind people that this is an important, historic and religious tradition; and to remind people that the purpose of Christmas is to remember that God sent His Son as a baby in a manger, and that is why we give gifts, and that is why we celebrate Christmas. So, we want that to be a big Merry Christmas to our culture.”
Retailers should celebrate Christmas alone, Earll argues, because a “majority” in some unidentified survey preferred “Merry Christmas” over “Happy Holidays.”
So, let us join Focus in wishing a merry materialistic Christmas to all!
Unless you’re Jewish or one of those other non-Christian minorities. (Minorities, according to Focus, must be very very bad.)
If you’re one of those people, then could you please kindly shut up until January? Insecure Christians will thank you for not persecuting them with your existence.
Or, here’s a better idea: Contact Focus’ retailers and tell them that you won’t shop at retailers that disrespect non-Christian customers or that single out Christians for special treatment.
And here’s yet another idea, for Christian readers: Contact Focus’ retailers, tell them that you don’t appreciate fundamentalists’ commercialization of Christmas, and indicate that you will be donating to charities instead. Give your loved ones the gift of yourself this holiday season.
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What gets me the most about the whole “happy holidays” thing is that I spent most of my childhood thinking that that phrase was basically a contraction of “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” Happy holidays meant, enjoy your winter break from school, and all the various holiday festivities therein. How does acknowledging that there are other holidays at this time of year unambiguously fail to recognize the existence of Christmas? It’s not like anyone in the US could possibly forget it!
Comment by thoughtcounts Z — December 19, 2009 @ 2:38 am
I love the dinguses at the Wal-Mart who overemphasize the fact that they’re telling you Merry CHRISTmas.
I’m always like “Happy HANUkkah.”
Comment by Evan Hurst — December 19, 2009 @ 3:20 am
The goal of the large anti-gay advocacy group, FOF, is to impose their religious beliefs on everyone else. By excluding all other faiths and holidays, they simple provide another example of this goal and highlight their religious tyranny.
Comment by Michael — December 19, 2009 @ 4:20 am
I remember around this time in the late 1980s that there was a big uproar over retailers making a buck over Christmas and there was letter writing campaigns and tv interviews with Christian leaders wanting a boycott of retailers who “honored” Christmas.
Comment by David Farrell — December 19, 2009 @ 6:53 am
My spouse and I make it a point to reply “Happy Holidays” to those dinguses who seem to think that ONLY Christian holidays count. This is indeed religious tyranny.
There are other religions besides Christianity out there. Time for the Christianists to get over it.
Comment by Merlyn — December 19, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
Focus on the Family and other Christmas warriors remain silent as neo-Nazis in southern California http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/19/state/n194504S20.DTL&tsp=1“>harass Hanukkah celebrants.
Comment by Michael Airhart — December 20, 2009 @ 1:33 am
To be clear, “Christmas” (from Christ Mass) was never pagan. December 25 and those evergreen trees were pagan.
Comment by Ephilei — December 21, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
Thanks for making the distinction clear, Ephilei.
Comment by Michael Airhart — December 21, 2009 @ 12:25 pm