Is there a cultural war against Christmas?
By Charita Goshay
CantonRep.com staff writer
18/12/2011
Mary Ebner says when she looks out at her Christmas display, it gives her a sense of serenity. Eighteen years ago, a neighbor crafted a life-sized Nativity silhouette for Ebner, which sits just in front of her barn.
“The ‘noel’ sign on the top was made by a friend,” she explained. “It lights at night. It’s a beautiful scene. There’s no jingles and jangles. It’s serenity.”
Some Christians such as Ebner are convinced that a cultural war is being waged to strip Christmas of its religious meaning. They cite “holiday trees,” public schools that no longer permit Nativity plays and retailers that lump in Christmas with Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Al Al-Hijra.
“I look in the paper, and they never show a Nativity scene,” said Ebner, who attends St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. “There’s pictures of snowmen and Santa Claus, but I never see the reason for the season. It’s actually scary that we don’t know the true meaning of Christmas.”
“I believe there is an overall war against the person of Jesus Christ,” said the Rev. Steve Young, pastor of Mercy Church in Canton. “Whether it is by corporations or government entities that forbid saying ‘Merry Christmas,’ or schools that take out anything about Jesus due to ‘separation of church and state,’ it is very obvious that anything related to the person of Jesus Christ is under attack.
“In my hometown of Columbus, a suburban school in Dublin built a prayer room for Muslim students, yet Christian students can’t wear Jesus T-shirts or have prayer groups in that same school.
“To be politically correct, people now say ‘happy holiday’ and have changed the Christmas tree to the ‘holiday’ tree.’ It is legitimate for Christians to believe there is a war on Christmas.”
Phil Vischer, creator of “Veggie Tales,” the million-selling, faith-based children’s film and video series, said the conflict seems to be more an issue of discomfort than sabotage.
DISCOMFORT
“I don’t know if there’s a war, but there’s a lot of discomfort,” he said, laughing. “A lot of people feel like they’re being too religious if they promote Christmas. There’s been a lot of putting the ‘brakes on,’ even on using the word, hence you have people talking about ‘holiday trees.’
“There’s a feeling that even using the word is being sectarian, so for some conservative Christians, it feels like there’s a war on.”
Vischer has created what he calls a “kid-sized documentary” to help “unpack” the confusion over Christmas. The documentary, “Buck Denver Asks: Why Do We Call It Christmas?”, explains the history of Christmas and the roots of its traditions.
“It’s going back in time and walking kids through the holiday and asking ‘How did it get so complicated?’” he said. “You have all these questions where kids get confused. We’re saying ‘Let’s walk you through history.’”
A conservative Christian, Vischer said some like-minded believers view certain Christmas traditions, such as Santa, as a threat.
“Don’t talk about him, don’t make eye contact,” he said, laughing. “Then you have other conservative Christians who say, ‘Please don’t tell my children Santa doesn’t exist. We love the tradition.’ It’s all over the map.”
Vischer said Christmas in America is a blend of five different Christian traditions that stretch back to 1625.
“We get concerned when we don’t understand a thing,” he said. “One of the things we hear a lot is, ‘I want to go back to a pure Christmas,’ but when you go back through history, there never was such a thing.”
But some local clergy aren’t convinced there’s an effort to undo Christmas.
“I think America’s solely interested in tolerance,” said the Very Rev. Daniel Rogich, pastor at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Canton. “Tolerance sometimes leads to us thinking sometimes that there’s a ‘war’ on Christmas. In fact, tolerance is a good thing. The opposite is exclusivity, which is just as damaging.”
Rogich said it is the job of church leaders to enlighten Christians, through preaching and teaching their core beliefs, but “at the same time, not to be too judgmental against others.
“I really don’t think there’s a war,” he continued. “Despite all our shortcomings, there’s a wonderful tapestry of faith in this country. People are free to go with the beliefs they want, and that’s fantastic. To feel that somebody’s ‘after’ us, in terms of secularism, it’s just not so.”
The Rev. Scott Rosen, senior pastor at First Christian Church in Plain Township, bluntly dismisses the notion of a war on Christmas, calling it a “squeaky wheel” issue.
“It’s a minority that cries the loudest,” he said. “People centered in who they are and what they believe, with no (tolerance) for other people’s views. There’s no ‘war.’ There’s a bunch of crybabies, using microphones for pacifiers.”
TRUE MEANING
Even Young concedes some Christians’ zeal may be misdirected.
“I think most feel there is a war on Christmas because, for so long, it has been accepted by the government, and most feel this is a Christian nation and therefore all should embrace it. Over the recent years, the acceptance and embracing of it is gone,” he said. “The problem is, I think many are fighting the wrong battle.
“First and foremost as Christians, we should be more quick to be doing the works of Jesus by sharing our faith with others and taking care of people and less quick to boycott stores and defending a man-made holiday.
“Jesus never commanded his disciples to boycott stores that refused to celebrate his birth. He did tell them to evangelize the lost and lay down their lives, in love for those who hated him and would hate them as well. There is such a huge disconnect, and too many people have lost the true meaning of Christmas.”
Young added, “It’s not about a certain nation embracing a holiday; it’s about doing what the angels did when they announced his birth: Proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, in a personal manner.”
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