© 2012 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. There is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. Erma Bombeck
What was unthinkable in my childhood is now the norm. The majority of the country must fight the minority to continue Christmas. While Congress still calls it Christmas, the forces against Christmas assault the celebration of Christ every year.
It would appear Congress needs to vote again on the federal Christmas Designation. What did the 1870 Congress mean when it voted Christmas a federal holiday? It would seem Congress in 1870 and every year thereafter announced that the U. S. is a Christian nation. Not that our nation does not welcome other religions. We, the majority do but we, the majority, wish to celebrate Christmas.
Our Founding Leaders on April 30, 1789 took their oath of office, the president, senators and members of the House of Representatives and then all together walked to a church where they all, yes all, prayed together. There has not been a vote to remove the Christian nation, in fact, in 1954 the words, “…under God…” were added to the Pledge of Allegiance.
We need clarification: can federal and state employees say, “Merry Christmas?” As important: can federal and state employees decide to not say “Merry Christmas?” The “Politically Correct (PC)” crowd has browbeaten and threatened lawsuits on many government entities including public education. In most public schools Christmas became Winter Holiday without a vote in Congress or Santa Fe. Is that the will of the people?
This spilled over into the business community a couple of years ago. Citizens quelled it when they announced no Christmas greetings, no shopping from us. The stores quickly caught on. They can also say Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah or anything else but they cannot omit Christmas greetings and still get our business.
I do not blame public schools for casting off Christmas songs, plays and pageants when our representatives and senators do not stand up for Christmas. The legislators let unelected PC people force the dropping of Christmas. I do not have any trouble with a separation of the story of the Baby Jesus and students. I leave that to the parents and Churches.
However, in the effort to not say Christmas, traditional songs cannot be sung. Also, Santa Claus is considered politically incorrect so students are not permitted a classroom Santaesque “naughty or nice” song. Teachers are instructed in many school districts to have nothing to do with anything Christmas-centric.
A walk through your neighborhood school and into the classrooms will confirm that there is no dialog about the Christmas Holiday including the who, what, when, where and why of Christmas included in all other federal and state holidays. Until Congress repudiates Christmas, it is the law of the land and we take those days off. So when are we going to teach Christmas to the next generation of students as we teach Thanksgiving, Labor Day and Memorial Day?
Christmas is not required to be believed, it still should be taught as part of the culture of being an American. Students who know the Fourth of July, Columbus Day, MLK Day, etc., they should have some understanding of the intent of our Founding Leaders and the federal designation of Christmas. Again, they do not have to celebrate being a Christian; they have to understand the identity of our nation.
Maybe we should remove Christmas and everything Christian including “In God We Trust” from our money. Let us have a vote in Congress and the New Mexico Legislature to find out what our leaders think. Those who want to adopt Secular Humanism instead of Christianity can vote so. As a nation of laws we are obligated to follow the results of the vote. No more “getting around” the vote, we follow the vote.
For me it will always be Christmas. Some of my most treasured memories are of Christmas with my family. Friends have come and gone, loved ones are around me while others passed. I do not wish to put Christmas on you, but will not let you take it from me. Perhaps it is time for all of our leaders to step up and vote this issue.
Dr. Michael Swickard is co-host of radio talk show News New Mexico 6 to 9 a.m. Monday - Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. Email: michael@swickard.com
