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cattyfan
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Christmas Without Christ
The Denver, Colorado, Parade of Lights will include homosexual American Indians, Kung Fu artisans, belly dancers and, of course, Santa Claus. According to the event website, the hour-long event features highly decorated floats with symbols of the holiday season such as gingerbread houses and toy soldiers, along with what's billed as an "international procession to celebrate the cultural and ethnic diversity of the region." Participants include members of the “Two Spirit Society of Denver,” a support group for Native Americans who are homosexual, bisexual, or transgender. They will be honored during the event as “holy people.” Also participating in the spectacle are performers of the Lion Dance. The Chinese New Year tradition is intended to chase away evil spirits and invite good luck and good fortune for the coming year.
But you won’t see anything having to do with the real meaning of Christmas. Even though the listed participants clearly have religious overtones, Christmas celebrants have been blocked from being part of the pageant. The spokesman for the display, Michael Krikorian claims they aren’t allowing anything with a “direct religious theme” supposedly “out of respect for other religions.” He hasn’t bothered to address that by excluding Christians and any mention of Christmas, he has demonstrated a supreme lack of respect for them. Apparently, that doesn’t matter.
In the same vein, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has decreed city hall will not announce “Merry Christmas” in any way. The only accepted phrase now is “Happy Holidays.” Reports are he still plans to close the offices in accordance with the federal proclamation that December 25th is a National Holiday…not a generic one, but one listed on the books as “Christmas.”
If it isn’t Christmas they’re acknowledging, what season exactly are they celebrating in Denver?
And so it has gone across America in the last few years. Even though, according to the U.S. census bureau, 85% of Americans consider themselves Christians (that’s 241 million out of a total population of 281 million people,) and presumably will be celebrating the birth of our Savior, the country’s celebrations are increasing excluding Christ.
This year the list of non-participants in the Christmas season added schools, stores, and as mentioned, entire cities. Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, held a generic holiday concert…no Christmas tunes allowed. Public schools in Chicago have rewritten carols, replacing the word “Christmas” with “less offensive phrases.” The students now sing that they’re dreaming of a “White Winter.” A kindergartener in an Oregon school was not allowed to distribute his holiday cards to his classmates during the school’s party. His were the only ones in the class which included a mention of Jesus Christ, a reference that offended his teacher. A grade school in Sacramento, California, has banned the use of “Merry Christmas” anywhere on school grounds including within the classrooms. In Wisconsin’s Capitol, there is a display which includes a sign promoting the pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice, a menorah, angels, and what certainly appears to be a two story high Christmas tree. But the Deputy Secretary for Wisconsin’s department of administrations adamantly maintains it’s a “Holiday Tree.” He adds they are being sensitive to the public. Macy’s Department Stores have banned signs reading “Merry Christmas.” They have replaced them with “Happy Holidays” and have instructed store employees to use only that phrase. One wonders if Macy’s will still hold their annual “After Christmas Sale.” An “After Holiday Sale” seems a little nonspecific and less likely to attract shoppers.
There was a time in America’s history when Christmas celebrations were outlawed because they were considered too similar to pagan rituals. In 1644 the English Parliament went so far as to declare plum puddings and mince pies as “heathen.” Now society has reached a point where Christmas isn’t considered “pagan enough.” There is even a movement “re-paganize” one of Christians’ most sacred days. An Internet website called CircleSanctuary.org encourages families to incorporate into their households a list of 21 suggestions that include such things as “If you choose to have a living or a harvested evergreen tree as part of your holiday decorations, call it a solstice tree and decorate it with pagan symbols. Reclaim Santa Claus as a pagan god-form by decorating him with images that reflect his various heritages ranging from the Greek god Cronos (father time) to Odin, the Scandinavian all-father riding the sky on an eight-legged horse. Place pagan mother-goddess images around your home, possibly including one with a sun child, such as Isis with Horus.”
There is something wrong when a few people who claim to feel intimidated by the spirited singing of “Jingle Bells” and threatened by a joyous rendition of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” (as stated in a currently pending lawsuit filed in Colorado) are taken so seriously. It’s as though the Grinch’s heart has once again shrunk to two sizes too small and he’s begun to legislate. His first order of business is to relegate Christians to second class citizens.
So as you’re out among the populace this December, smile and wish everyone you see a Merry Christmas. Remind them all why it is we rejoice during this holy season. But don’t be surprised if a department store security guy escorts you out.
---Berta Collins Eddy
copyright Almost Normal Publications 2005
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