Thursday, December 01, 2005

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?

No comments: