According to this Associated Press story, religious conservatives are pressuring retailers like Target and Sears for not using enough of the word "Christmas" in their advertising and in-store displays.
I have heard a lot of claims in the media lately that the Christian faith is under attack in this country. Conservatives oppose such terms as "holiday card" and the greeting "Happy Holidays." They prefer "Christmas card" and "Merry Christmas" instead. They criticize the Bush White House for sending out holiday cards this year that had no mention of "Christmas" on them.
When I was growing up in the 1970s, it seemed that everyone celebrated Christmas. Almost everyone I knew, including those whose religion was Buddhist, celebrated Christmas, as a secular holiday if nothing else. After all, what child doesn't want to receive toys and other presents from Santa Claus?
It wasn't until I got to college that I met someone my own age who had never watched cartoons like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I found out the reason was that her family was Jewish, and I learned that some families didn't celebrate Christmas for religious reasons.
And in the past decade or two, we have learned that Muslims celebrate their own holiday (Eid-al-Adha) during this period, and some African Americans prefer Kwanzaa to Christmas.
If those of different religions can withstand the cultural and marketing blizzard that occurs during the Christmas period and still hold onto their own religious and cultural traditions, being encouraged to have a "Merry Christmas" will do nothing to get them to change their religious beliefs, no matter how many times they hear it.
Conservatives in this country are attempting to promote Christmas as the only holiday that should be celebrated publicly during December. It is only a small part of a broader effort to promote their values in public life, something every thoughtful American should be wary of.
Perhaps conservatives should work harder on getting other Christians to celebrate the religious holiday of Christmas, instead of worrying about what to call things associated with the secular holiday of Christmas.
