War On Christmas

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Christmas controversy refers to publicized controversy surrounding public acknowledgment or celebration of the Christmas Christmas/winter holiday season in media, advertising, government, and various secular environments. Modern-day controversy usually occurs due to the holiday's large annual role in Western world economy in conjunction with its applied connotations with a specific religion, Christianity. The term "War on Christmas" is often used to address recent controversy. USA Today article Defend Christmas — article depicting 'war on Christmas'

In present-day Western society, it is often suggested that during the months leading up to December 25, public, corporate, and government mention of the actual term "Christmas" is being strenuously avoided and replaced with a generic term — usually "holiday" or "winter" — and that popular secular aspects of Christmas such as Santa Claus, secular Christmas Christmas songs, and Christmas tree are still being prominently showcased and recognized, but are shown as being associated with non-specified "holidays", rather than with Christmas. 'Don't say the C-word' – Spiked-life article Supporters of this effort often claim that the goal of this altered presentation is to be political correctness and to avoid possibly causing unintentional offense to non-Christians by associating these festivities and traditions with the term "Christmas". However, since 80 percent of non-Christian U.S. citizens actually do celebrate Christmas, Christmas celebration percentage poll Religion Key Findings research equaling to a total of 96 percent of Americans celebrating it, Christmas celebration percentage poll opponents feel that this presentation is actually a concerted effort by advertisers to avoid direct connotations with religion or Jesus (by avoiding the term "Jesus Christmas"), while simultaneously attempting to relate to celebrants of Christmas to secure the huge profit associated with Christmas gift purchasing (by showcasing secular Christmas traditions).

In past centuries, Christmas-related controversy was mainly restricted to concerns of a public focus on secular Christmas themes such as Santa Claus and gift rather than what was glorified as the "reason for the season"—the Nativity of Jesus. A symbolic issue from these past controversies was usage of the term "Xmas", which many allege is a conscious attempt at removing the term "Christ" from Christmas. The abbreviation originated from the use of the Greek letter Chi (letter), Χ, as an abbreviation of Christ (Χριστός). Merry Xmas- Christmas Meaning of Christos X

Present-day controversy Since 1999, various people of differing backgrounds and positions have been claiming that there is an ongoing censorship, or "war" on the term `Christmas`, and on the celebration of the holiday itself in public Western world society, particularly in the United States. Contrary to popular belief, those campaigning against the "censorship" of Christmas not only include Christians, but include atheists, Islam, Christmas controversy article – Muslim Canadian Congress. and Judaism. "Jews for Christmas"—NewsMax article Don Feder on Christmas – Jewish World review Many of these people claim that there is a concerted effort to remove any mention of Christmas in public advertising, government, public schools, as well as in general conversation with strangers at Christmastime. Some also claim that this "war" also extends to Easter/Good Friday controversy, where euphemisms are sometimes used to avoid mentioning these holidays by name.

Government-related controversies Although Christmas Day is officially designated as December's only federal holiday by the United States government, Government Federal Holiday web page there are many who claim that government-funded displays of Christmas imagery and traditions violate the U.S. constitution, and defy separation of church and state. The battle over whether such displays and traditions should be displayed and celebrated within public schools, courthouses and other government buildings, has become very heated in recent years.

A heated controversy of such relation arose in 2002, when the New York City public school system banned the display of nativity scenes, but allowed religious symbols of Hanukkah and Ramadan to be displayed. New York times article Defenders of the policy justified it in claiming that the symbols in question, the Hanukkah menorah and Muslim Star and crescent, were culture, but that the nativity scene was religion, thus not allowed. Such a policy angered many, including commentator Bill O'Reilly (commentator), who in 2006 was noted as saying that such a policy was "anti-Christian".

'Holiday tree' controversies Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, there have been several instances in the U.S. and Canada where official public mention and reference to a Christmas tree has been renamed to "holiday tree" for various reasons, mostly for enforcement of separation of church and state or applications of political correctness. Many were outraged at these renamings, while others supported them as being inclusive, or as being factually correct because of claims that Christmas trees have pagan origins.

One of the bigger holiday tree controversies came in 2005, when the city of Boston, United States, called their official decorated tree a holiday tree, and the subsequent response from the Nova Scotian tree farmer who donated the tree was that he would rather have put the tree in a wood chipper than have it named a "holiday" tree. Trimming 'Christmas' from trees stirs debate – USA Today article Donnie Hatt, the donor, was also quoted as saying "Ever since I was born, a tree was put up for Christmas, not for holidays, because if you're going to do that you might as well put a tree up for Easter". Nova Scotian fed up with 'holiday' trees – CBC News article

Another 2005 controversial instance was with American hardware giant Lowe's, and their signs that said "Holiday trees" in English language, but read "Christmas trees" in Spanish language. Some claim that this proves that political correctness is solely a phenomenon of the English language.

Retailer controversies Since approximately 2004, many Christian or secular non-profit organizations in the United States have petitioned for boycotts of various large secular organizations, particularly retailer giants, demanding that they use the term "Christmas" rather than "holiday" in their print, Television commercial, online, and retail store marketing. Although a great many retailers were criticized for adhering to such policies, there have been quite a few notable instances in which many retailers were feature prominently in the mainstream media for their "no `Christmas`" policy.

2005

After threats of boycotting, the Sears Holdings Corporation (which owns Sears, Roebuck and Company and Kmart) altered their marketing policies from using the term "holiday" to using the term "Christmas." The change of policy included the distribution of "Merry Christmas" signs to stores nationwide, and the changing of all instances of the term "holiday" to "Christmas" on their website and in stores. Sears also included a "very Merry Christmas" greeting at their website from December 8 through December 26, 2005. Kmart opened the 2006 Christmas season with their slogan "Where Christmas comes together", and several commercials acknowledging Christmas, including one with the tune to "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". As of 2007, Sears still avoid using the word "Christmas" in their print materials, including the "Wish Book".

In 2005, Wal-Mart was criticized by the Catholic League for avoiding the word "Christmas" in any of their marketing efforts."Bishop, Tricia. " Stores revert to 'Merry Christmas'." Chicago Tribune. November 24, 2006. Retrieved on December 5, 2006. The company had downplayed the term, "Christmas," in much of its advertising for several years.Staff Writer. " Wal-Mart opts for ‘Christmas’ marketing." MSNBC. November 15, 2006. Retrieved on December 5, 2006. This caused some backlash among the public, prompting some groups to pass around petitions and threaten boycotts against the company, as well as several other prominent retailers that practiced similar downgrading of the holiday. In 2006, in response to the public outcry, Wal-Mart announced that they were amending their policy and would be using "Christmas" rather than "holiday". Among the changes, they noted that the former "Holiday Shop" would become the "Christmas Shop", and that there would be a "countin' down the days to Christmas" feature..

In 2005, Target Corporation was criticized by the American Family Association for their nonusage of the term "Christmas" in any of their in-store, online, or print advertising. Merry Christmas Target, Snopes.com, December 9, 2005. The AFA initiated a nation-wide boycott of the Target Corporation, Target Doesn't Respond, Refuses To Include "Christmas", American Family Association Online, 2005 resulting in over 700,000 petition signatures, all of which were individually sent to Target customer service. Within a week of initiating the boycott, the AFA received an official letter from Target which indicated that they would begin incorporating the term "Christmas" in their advertising: "Over the course of the next few weeks, our advertising, marketing and merchandising will become more specific to the holiday that is approaching – referring directly to holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah. For example, you will see reference to Christmas in select television commercials, circulars and in-store signage.". Target Includes 'Christmas,' AFA Drops Boycott, NewsMax.com, December 9, 2005. In a 2007 interview with Chief Executive Magazine, the CEO of Target, Bob Ulrich, stated that Target's usage of "holiday" instead of "Christmas" was a mistake. "Frankly, we screwed up", he said. Star Tribune article

2006

When it was revealed in November 2006 that Wal-Mart would be using the term "Christmas" in their advertising campaign, an article about the issue initiated by USA Today pointed out that Best Buy#2006 Christmas controversy would be among the retailers that would not be using "Christmas" at all in their advertising that year. Dawn Bryant, a Best Buy spokeswoman, stated: "We are going to continue to use the term holiday because there are several holidays throughout that time period, and we certainly need to be respectful of all of them." Wal-Mart Opts for 'Christmas' Marketing. Associated Press. November 15, 2006. Retrieved on January 28, 2007. The Christian organization American Family Association criticized Bryant's statement, saying she equated saying "Christmas" with showing disrespect. The AFA launched a campaign against Best Buy's policy.Wildmon, Donald Best Buy Bans Use of Merry Christmas In Advertising . American Family Association. November 10, 2006. Retrieved on November 10, 2006. In reaction to the same policy, the Catholic League (U.S.) placed Best Buy on its 2006 Christmas Watch List." Christmas Watch." Catholic League (U.S.). Retrieved on November 24, 2006. As of as of 2007, it is unknown as to whether Best Buy will use "Christmas", "holiday", or both during the upcoming season.

Around the same time that Best Buy Corporation was noted for having avoided using "Christmas" in their 2006 advertising, Gap (clothing) (which owns Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic) was also criticized for avoiding use of the term. WorldNetDaily article An unnamed Old Navy manager was quoted as saying: "We have a lot of Christmas gifts in our stores, but the word Christmas is not used here. Everything is holiday." After mounting criticism about the issue, Gap, Inc. set up an option within their corporate telephone answering line that was specific to "holiday advertising questions". As of 2007, it is unknown as to whether Gap will incorporate the word "Christmas" into their 2007 ad campaign.

Historical controversy Puritan era The first documented Christmas controversy was Christian-led, and began during the Puritan era, under Oliver Cromwell's brief rule in England in the middle 17th century. Marta Patiño, The Puritan Ban on Christmas Cromwell and other English Puritans (including those who fled to America) sought to remove the remaining pagan elements of Christmas (listed below). During this period, the English Parliament of the United Kingdom banned the celebration of Christmas entirely, considering it a popish festival with no biblical justification, and a time of wasteful and immoral behavior.{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Why did Cromwell abolish Christmas? | work = Oliver Cromwell | publisher = The Cromwell Association | date = 2001 | url = http://www.olivercromwell.org/faqs4.htm | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2006-12-28-->

Protestantism Prior to the Victorian era, Christmas in the United States was primarily a religious holiday observed by Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and Lutherans. Its importance was often considered secondary to Epiphany (Christian) and Easter.

As was the case with other Christian holidays, Christmas borrowed elements from pagan peoples, including the Advent period, gift giving, yule logs, decorations such as candles, holly, and mistletoe. Christmas trees were also sometimes seen as pagan in origin. Cited as proof is Jeremiah, 10:3-4, which states, "For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan people deck it with silver and gold they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move."

During the various Protestant reformations, these (real or supposed) paganizing elements were a source of controversy. Some sects, such as the Puritans, rejected Christmas as an entirely pagan holiday. Others rejected certain aspects of Christmas as paganizing, but wanted to retain the "essence" of the holiday as a celebration of the Christ's birth. This tension put in motion an ongoing debate about the proper observance of Christmas.Nissenbaum, Stephen. (1997). The Battle for Christmas. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-74038-4.

According to Kelly Wittmann, "In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast." Also, "In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture...It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born."http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm

19th century According to historian Ronald Hutton, the current state of observance of Christmas is largely the result of a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday spearheaded by Charles Dickens. In A Christmas Carol, Hutton argues, Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, in contrast to the community-based and church-centered observations, the observance of which had dwindled during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The holiday, remade as a family-centered rather than community-centered festival, carried its own set of contradictions: the practice of gift-giving created the possibility of commercialization, and the shift from community to familial focus further eroded the traditions of communal religious observance.Ronald Hutton. (2001). Stations of the Sun: The Ritual Year in England. Oxford: Oxford Press. ISBN 0-19-285448-8.

Historian Stephen Nissenbaum contends that the modern celebration in the United States was developed in New York State from existing Dutch traditions in order to re-focus the holiday from one where groups of young men went from house to house demanding alcohol and food into one that was focused on the happiness of children. He notes that there was deliberate effort to prevent the children from becoming greedy in response. Stephen Nissenbaum. (1997). The Battle for Christmas"". Vintage. ISBN 0-679-74038-4.

Early 20th century In the early twentieth century, Christian writers such as C. S. Lewis had already noted a distinct split between the religious and secular observance of Christmas. In Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus, Lewis gives a satire of the observance of two simultaneous holidays in "Niatirb" (Britain backwards) from the supposed view of the Greek historian and traveller. One, "Exmas", is observed by a flurry of compulsory commercial activity and expensive indulgence in alcoholic beverages. The other, "Crissmas," is observed in Niatirb's temples. Lewis's narrator asks a priest "why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas?" He receives the reply:

"It is not lawful, O Stranger, for us to change the date of Crissmas, but would that Zeus would put it into the minds of the Niatirbians to keep Exmas at some other time or not to keep it at all. For Exmas and the Rush distract the minds even of the few from sacred things. And we indeed are glad that men should make merry at Crissmas; but in Exmas there is no merriment left." And when I asked him why they endured the Rush, he replied, "It is, O Stranger, a racket. . . " Exmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus by C. S. Lewis

The December 1957 News and Views published by the Church League of America, an organization co-founded in 1937 by George Washington Robnett "Subject guide to Conservative and Libertarian materials, in Manuscript collections" University of Oregon attacked the use of Xmas in an article titled "X=The Unknown Quantity." The claims were picked up later by Gerald L. K. Smith who in December 1966 claimed that Xmas was a "blasphemous omission of the name of Christ" and that "'X' is referred to as being symbolical of the unknown quantity." Smith further argued that Jews introduced Santa Claus to suppress the New Testament accounts of Jesus, and that the United Nations at the behest of "world Jewry" had "outlawed the name of Christ."Morris Kominsky (1970). The Hoaxers: Plain Liars, Fancy Liars and Damned Liars, pages 137-138 ISBN 0-8283-1288-5 Such claims are made in the face of documented centuries-long history of use of Χ (actually a Chi (letter)) as an abbreviation for "Christ" (Χριστός).

Christmas observances (at least the overtly religious kinds) were banned in the Soviet Union and under certain other Communist regimes, and played down in all of them. Certain religions, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and some fundamentalism churches, continued to reject the holiday as well, citing its pagan and/or Roman Catholic origins. In the Soviet Union, most customs associated with Christmas (like decorated trees, presents, and Ded Moroz) were later reinstated, but tied to New Year's Day instead; this tradition remains as of the present day.

See also

Easter/Good Friday controversy
Christian Right
Christmas
Hanukkah
Holiday greetings
Christmas/winter holiday season
Political correctness
Santa Claus#Christian opposition to Santa Claus for entry on the Christian opposition to Santa Claus
American Civil Liberties Union
American Family Association, led a boycott of Target Corporation in December 2005.
Persecution complex
Separation of Church and state
Catholic League (U.S.)
Center for Reclaiming America, led by James Kennedy (televangelist) and Gary Cass.
Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign, hosted by Liberty Counsel

References

External links

Christmas - an untold story The United Church of God arguments against current manner of celebrating Christmas.