The Phony War on Christmas

With Halloween still receding from our rear view mirrors, the wacky Christian Right has already started their annual bellyaching that Christmas is under attack. The American Family Association has launched a boycott of Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores, due to the fact that this chain of mall stores chooses not to use the word "Christmas" in its holiday advertising. According to the AFA post, the Gap issued a "politically correct" statement that "Gap recognizes that many traditions are celebrated throughout this season and we feel it is important to display holiday signage that is inclusive to everyone."

In a country where, according to this study, 18.5% of Americans consider themselves non-Christian, is trying to create an atmospere of inclusiveness not a good idea?

The guy who is typically credited with coining the term "War on Chistmas," Peter Brimelow seems to be a fellow of dubious distinction. The Southern Poverty Law Center has a page about Brimelow in its Intelligence Report section, which is set up to monitor "hate groups and extremist activity in the US." Brimelow even appears to have gotten into a little dust up with Brad Krantz and Britt Whitmire, the hosts of one of the best local radio talk shows around, the Brad and Britt show on WZTK in Greensboro, NC.

For the record, let me say that I think that the whole thing is much ado about nothing. Much in the same way that the trade name Xerox became a shorthand term for photocopy or that Band-Aid has come to mean any self-adhesive bandage, or Jacuzzi has come to mean any hot tub, Christmas has become a
genericized trademark for a winter holiday. Modern Americans think more about the secular pantheon of Christmas; Scrooge, Santa, and Frosty the Snowman than they think about the religious figures that were once widely associated with it. What really upsets the culture warriors is that they see that the ground is shifting beneath their feet in regards to people's religious views. The sharp rise in those who identify themselves as atheists or agnostics has to be a particularly disturbing trend.

So rather than feeding the martyr complexes of right wing nutters like Brimelow, Bill O'Reilly, or the much put-upon Catholic League's Bill Donohue, when someone tells you "Merry Christmas," don't fight it. When you do that, the mental terrorists win. The best thing to do is to take the complete opposite tact and say thank you and talk about how much you love watching A Charlie Brown Christmas and how much you love to hear "Walking in a Winter Wonderland." Quibbling over whether or not to call the holiday season "Christmas" only stokes their petty little fire. If we use the term more often and more loosely, the mental association with the cult of the Nazarene will fade away just as the holiday's origins in the pagan festival of Saturnalia have faded from the collective consciousness of mainstream culture. The key to winning this battle of the culture war is not confrontation, it is assimilating the holiday completely into the popular culture.