Merry Christmas to All

It should go without saying, that Christmas is a special time of year – even more so this year, perhaps.

For some time, we have watched as some elements of society have attacked many of our basic traditions, especially those of a Christian nature. Christmas in particular has been the focus of secularists who wish to remove all things religious from public life. These folks have repeated the “separation of church and state” line so often that many people actually believe that it is a part of the Constitution. (It isn’t, but that is the subject of another column).

Suffice it to say the founders never intended to remove all things religious from view. What the Constitution says about such matters can be found in the 1^st Amendment - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Funny, how the secularists never seem to read the second part. The Constitution gives us freedom of religion – not freedom from religion.

That means we have the freedom to celebrate the birth of Christ including putting up nativity scenes, singing Christmas carols such as Silent Night, and greeting those around us with a good, hearty “Merry Christmas”. This year we have seen, at long-last, a backlash against those like the ACLU who have taken great pains to remove all vestiges of Christmas beyond the secular from the public view. People are emerging from their slumber to reclaim the Christmas season, by letting retailers know they won’t be putting money in their cash registers when they choose the politically correct route of calling Christmas trees “holiday trees”, of demanding their employees use generic greetings or refusing the Salvation Army bell ringers at their storefronts. Many of the very same people who declared war on Christmas are now claiming there is no such war, but their very actions give them away – and the public is no longer fooled.

Christmas is being reclaimed for what it has always been – the celebration of the birth of a baby some 2000 years ago who forever changed the world. There are even many who aren’t Christians who have joined in this reclaiming of Christmas, for they recognize that without the moral traditions that are the fabric of our society, we risk losing our very humanity, and the goodness that has been our nation.

The peace and goodwill that is a part of Christmas is a thing to be shared. As we settle down with our families this weekend, Lauren & I would like to take this opportunity on the behalf of the CHCH staff and our contributing writers to wish you and your family, the merriest of Christmases – may this special season be your’s to keep always.

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