Commentary: Initiating the Christmas Comeback

Happy 4th of July Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Winter Holidays? What's wrong with this list of greetings is the last one, Happy Winter Holidays. Until recently, the common greeting for this time of year has long been "Merry Christmas". But as our post-modern era strives to dilute the acknowledgement of this sacred holiday, many fall into the false presumption that the law or Constitution actually requires this un-called-for assault on our Savior's birth.

The fact is that the United States Government has formally recognized Christmas as an official holiday. Even better yet, our courts have upheld the public and private acknowledgment of Christmas. Yet millions of Americans this Christmas season will find themselves hiding the true meaning of this holiday.

So what are you to do to reverse this diluting trend? Well, if you are a city councilman you should not let the snowman in front of City Hall be displayed without a manger scene. If you are a public school teacher, don't hesitate to sing both religious and secular carols with your students. You can even temporarily display a nativity scene in your class, and yes, dismiss your students for Christmas break. Government workers should not be afraid of giving Christmas cards to their peers or wearing jewelry using the term "Christmas". And for those of you who this year are in charge of the corporate Christmas party - I dare you to call it what everyone already knows that it is - a Christmas party, not a Winter Holiday party, but a Christmas party.

And as we each hustle and bustle into crowded shopping malls, don't forget to leave behind (along with spent resources) a friendly "Merry Christmas" greeting to all those merchants. Even if some don't appreciate the saying quite the same as you do, they can at least be reminded of what it is that causes their net profits to so predictably soar in the first place.