12.04.2005

Buying and the Bastardization of Christmas

"This year's Christmas 'defenders' are not just tolerating commercialization - they're insisting on it," writes Adam Cohen in today's New York Times. Of those (mainly Bill O'Reilly and others on Fox) who claim there's a war on Christmas, he feels there's "something perverse, when Christians are being jailed for discussing the Bible in Saudi Arabia and slaughtered in Sudan, about spending so much energy on stores that sell 'holiday trees.'" But these activists aren't just bastardizing the message of Christ, they're rewriting the history of the holiday: finding no mention of December 25 in the bible, Puritans thought Christmas was un-Christian, and by the start of the Civil War, only 18 states recognized it as a holiday. Read his fascinating American history of the holiday.

[Image via Norwegianity.]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The New York Times article "This Season's War Cry: Commercialize Christmas, or Else" is well worth the time to read. I have sent it to my entire mailing list.

Thank You,

James