By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Poor, poor Christmas! It is trying hard to stand firm, amidst assaults from left to right, north to south, east to west, and every which way you can imagine. Despite so much adversity, it has managed to bring its customary joy and goodwill, year after year, to all mankind. A great number of books have been published recently in defense of Christmas, its spirit, its significance and its survival. Still, the voices of protest keep rising from the US, the UK, Canada, as well as other primarily Christian nations. Political correctness has exceeded its range, scope and good taste. What with the Grinch, Scrooge, atheists, Jews, socialists, and multiculturalists, clearly Christmas needs our help. During the last decade, the voice of opposition to Christmas has reached a peak, that warranted the interference of an active defense by several groups and individuals who feel their rights have been trampled upon. Hannukah, a minor Jewish feast falls around Christmas time, and slowly but surely has gained in public awareness and commercial emphasis. Hannukah cards, Hannukah menorahs, Hannukah candles and other Hannukah objects are prominently displayed in the market place, openly competing with Christmas objects. Special Hannukah dinners and parties are advertised, and now, lo and behold, a Hannukah tree and even a Hannukah Santa with a star of David embroidered on his coat, who goes by the name of Hannukah Harry. In their well-intended effort to apply the rule of separation of church and state, they are bending backwards, ripping the majority Christian population of their freedom of speech. It is no longer allowed to wish customers a "Merry Christmas", in department stores. It has been replaced by the more politically correct, "Happy Holidays", which is safe and all- inclusive and a recognition of cultural and religious diversity. Several schools, courtrooms, museums and other public buildings have stripped all visible signs of Christmas, lest they are offensive to some minority group or another. The New York City public system, banned the display of the nativity scene, but allowed Christmas trees and Jewish menorahs. The state of Minnesota, banished Santa Claus altogether from their public schools, and even evicted the red poinsettia plant from their courtrooms. In 2005, the city of Boston renamed its official Christmas tree , the "Holiday tree", causing an uproar from the citizens and especially the farmer who donated the tree. In Ottowa, they eliminated the word 'Christmas', from the song "Silver Bells'. In the UK the cities of Birmingham and Dundee also removed the word Christmas from all their festivities, replacing it by "Winter Night Festivities" Those are only a fraction of the samples depicting the major war on Christmas. Christmas is not new to controversy or adversity. It has been attacked before, even by Christians. Lpng, long ago there was controversy over the date of the birth of Christ. All sources agree that December 25th is not the exact date. In fact for two centuries no one celebrated or even knew when he was born. Theologians attempted to pin point the exact date, and came up with a confusion of dates, January 1,6..March 25 and the much favoured May 6th. The choice of December 25th was first suggested early in the 4th century inorder to eclipse the pagan festivities of the winter solstice which was marked then as Dec. 26, but is now Dec 21. Several celebrations fell on this date. The rival religion of Mithraism celebrated Natalis Solis Invictus, the birthday of the Invincible Sun God. Scandinavians and Germanic tribes celebrated a 12 day mid-winter holiday called Yule, beginning Dec. 25 Christians have dealt several blows to Christmas throughout history. Sects, such as the Puritans rejected Christmas as an entirely pagan holiday. Others who wished to retain the essence of a celebration of Chrisr's birth, rejected certain aspects which they considered pagan elements. Jehovah's Witnesses and Reformed Christians totally ignore Christmas. Since its emergence, Communism declared war on religion in general. The Soviet Union and others, banned the observance of Christmas. It has since been reinstated. Some historians, like Gerald K. Smith has argued that Jews introduced Santa Claus to suppress the New Testament accounts of Jesus. Furthermore, some argue that world Jewry had appealed to the United Nations to outlaw the name of Christ; but who listens to the UN, anyway!. Is it a coincidence that the war on Christmas has simultaneously seen a rise in the minor Jewish feast of Hannukah? The idea of Hannukah as an alternative to Christmas, started way back in 1855, when the New York Times reported that Jews were exchanging gifts at Christmas time. Until then, Hannukah, which is clearly absent from the Hebrew Bible, historically has not been an important part of Judaism. It has grown disproportionately since. E.V. Kontrovich, a Jew himself, has admitted that the public elevation of Hannukah, represented the first triumph of the multiculturalist idea in AMERICA Giant menorahs are erected in public places to observe Hannukah, yet there is no public cry of discrimination or political correctness . Although the consensus is that multiculturalism is the driving force behind the war on Christmas it is obvious that the only beneficiary is Hannukah. While 80% are admitted Christians in the US and only 1.7% are Jews, it is hard to understand how their influence can be so overwhelming Is there any good news for Christmas? Indeed there is. Those who take shots at Santa are experiencing a strong backlash. Christians have decided to fight back . A ban on Santa in Maryland was met with a Million Santas March. Only 50 Santas showed up, but it's a start. Christmas carolers have been singing in several large corporations and public buildings, unharrassed. Columnists have declared war on the War Against Christmas, and several .new Christmas books are displayed in bookstores and have made the best-seller list. Of the 54 Christmas parades this year, only 2 have changed their names to Holiday Parades. Whilst Christmas is celebrated by Christians, its many ancient and secular elements have made it a popular holiday for non Christians as well. The music, the lights, the cards, the tree and even pudgy old Santa, have no religious affiliation and are enjoyed by all. Mostly, it is the spirit of Christmas, of loving and giving, that is the essence of the joy of the season, of which we all willingly partake. Please leave Christmas alone, with all its symbols of family unity, warmth and friendship and its heartfelt message of "peace on earth and goodwill to men". In this spirit, may I too wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless us, everyone! -- Charles Dickens (1812-1870) A Christmas Carol
