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Christmas controversies

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File:War on Christmas book by John Gibson.jpg
Cover of John Gibson's book The War on Christmas

Christmas controversies is a collective method of referring to the many historical and present–day controversial methods of celebrating or acknowledging the Christmas holiday.

In past centuries, Christmas–related controversy was mainly restricted to a public focus on secular Christmas themes such as Santa Claus or the notion of "peace on Earth", rather than what was glorified as the "reason for the Season"—the birth of Jesus. A symbolic issue from these former controversies was usage of the term "Xmas", which many feared was a conscious attempt at removing the term "Christ" from Christmas. Controversy over this issue subsided after it was revealed that the letter "X" is actually an alternative means of referring to Christ.

In present–day United States and Canada, it is often suggested that mention of the term "Christmas" in public venues such as government, media, and retail, is being strenuously avoided and replaced with a generic term, usually "holiday", while at the same time, specific, though non-religious Christmas customs such as Santa Claus and Christmas trees are often prominently showcased. Supporters of this effort often claim that the goal of this euphemistic terminology is to not offend non-Christians, while opponents report that since 80 percent of non–Christian US citizens celebrate Christmas[1][2][3], and a total of 96 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas[4], usage of the term "holiday" instead of "Christmas" is an effort to avoid connotations with Christianity or Jesus, rather than to "include" non–Christians.

The term often associated with this controversy is "the War on Christmas", a term that was popularized in conservative media, but is now just as popular in mainstream media.

Secularization issues

Protestantism

Prior to the Victorian era, Christmas was primarily a religious holiday, and its importance was often considered secondary to Epiphany and Easter. As was the case with other Christian holidays, it 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 originally pagan. During the various Protestant reformations, these (really or supposedly) 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.[5]

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.[6]

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. . . "[7]

The December 1957 News and Views published by the Church League of America, an organization co-founded in 1937 by George Washington Robnett[8] 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."[9] Such claims are made in the face of documented centuries-long history of use of Χ (actually a chi) 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 Christian sects, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and some fundamentalist churches, continued to reject the holiday as well, citing its pagan and/or Roman Catholic origins.

Avoidance issues

Avoidance/censorship of Christmas

File:NavyXmas.JPG
A graphic from Old Navy's web site promoting a generic "holiday" theme.

In 1999, VDARE.com editor Peter Brimelow is credited for first coining the term "War on Christmas", or "War Against Christmas", and the analysis of this issue became a prominent piece of conservative cultural criticism in the United States.

The phrases "Season's Greetings," or "Happy Holidays" as opposed to "Merry Christmas," have become a particular concern to many people.[10] The phrases are used on many postcards (as, for example, those sent out by the American Library Association), and by door clerks at Wal-Mart and other major stores. Don Feder, president of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation stresses that it should be okay to say "Merry Christmas", and complained about "politically correct purging of Christmas from our culture." [2] Rabbi Daniel Lapin believes that "saying Merry Christmas is NOT Offensive" and complains that "We see obsequious regard for faiths like Judaism and even Islam, while Christianity is treated with contempt". [3] Further, Lapin says that "Nationwide, Christmas Nativity scenes are banned from city halls and shopping malls but Chanukah menorahs are permitted. (They are only cultural symbols, not religious, you see.)" and concludes that "Religious Freedom is for Everyone - Not Just Minorities" [4].

The idea of a war on Christmas in America gained prominence following extensive coverage on the Fox News Channel. The channel's commentators Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity first spoke of a "war on Christmas" in the months leading up to the 2004 holiday season, and picked up the topic again in late 2005. In particular, they cited certain school decisions and municipal codes that were supposed to single out Christmas observances for special restriction.

In several cases, the news items mentioned on Fox were denied by the persons involved. For example, O'Reilly said that the township of Saginaw, Michigan "opposes red and green clothing on anyone." The town supervisor responded that "O'Reilly's comments are flat-out not true...the township hall has red and green Christmas lights adorning the building at night."[11] Nevertheless, these reports bolstered a widespread popular sentiment that Christmas was being attacked by the political left. This was, and is, widely discussed on the Internet, especially in the blogosphere. A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll for November 29–30, 2005 found that 42% of respondents believe that "there is a War on Christmas in the U.S. today," with 48% in disagreement. Media Matters for America, a watchdog group critical of conservative media, reported that from Monday, November 28, to Friday, December 2, Fox News aired 58 different reports, interviews, and debates about the War on Christmas. [12] Many print and television media outlets are skeptical, calling it a conspiracy theory or a deliberate attempt to further a conservative Christian agenda. [13] [14]

File:Kmart Holiday.jpg
Several retailers began incorporating the term "Christmas" after public outcry in 2005.

Regarding the phrase "Season's Greetings," as opposed to "Merry Christmas," O'Reilly argued: "Every company in America should be on their knees thanking Jesus for being born. Without Christmas, most American businesses would be far less profitable," O'Reilly said on a Fox News program. "More than enough reason for business to be screaming 'Merry Christmas'." Critics, however, point out that attempting to include non-Christians in Christmas by generalizing the holiday is a wholly capitalistic method of increasing profits — the more people affected by marketing, the more people will come out and purchase. In 2006 however, Wal-Mart resumed the use of "Merry Christmas" in their advertisements after a sharp decline in their 2005 holiday sales. Critics say that this was a result of some 96% of Americans who celebrate Christmas objecting. [15]

While the controversy over the phrase "Season's Greetings" strongly echoes Robnett's concern about the phrase "Xmas," the "War on Christmas" idea, however, differs from earlier discussions of the secularization of Christmas in two important regards. First, it treats many of the (really or supposedly) paganizing elements of Christmas observance as if they were essentially Christian symbols, so that, for example, Saginaw's purported ban of red and green clothing is an anti-Christian act. This is in contrast to many earlier critics of Christmas, such as the Puritans or the Jehovah's Witnesses: by them, the removal of Christmas trees, yule logs, and so forth would be viewed as pro-Christian. Some contemporary conservatives advance this line of thought as well, arguing that the "Christmas" that's allegedly under attack is a secularized, commercialized corruption of the Nativity to begin with.

Second, earlier critics have usually seen Christian observance as coming under attack from generalized secular and capitalist trends. Modern critics tend to see Christmas as being specifically attacked by a conspiracy of secular forces, and are less concerned about the commercialization of Christmas per se. For example, John Gibson, wrote a book entitled The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought (ISBN 1-59523-016-5), which was published in October of 2005. Gibson and others claim the abolition of Christmas (War on Christmas) is part of a broader "culture war" waged by progressives. O'Reilly claimed that "it's all part of the secular progressive agenda ... to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square." He also went on to say that this larger agenda includes "legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage." [16] In this alleged recent movement, Gibson has charged that a wide array of groups, including "liberals," "secular progressives," the ACLU, the Anti-Defamation League, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are the forces behind the attack, while O'Reilly has focused more narrowly on the ACLU and billionaire financier George Soros. [17] [18]

Recent media "revival" of Christmas

File:Xmas2006.JPG
Target's official logo for Christmas 2006.

Perhaps stemming from several boycotts from Christian groups in 2005, many retailers and corporations are reversing their decisions to avoid use of the term Christmas in their advertising and promotions for the 2006 Christmas season. Among retailers that have officially endorsed Christmas are Wal-Mart, Target, Kohl's, Sears Holdings Corp. (Sears and Kmart), and Macy's.

After public pressure in 2005, Target added the greeting "Merry Christmas" at the end of several of their TV ads at the end of the 2005 season. In 2006, two ads have surfaced with the same greeting, but a different font.[19] Target also uses the term "Christmas" on their website and in promoting their products, including using terms such as "Christmas trees", "Christmas decor", and "Christmas spirit". (see Target Corporation#Criticism)

On 9 November 2006, Wal-Mart announced that they would be officially endorsing "Christmas" for the 2006 season in their store, print, radio, and television advertising.[20] A photo has been released by the Associated Press which shows children playing near a Nativity scene and a Christmas tree as part of an upcoming Wal-Mart TV commercial. Wal-Mart also announced that their "Holiday shop" is becoming a "Christmas shop", and that 60% of their "holiday" items are being relabeled "Christmas" this year. A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said "We learned our lesson from last year, we are using Christmas this year at Wal-Mart".

The reversal trend is certainly not universal. Some retailers, for example Best Buy and Old Navy, have decided to continue with the generic "holiday" advertising this season.

See also

Organizations

References

  1. ^ Christmas celebration percentage poll
  2. ^ Religion Key Findings research
  3. ^ Religion in the USA, Wikipedia
  4. ^ Christmas celebration percentage poll
  5. ^ Nissenbaum, Stephen. (1997). The Battle for Christmas. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-74038-4.
  6. ^ Hutton, Ronald. (2001). Stations of the Sun: The Ritual Year in England. Oxford: Oxford Press. ISBN 0-19-285448-8.
  7. ^ Exmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus by C. S. Lewis
  8. ^ "Subject guide to Conservative and Libertarian materials, in Manuscript collections" University of Oregon
  9. ^ Kominsky, Morris (1970). The Hoaxers: Plain Liars, Fancy Liars and Damned Liars, pages 137-138 ISBN 0-8283-1288-5
  10. ^ Don Feder, Jews Against anti-Christian Defamation
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ "Battlefront Fox: Cable network aggressively promoted idea of Christmas 'war'." Media Matters. 7 December 2005. Accessed 26 December 2005.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Michelle. "How the secular humanist grinch didn't steal Christmas." Salon.com. Accessed 26 December 2005.
  14. ^ "Newspapers, commentators agree: Virginia, there is no War on Christmas Media Matters. 23 December 2005.
  15. ^ Saunders, Greg. "Christmas Slime Is Here Again." This Modern World. 7 December 2005. Accessed 26 December 2005.
  16. ^ "O'Reilly: 'War' on Christmas part of 'secular progressive agenda' that includes 'legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage'." Media Matters. 21 November 2005. Accessed 26 December 2005.
  17. ^ "O'Reilly: 'There's a very secret plan ... to diminish Christian philosophy in the U.S.A.'" Media Matters. 30 November 2005. Accessed 26 December 2005.
  18. ^ "O'Reilly: Soros is 'Moneyman' Behind War on Christmas." Daily Kos. 2 December 2005. Accessed 26 December 2005.
  19. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5O7quyRY4&mode=related&search=
  20. ^ http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2642061


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