The first week of Advent 2010 produced predictable assaults upon Christmas. This year, however, the immediate Christian reactions to these planned mean-spirited actions proved to be formidable rebuffs in what has commonly become known as "Christmas wars."
The three most significant incidents occurred in Philadelphia, New York City and Tulsa, Okla. In Philadelphia, Ray Negrin, city managing director, decided to censor the word Christmas from the annual German Christmas Village market. He said it was because he received complaints from non-Christians who were upset about the word "Christmas" being used. Negrin says he, with the probable approval of mayor, with the goal of being more "inclusive," ordered the removal of that part of the village sign that said "Christmas."
Negrin is quoted to have said, "It really is not just a Christian village; it's more of a holiday village."
Pictures of the sign being taken down "went viral across the Internet," and the Christian citizens of Philadelphia rose up in outrage at the presumptuous censoring of a Christian celebration in the name of complaints from other religions. Two days later, Mayor Michael Nutter announced that the Christmas sign was going up again, and, after prodding by reporters, he announced that there would be a "tree lighting ceremony.
Notice he didn't say "Christmas tree."
In New York, the American Atheists organization posted an anti-Christian billboard at the New Jersey entrance side of the Lincoln tunnel that depicts a silhouette of the Nativity with the three wise men approaching on camelback and the star of Bethlehem hovering above.
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It says, "You KNOW it's a myth. This season, celebrate REASON!"
Firebrand Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, using the contribution of an outraged donor, posted a "counterpunch" even larger billboard on the New York exit side of the Lincoln tunnel that depicts a the Nativity scene and says, "You know it's real. This ceason celebrate Jesus! – Merry Christmas from the Catholic League."
Last week, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who was Tulsa's mayor from 1978 to 1984, announced that he would not ride in the annual Tulsa parade until the name change to Tulsa's "Holiday Parade of Lights" is changed back to Tulsa's "Christmas Parade of Lights." The name was changed last year by organizers, again in the name of "inclusion."
Inhofe, who was scheduled to ride horseback as entry No. 66 last year, refused to appear once he heard of the name change. He says he won't return until they return Christ to Christmas. We need more God-fearing politicians like Jim Inhofe, who are willing to stand against those who seek to undermine America's Christian culture.
Politically correct politicians and corporate reps use the need to be "inclusive" as the excuse for their anti-Christ cultural language substitutions, but Christmas Advent is not an "inclusive event." In fact it is exclusively designed for Jesus.
It is disingenuous for non-Christians to attempt to make Christians feel guilty for not including "their gods" in the Christian celebration of the Savior of the world. They are knowingly asking Christians to break the first commandment – "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
Non-Christians should begin to exhibit some brotherhood towards the American Christian majority, whose tolerance has allowed them to come here and thrive un-harassed. No matter what the religion, when non-Christians celebrate their high holy days in our midst, Christians say nothing to interfere and even greet them recognizing their celebrations. Yet when Christians celebrate Christ's birth, a wave of jealous non-Christians wage objections. They write articles telling Christians what they can do and what they can't do at Christmastime in their Christian nation.
They whine for equality of representation in December, while all the non-Christian religions in America combined constitute around 4 percent of the population. They file lawsuits to stop the display of nativities. They put up ugly blasphemous billboards. They gleefully attempt to kill the Christmas spirit for the American majority. They have nothing to replace the scores of Christmas objects used to each year, nor the hundreds of Christmas songs, nor the magnificent Christmas story of a Holy Savior coming to earth as a precious babe on the mission to save all mankind from their sins.
So they craftily attempt to hijack our culture by substituting the word "holiday" for every object Christians have created to celebrate the birth of Christ. They intentionally try to disassociate the meaning of these things from their original intent – which was to celebrate the birth of Jesus – and transform them into generic cultural icons that belong to "all Americans."
The Christians heirs of this nation not only have the right to fight back, they had better unceremoniously squash these brazen offenders, before they outlaw Christmas itself.
Christmas culture is not only integral to the fabric of American life, but it is also a critical part of our end-of-the-year economic engine. Merchants look towards December to turn their books black for the year – ergo "black Friday." Yet their collective corporate proclivities lead them to insult, offend and attempt to hijack the "holidays" of the people that feed them.
Christians should adopt a "take no prisoners attitude" and demand that everybody back off their incursions on December Christmas Advent or pay a painful economic price. Christmas still belongs to the people who created it. Christians had best, without explanation, defend it from the people who want to kill it.
The Tulsa parade name change is a glaring example of why Christians should be in control of Christmas public events. Every town should have a Christian Christmas committee to plan, produce, and coordinate major Christmas events.
The Catholic League's lightning-fast response to the enemies of Christianity stands as a sterling example of the way all Christian organizations, churches and groups should respond when confronted with assaults upon their Christian way of life.
Philadelphia's response to Christmas censorship lends credence to the idea that enemies of the people's religious integrity should also be booted out of office. The assaults upon Christmas that have transpired within the last decade highlight the need for committed Christians to hold public office.
It has become painfully apparent that committed Christians cannot abide the anti-Christian hostilities promoted and instituted by mindless politically-correct stooges in public office. Which leads us to the question – just who is training these people who hold positions of power and influence? Who is directing them to change the Christian fabric of our society? Their behaviors are too uniform for these consistently launched hostile acts to be incidents of happenstance. Who is behind this war on Christmas? What groups, seen and unseen are providing the strategies and resources to wage this war?
We, the Christian majority, need to know the answers to these questions. In the meantime, every Christian should consider himself/herself a Christian Christmas warrior who is ready to unapologetically squash all attempts to alter, diminish or obliterate the Christian profile of the American celebration of Christmas.
I, the Christian Christmas Lady, wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
REMINDER: Please participate in The Christian Christmas Lady's project to ask all the churches in America with bells to program them to play Christmas carols throughout 2010 Advent and to program them to ring at 12:00 midnight on Christmas Eve and at 12:00 noon on Christmas Day. Click here to read and forward a copy of my column, "Ring the Christmas Church Bells!"