The Christmas wars / December dilemma

Introduction

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We ask again:

What is this?

A Christmas tree? (Christianity)
A Hanukkah bush? (Judaism)
Al-Hijra/Muharram, the Muslim New Year ₁
A Yule tree? (Wiccan)
A Winter Solstice tree (Atheist)
An excessively-decorated Festivus tree (Secular)
or all of the above, plus many more by followers of other religions?

Quotations:

	[Christmas]..."now involves lawyers and complaining liberal and conservative ministers who either demand that people not celebrate Christmas or want everyone to celebrate it as they do." Conservative columnist Cal Thomas' "On the Right Side" column. 2
	"Who are we fooling? The Jews don't put up a tree for Hanukkah; the Muslims don't put up a tree for Ramadan. It doesn't take away from my celebration of my holiday for other people to celebrate their holiday." Karen Dabdoub, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). 3
	"Why not simply require stores owned by Jews to put a gold star in their ads and on their storefronts?" Rev. Jim Melnyk, apparently drawing a parallel between a Christian boycott of non-Christian stores in Raleigh, NC and anti-semitic laws of Nazi Germany. 4
	"There is an anti-Christian bias in this country, and it is more on display at Christmas season than any other time." Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel. 5
	"Merry Christmas" is much more discriminatory then "Happy Holidays." What about the Jewish people who celebrate Hanukah, should they be left out? Please explain to me WHY they should be left out because once again I am confused beyond belief at another one of your ridiculous ideas. Jesus was Jewish, wouldn't he have celebrated Hanukah? Thus, aren't you discriminating again JESUS? your own SAVIOR? think about it --- long and hard -- before your ridiculous scandals lead you to even more evil." Angry posting to The Curt Jester forum. 6

Overview:

"Christmas wars" surface each year in December. They are variously defined as:

	Anti-Christian attacks,
	Political correctness run amok, and
	An honest desire to recognize the country's increasing religious diversity.

With the decline in the percentage of Americans who identify themselves as Christians, the increase in the membership of minority religions, and the drift towards increasing secularism, the U.S. and Canada are becoming much more religiously diverse.

The U.S. is already regarded by many as the most religiously diverse country in the world. ₇ What was once a culture based almost exclusively on Judeo-Christianity, is now featuring significant numbers of persons identifying themselves as everything from an Agnostic to a Zoroastrian. Such a major change is not easily accommodated without pain. The Christmas Wars (a.k.a. December Dilemma) are a symptom of this change:

Many Christians feel that Christmas should be exclusively recognized at this time of year to the exclusion of the celebrations by members of other religions and by secularists. Not being able to convince some retail chains of the legitimacy of their position, some conservative Protestant para-church groups have resorted to economic boycotts.

Other Christians, members of other religions, and secularists feel that we should recognize the existence of other celebrations in addition to Christmas, including: Bodhi Day by Buddhists; The Day of the Return of the Wandering Goddess, by Kemetic Orthodoxy; Hanukkah (a.k.a. Chanukah, Festival of Lights, & Festival of Rededication) by Jews; Id al-Adha (a.k.a. the Feast of Sacrifice or Day of Sacrifice) or another holy day by Muslims; 1 The Winter Solstice by some Native Americans, Aboriginals elsewhere, and Atheists; Saturnalia by Nova Romans (a.k.a. Romana), a Neo-pagan group that has revived ancient Roman Pagan religion; Yule by Wiccans and many other Pagans; Kwanzaa by African Americans; Festivus (a.k.a. the "the festival for the rest of us") inspired by the Jerry Seinfeld TV show; Omisoka (a end-of-year celebration in Japan); Shabe-Yalda, an Iranian inter-faith celebration; etc.

This conflict surfaces at this time of year in retail outlets where some employees wish people a "Merry Christmas" and thus risk alienating some non-Christians, while others wish people "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" and risk alienating many conservative Christians. Fortunately, most North Americans do not consider the matter particularly important.

Text from a comic strip:

From "Tina's Groove" by Rina Poccolo for 2005-DEC-25. the conversation takes place in Pepper's restaurant:

	Rob: "Tina, it's politically incorrect to say 'Merry Christmas' to our customers because it has religious connotations."
	Tina: "OK Rob, I'll say 'Happy Holidays'."
	Rob: "Well...I wouldn't say 'happy' because that would be insensitive to people who are unhappy."
	Tina: "Okay, how 'bout 'have an adjective-of-your-choice' holiday"?
	Rob: "You know, maybe the word "holiday" is bad -- it may be deemed unfair to people who have to work."
	Tina: "Geez!  I won't say anything at all, then!"
	Rob: "Oh Tina! You can't be like that on Christmas Day!"
	Tina (to departing customers): "Extending acknowledgement of December 25th to you!"
	Customers " Yeah, er...you too"

References used:

1. Muslim holy days are scheduled according to a lunar calendar. Thus, the date on which they occur is about 11 days earlier each year. For example, Muslims celebrated Id al-Adha (a.k.a. the Feast of Sacrifice or Day of Sacrifice) on DEC-31 in 2006, and on DEC-20 in 2007. The celebrated Al-Hijra/Muharram as the Muslim New Year, the first day of the first lunar month on DEC-29 in 2008 and will celebrate the same day on 2009-DEC-18. All dates are approximate, because they depend upon the method of determining the timing of a new moon -- by physical sighting or by astronomical calculation.
2. Cal Thomas, "Let the rest of us take back Christmas," 'On the Right Side' syndicated column, 2004-DEC-15.
3. John McCaslin, "Leave it alone," Inside the Beltway, 2005-DEC-09, The Washington Times, at: http://washingtontimes.com/ (No longer online)
4. Jim Melnyk, "Why not simply require stores owned by Jews to put a gold star in their ads and on their storefronts?" Religious Lefties, 2005-DEC-17, at: http://religiouslefties.blogspot.com/
5. "O'Reilly Factor Flash," 2005-NOV-15, at: http://www.billoreilly.com/
6. Robert Wuthnow, "America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity," Princeton University Press, (2007). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
7. Ellen Barry, "This Season, Greetings Are at Issue," Los Angeles Times, 2004-DEC-18, at: http://www.truthout.org/

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Copyright © 2004 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally posted as part of this section's menu: 2004-DEC-04
Latest update and review: 2008-DEC-30
Author: B.A. Robinson

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