Christmas is Christmas

The Christmas season, a time for happiness and wonder. A time for celebration and joy. A time for children to sit with wide eyed splendor and listen to Christmas bedtime stories.
I’ve heard lately that this is changing, shifting right under our own noses. Christmas carols have been banned from being sung, decorations have not been put up, and wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” raises eyebrows. Even signs with the words “Merry Christmas” have been taken down or not displayed.
What’s happening? What’s so wrong with Christmas that all of this has started to emerge? Nothing.
It’s the political way of stopping a very joyous thing from happening. It’s the big honchos saying, “Oh, we don’t want to offend anyone.” It’s the big department stores saying, “Oh, it brings us big profits, but we don’t want to offend anyone with the real reason for our profits.” It’s the bigots and the hypocrites saying, “Let’s not offend anyone, so we’ll ban Christmas.”
Well, let me say something here. You just have offended someone! Me! And the 82% of other Americans who believe that Christmas is a celebration of the baby Jesus’ birth. Christmas is not about the presents, or the profits, or the million other things society has made Christmas into. Christmas is about the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. It’s about the journey that his mother, Mary, and Joseph took to Bethlehem. It’s about the little barn and manger. It’s about the star in Heaven and the angel that came to the shepherds who watched their flocks. It’s about the wise men who first visited the little baby Jesus. Most importantly of all it’s about the one act that God did for us. He gave us his only son.
Now, some of you may not agree with what I’m saying here. Some of you may not even celebrate Christmas because it’s not your religion. That’s ok. You’re in America, you have that right. And I have the right to celebrate Christmas. I also have the right to celebrate Christmas without persecution or restraint of freedom.
I was raised Catholic and I was taught to believe that God sees everything I do. Jesus died on the cross for me and God forgave our sins in his place. Mary was a sacred name to be repeated in prayer. The word God was not to be taken in vain. The story of the journey to Bethlehem was repeated over and over, until I could repeat it to everyone around me. The names of Jesus’ apostles were repeated until I had them memorized. But the most important thing that I had ever learned was that I was one of God’s children and Jesus loves me.
You may not have been raised Catholic, or Christian, or Buddhist, or whatever other religion there is out there. You may not even have a religion, and that’s ok. I have a right to celebrate Christmas. You have the right to celebrate and practice whatever religion is native to you.
That phrase keeps coming back to me from Catechism, “God sees everything you do.” I wonder, how much will He take before enough is enough? We’re already trying to take Him out of our schools, out of our Pledge, out of our public places. How much will He take? How much until He turns a shoulder on us, like we have on Him? And now we’re trying to take away the birthday of His only son? How much until He says, “Ok, I wash my hands of you.”? How much?
All I’m asking for is my Christmas. My chance to celebrate the birth of the man who saved me from my sins. To celebrate the mother who brought him into this world. To sing the songs for him. To remember him.

Taking the Christmas out of Christmas Tree?

There's a new buzz going around about some cities around the US taking the word Christmas out of Christmas Tree. This harkens back to the time when the word Xmas starting popping up all over the place. They're calling them "Holiday Trees".
You know, it just doesn't have the same ring to it. It smacks of religious indignation. It's like taking "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance. Are we going to take that phrase off of our money, too?
Taking Christmas out of the phrase Christmas tree is defaming and demeaning. Would it be right to call a menorah a candlestick? It's not right and it offends the people who the religion applies to.
I'm a Catholic, not particularly practicing, but I was raised Catholic and I believe in God and Christ and Jesus dying on the cross for me and everyone else. Christmas is not a time of presents and gifts, and getting everything that is on your list for Christmas. It's about Jesus and the Christ child and Mary and Joseph, taking that long walk to Bethlehem. It's about the three wisemen and the manger. The star in the sky and the angel looking down upon little baby Jesus. It's about family and friends and the celebration of a birthday. Christ's birthday.
Too little time is spent now a days on the fact that Christmas is not about presents and what is on the list. Christmas should be about waking up on Christmas morning with family and friends surrounding you, not about what's under the tree.
The fad today seems to be making everything general to cover all people of the world. Like taking the Christmas out of Christmas tree and "under God" out of the Pledge. It's all to appease everyone and make sure that no one gets offended by these things. Well, what happens when the simple act of taking those phrases out offends not just one person but a whole group of people? So much so that there is retaliation? I say it's worked for hundreds of years, and to change it now would be blasphemy.
It's not about presents and what's under the tree, it's about the reason for Christmas: Christ. And the fact that Christmas is on a Sunday this year, well, it's carries a little more weight for some reason. I just have one question: How much will He take until enough is enough?