There's nothing wrong with a Christmas tree in the local post office and the Crier agrees that Merry Christmas is better than the politically correct Happy Holidays (WHAT holidays?), but reclaiming Christmas as a religious holiday is a distortion of what Christmas really means: goodwill and cheer. Its origins have nothing whatever to do with Jesus Christ. (The Concord Crier, 12/22/04.)
Here is an excerpt from Leonard Peikoff's article, Why Christmas Should Be More Commercial.
All the best customs of Christmas, from carols to trees to spectacular decorations, have their root in pagan ideas and practices. These customs were greatly amplified by American culture, as the product of reason, science, business, worldliness, and egoism, i.e., the pursuit of happiness. (MensNewsDaily.com, 12/16/04.)
Take some time and visit the following bloggers and read their thoughts on Christmas:
- More Christmas Gift Ideas for the Discerning Buyer by Chris Davis.
- Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas by Andy Clarkson.
- Christmas Gift Idea #1 by Dave Stone.
For more gift ideas, check out The Body in Mind Christmas List by Leanne Bell and Quent Cordair Fine Art gift shop.
Okay, now I am feeling a bit hungry. I wonder if a "Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich" should be included as one of the dishes of the smorgasbord... [Via Greedy Girl.]
UPDATE 12/25/04:
Rob Tracinski has commented on James Q. Wilson's article, Christmas and Christianity. Why religion remains a mainstay of American culture. [Editor's note: Check out The Intellectual Activist blog.]
The deeper theme of the complaints about the "de-Christianizing of Christmas" is an attempt to argue that America is a Christian culture--that Christianity is at the root of the values we cherish. Wilson, for example, urges us to embrace "a secular government operating in a religious culture." ...
For years, the perennial Christmastime complaint was that Christmas was "too commercial" (which came largely from the anti-capitalism of the left). Now it looks like the perennial Christmas battle will be over whether American culture is, or should be, based on the moral code espoused by Jesus Christ. It's too bad we don't have a holiday to remember the achievements of the man whose influence on American culture is far more important than that of Christ--and to celebrate the values that he was the first to name and defend. (Is America a Christian Culture?, TIA Daily, 12/24/04.)
[Editor's comment: I look forward to my readers' suggestions on how to celebrate Aristotle.]
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