Merry Christmas

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Yes, that’s Merry Christmas, not holiday, not season, but a Merry Christmas. I don’t care if you don’t celebrate Christmas and I don’t care if you even know what Christmas is. I am wishing you a Merry Christmas anyway.

I’m sending you this wish, because I celebrate Christmas and I am wishing you well. I’m not wishing that you’d convert to Christianity nor am I wishing that you would believe in Santa or start celebrating Christmas. I’m merely offering you my best wishes.

Lately it seems like this country has gone crazy just trying to keep from offending anybody. Apparently we have a national “Holiday Tree” this year. I don’t know what a “Holiday Tree” is, but the video footage on CNN sure looked like a “Christmas Tree” to me. Our government has gone so far overboard in an effort to appease the lunatic fringe that they are now afraid to call a Christmas tree a “Christmas Tree”. I can only surmise that someone somewhere thinks that if the government sets up a Christmas tree it is endorsing a specific religion and thus violating the separation of Church and State.

I vehemently disagree with that on several points. First of all, I cannot think of any religion in which a Christmas tree figures prominently. In fact I am not aware of any religion that even mentions a Christmas tree. Christmas is not even endorsed by all of the Christian religions. Many Christian religions that follow a strict interpretation of the Bible will tell you that since there is no such event as “Christmas” mentioned in the Bible, it should not be celebrated as a religious holiday. In this day and age Christmas is about far more than religion. It’s about friends and family, fellowship with your fellow man, and of course gift giving. It’s a time of parties, food, fun and general celebration of the good things in life. You don’t have to be a Christian to celebrate Christmas, and you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy the decorations.

So those people who are offended by Christmas wishes and Christmas decorations, should quit being offended. After all, why would you be offended if someone wished you a good day? Christmas is a day, and wishing someone a Merry Christmas is simply wishing him or her the best. So here’s hoping we have a National Christmas Tree next year, and Merry Christmas to all of you.

Date Added: 03-01-2006