Bravo! Show me ONE person who has been forbidden by the US government to celebrate Christmas! ONE! Just one...

And, if calling it a holiday tree is unacceptable because that is not what it was first called, because that it not the original purpose of the tree, then by golly, lets call it what it first was, after the culture that first developed the tradition, sure:

I got my Druid Tree up!

Seder treated the subject with all the seriousness that it deserves. It's nothing but a diversonary tactic on the part of the Right to distract from the real problems of the day (and, of course, to keep funds coming in from folks who are gullible enough to fall for the tactic).

this War On Christmas isn't being fought against Christmas; it's being fought by anyone who dares not to celebrate the damned holiday. No one is being prevented from celebrating Christmas, but that's not what nuts like Bill O'Reilly are up in arms about - it's that city governments, schools, and retail chains like Target aren't celebrating Christmas, or aren't doing so vocally or visibly enough.

These far-right Christian wackos (and that's not a knock on Christians in general, just the crazy ones) see it as a tremendous threat that any public space should exist that doesn't shove their beliefs down people's throats. Never mind that Christmas, the way America celebrates is, has about as much to do with Christ's birth as rabbit-delivered chocolate eggs do with his death.

I always figured that Happy Holidays was a short way to say "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" - a truly American thing to do, to abbreviate. And since it happens to be all inclusive of every holiday celebrated during this time, why not?

I actually prefer "Happy Holidays" to "Merry Christmas." The holiday period anymore extends from Thanksgiving to New Years, and includes Christmas and Hanukka. Maybe the FAUX-folks are trying to wage a war on Hanukka and New Years?

And when exactly did the Nazi's stop Christmas? My grandmother grew up in Germany in that time period and she's never once mentioned that.

Jon Stewart has personally declared a war on Christmast. He has decreed that he will NOT REST until every December 25th families gather to celebrate Osama's Homo Abortion Pot and Commie Porn day. :o

I've read many of the post about this whole war on Christmas issue and find it rather frustrating...not because people are pissed at the ridiculousness of the claims from the religious right...but because their is no voice offered by a moderate (or as fundamentalists would label me-liberal)Christian. I am an ordained minister (baptist no less) and every bit as tired of the rhetoric from right wing nuts, Fox News and the folks who are trying to tie the church and state together, as anyone else is. The war on Christmas is a very effective rallying cry because it preys on the fears of the naive. It gets the uninformed out to vote, and their vote counts every bit as much as the Ivy league educated political science professor.

I could rant for quite some time about the absurdity of the whole religious right thing and how it is undermining the teachings of Christ as I read them, but I justed wanted a voice to be heard that contradicts a very powerful, vocal minority of Christians who actually believe the BS spewing from folks like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Bill O'Reilly and the white house.

So maybe there should be a war on Christmas...I hope not though, because the last time the nation was at war during the election cycle, the commander in chief was reelected. Keep raging about the absurd and their voice intensifies with "proof" of those who hate Rudolph, Jesus and their own momma's.

Why hasn't anyone picked up on the fact that this made up affront to the "War on Christmas" appears to be a "War on Other Faiths" in sheep's clothing? By insisting we eradicate the words "Happy Holidays" from our language, aren't the Bill O'Reilly's of the world really denying the beliefs and traditions of other faiths?

Maybe this just another fake crisis a few right-wing talk show hosts have chosen to pontificate upon, or maybe its part of a larger campaign because they feel threatened. After all, the first night of Hanukkah falls on December 25th this year.

Last week, I found out--fer shure!--that I do not have glaucoma. Let me tell you, the potential diagnosis scared the crap out of me for about a week.

After leaving the doctor's with the happy news, I went grocery shopping. I couldn't help myself--I found myself smiling at everyone in the store--and many of them smiled back! Some even laughed! Some looked around to see who I was smiling at, and I waved at them. Most of them waved back. A couple of folks wished me a Happy Holiday, and I returned their greeting. I felt good. I guess they felt good, too, and I really enjoyed seeing people smile. It's so easy to get caught up in all the crappy things in life and forget to smile about the good.

As a Pagan, I wish most people I don't know a Happy Holiday, because I don't think it's my place to presume what (if anything) they're celebrating. I do want to wish them well, though! If I do know someone's faith, I wish them the appropriate greeting. For me, it's a matter of mutual respect. I am never offended if someone I don't know wishes me Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays, or just about anything else. It sure beats "Kiss my ass!" Unless, of course, they know me, know I'm not Christian and are in my face about it--in which case, the greeting might as well be "Kiss my ass," since it's not intended to wish me well at all.

I don't understand at all how someone else's holiday greeting is offensive--unless it's "Kiss my ass!" I thought that the Jesus whose birth Christians are celebrating at this time of year brought a message of universal love--how does all this hoohah promote that, or honor it? It makes no sense to me--and from my POV, the folks insisting there's a "War on Christmas" are the real killjoys.

For another thing--I love seeing holiday decorations, no matter what holiday someone's celebrating. Although when people start bleating about there not being a creche in every public square, I start getting a tad tetchy about them co-opting my Yule Tree! I don't really care if churches want to put creches out--that's their belief, and they should express it on their own property. But why does there have to be one in front of the courthouse, too?

For my part, I'm gonna keep going around, smiling at people and wishing them Happy Holidays. Maybe if we all start accepting greetings in the spirit they're meant, and steadfastly failing to take offense where none was intended, we can laugh the killjoys out of existence. We can only hope!