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Don’t have a happy holiday; have a Merry Christmas

Don’t have a happy holiday; have a Merry Christmas

By: By CHRIS MENEES Messenger Staff Reporter

Don't have a happy holiday; have a Merry Christmas | Chris Menees, Just a thought column
I don’t want you to have a “happy holiday.”
I want you to have a Merry Christmas.
And I want people to wish me a Merry Christmas, not tell me to have a happy holiday or give me season’s greetings.
No, I’m not trying to be unreasonable. I just want people to remember the real reason for this joyous season.
After all, without Christ, it wouldn’t even be Christmas. It’s just plain wrong to leave Him out or to change what we call the celebration of His birth in order to avoid stepping on someone’s toes.
In their pathetic attempts to take Christ out of Christmas and keep from offending anyone, certain retailers and the anti-Christmas faction have instead offended me.
Case in point: Several weeks ago, my husband and I bought a new Christmas tree.
The day after the purchase, our excitement over our first low-maintenance pre-lit tree quickly faded when we realized we had purchased a “holiday” tree. We came very close to returning the tree in its unopened box to the local retailer for a refund — until a check at a couple of other local stores revealed similar “holiday” tree markings on their Christmas tree boxes.
Call it what you will, but at our house, it’s a Christmas tree. And it’s adorned with Christmas lights and Christmas ornaments and it will have Christmas presents beneath it in a few days. Why we might even play a few Christmas carols as we gather ’round it Christmas morning.
It seems that despite complaints and campaigns last year, some hard-headed manufacturers and retailers persist this year in avoiding the use of Christmas — instead choosing the generic terms “holiday” or “seasonal” in a ridiculous attempt to keep from offending non-Christians.
Gee, it seems like a bit of a double standard that many of these same retail giants who are so worried about offending non-Christians with Christmas never think twice about offending Christians who don’t celebrate Halloween. Go figure.
It’s just hard for me to fathom that there are actually companies and stores in our great nation — which, by the way, was founded on Christian principles — that are seriously banning any reference to Christmas. Personally, I’m inclined to ban them from the list of stores where I shop.
Despite all of our technological advances through the years, I think our founding fathers would be terribly disappointed if they could see how we’ve morally regressed in America.
And what about our Heavenly Father? As if it’s not bad enough that His name is regularly dragged through the mud by Hollywood and disrespected by those who foolishly use it in combination with profanity, now Christians are faced with battling the world for the right to continue to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
The time has come for Christians to take a stand and take back Christmas for what it really is — the celebration of the birth of the Savior and a celebration fit for the King of Kings.
I don’t like the use of the abbreviation “Xmas” and I get especially annoyed at this time of the year when I hear people say things like “Without snow, it doesn’t seem like Christmas” or “It’s just not Christmas without Aunt Gertrude’s special green bean casserole.”
My reply? Nonsense.
Wanna know the truth?
It’s just not Christmas without the guest of honor — Christ.
Staff Reporter Chris Menees may be contacted by e-mail at cmenees@ucmessenger.com.
Published in The Messenger 12.21.07

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