PC Denies Holiday Reality

The leaves have fallen. There's a cool breeze outside. And I can't find a decent parking spot at the mall.

Ah the joys of holiday season!

What holiday in particular? Well there's Hanukkah, a religious celebration commemorating the uprising by the Maccabees in Judea against their pagan Assyrian conquerors, but society at large tends to simply recognize it as the lighting of nine candles for mysterious reasons or worse yet that Hanukkah is just the "Jewish Christmas." And then there is my favorite, Kwanzaa, a sham holiday that gives Festivus a sense of legitimacy...after all the latter was not invented by a convicted felon.

Conduct a nationwide poll about the details of the Kwanzaa and Festivus and my money is on more people having knowledge of Frank Costanza's celebration best known for its feats of strength, airing of grievances, and its centerpiece ornament, the aluminum Festivus pole, than they do about Kwanzaa, which is only 40 years older than Festivus. The main difference between Festivus and Kwanzaa is that one was intended to make people laugh and the other is just a joke.

What bothers me most about Kwanzaa, aside from its artificial nature, creation by a racial militant who tortured two black women, and the outright ludicrousness of the whole deal (web site) is that it is given more reverence by the media, Hollywood, and politicians than the second holiest day in the West's predominant faith.

I remember watching Bad Santa, surely not an accurate barometer of modern society (or is it?) and hearing a background announcement at the mall the Billy Bob Thornton character was about to rob wishing its patrons a happy Hanukkah, a joyous Kwanzaa, and a happy holiday season. That they left out one important proper named holiday in particular offended me more than all of the profanities and vulgar references in the film, and there were many.

It is truly sad that the most recognized holiday in Western Civilization is now the holiday that none dares speak its name.

Now it appears House Speaker Denny "Go To Hell New Orleans" Hastert is having a "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore" moment by demanding that the "holiday tree" outside of the Capitol be officially referred to as a Chri...well you know...tree.

Even the Democratic mayor of Boston is hopping over the political correcting of his city's "seasonal tree." The Canadian who donated the tree was so incensed that his timber was having its name shivered into common noun status that he publicly stated his regret for cutting it down.

And though we are weeks from December 25th, you can bet your red stockings that ACLU lawyers are busy applying their war paint as they giddily begin their assault on public schools from Omaha to Wilmington to save children from being compelled to sing and/or listen to "Silent Night" or "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," since the subject of the song is a reference to Saint Nicholas, a revered figure in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Of course the ACLU will only be able to spring into action if some atheist divorcee drops a nickel on the school, thus relegating his or her child to more school yard taunting than the unfortunate grade schooler with the surname Slutsky.

Yet despite the success of liberals and anti-Christians there is one Gibraltar of reality they can't crack: turning December 25th into just another day of the week. Lawyers might rid the educational system of "Joy to the World," merchandisers can assign any secular moniker they wish to their turbo sale time, but they will never get mail delivered or garbage picked up on that particular day.

That government shuts down and most businesses aren't open on December 25th is reality's recognition that the day is special even if it isn't observed by one and all.

And since there seems to be a national, unspoken conspiracy against going to work that day why can't department stores name their "Holiday Season Sale" a "Christmas Sale" and government refer to their giant, green needle-bearing tree a Christmas tree without threat of litigation? And in the likely event public entities do get sued, they should have the chestnuts to stand up to such anti-Christian grinches.