Will someone let me know when the War on Christmas starts this year.

[SummerMadness]

If you enlist the Santa Soldiers, make sure there are not too many in one room.
La Cité des Enfants Perdus: Too Many Santas

 

[AceHero]

I believe that the annual War on Christmas starts on the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is the complete opposite of what Christmas is all about.

 

[Savior2006]

I find it amazing when Christians fight tooth and nail for a holiday that is so steeped in Pagan tradition it isn't even funny.

Jesus wasn't born on December 25th.

Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, not His birth date.

Nowhere does the Bible tell Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Trees, wreaths, Christmas decorations (especially balls of gold and silver), the exchanging of gifts, Yule logs, Christmas ham, mistletoe, all Pagan in origin.

Angel tree toppers are almost exclusively female, when the Bible is clear that the angels that appeared to Mary and the shepherds were male.

So, in reality, when Christians fight to "keep the Christ in Christmas" I wonder...when was Christ in Christmas in the first place? Christmas is a fun little holiday. It's festive. The decorations are pretty. The food is good. The songs are fun. Parties are a blast. It's nice to give, and receive, gifts. But why do we struggle to cram Jesus into a holiday that is was strictly Pagan in its beginnings, and largely secular/consumer today?

Don't let facts get in the way of a good persecution narrative.

 

[Joykins]

The sheer amount of tinsel I shall use in my celebration of ALL pagan, secular, and religious aspects of Christmas this year will shine peace and joy and goodwill into the eyes of everyone who wants to be a party pooper this year.

*glitter*

 

[HonestTruth]

The annual WAR ON CHRISTMAS has started in Burlington County, NJ!



New Jersey school bans religious Christmas music | Fox News




The angels will not be allowed to hark their herald nor will the little Lord Jesus sleep on the hay after a New Jersey school district announced a ban on all religious Christmas music.
Constance Bauer, the superintendent of the Bordentown Regional School District, posted a message online stating someone had been questioning recent musical selections for the elementary school Christmas concerts.
Pardon me, the school district calls them “winter” concerts.

My guess is that a perpetually offended left-winger became unglued when they heard that little boys and girls might be pa rum pum pum pum.
“Religious music should not be part of the elementary program(s),” Supt. Scrooge wrote in her anti-Christmas screed.

So songs about Frosty, Rudolph and mommy making out with Santa Claus are fine, but harmonizing about round yon virgin will get you put on the naughty list.​

So songs about Frosty, Rudolph and mommy making out with Santa Claus are fine, but harmonizing about round yon virgin will get you put on the naughty list.
“It remains the District’s mission to celebrate the rich and wonderful diversity of our children and community and hope that the joy shared through our numerous winter programs will continue to be (a) cherished part of your traditions,” she concluded.
Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal firm specializing in religious liberty cases, fired off a letter to the New Jersey grinches - reminding them that it’s perfectly constitutional to sing “Joy to the World.”
“Schools should not have to think twice about whether they can allow students to perform Christmas carols,” said Legal Counsel Matthew Sharp. “Courts have unanimously upheld their inclusion in school productions--even when songs deal with Christian themes that are naturally a part of the holiday.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom letter explains that “every federal court to examine the issue has determined that including Christmas carols and other religious music in school choir programs fully complies with the First Amendment.”
As a result, the First Amendment requires that the district “remains neutral towards religion and refrains from demonstrating an unconstitutional hostility toward songs with religious origins.”
And besides, folks love to sing about the Baby Jesus as much as they do about hauling out the holly. A 2011 Rasmussen poll found that 79 percent of American adults believe public schools should celebrate religious holidays.
“Misinformation about the First Amendment is frequently what leads to censorship of constitutionally permissible and culturally significant songs performed during Christmas concerts,” added Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “We urge the Bordentown Regional School District to rescind this new policy and permit religious music to be included among the many non-religious songs performed at school concerts.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is urging the district to see the error of their ways and reverse the ban on religious-themed Christmas music by Nov. 1. Otherwise, I suspect they might find a lump of coal in their stockings -- along with a lawsuit.
How is it possible to have a concert celebrating the Christmas (pardon me, winter) season without singing about the reason for the season?
That’s sort of like opening a barbecue joint and telling the customers they can’t eat pork.
Perhaps the “enlightened” educators of Bordentown should take a swig or two of egg nog instead of getting their Christmas stockings in a bunch.
Pardon me, ahem. I meant to say winter stockings.






-----------



Notice how the right wing commentator blames liberals for this. But he fails to note that the majority in Burlington County are REPUBLICAN.

As Casey Stengel used to say, you can look it up.

 

[AirPo]

Hi everyone

I haven't been around for awhile. I needed to take a break from the partisan arguing (and I've been unusually busy). But I would like to ask a favor - can someone let me know when the War on Christmas starts up again? The War on Christmas has become an enjoyable part of my holiday season, and I want to fight side-by-side with my Christmas Jihadi brothers and sisters as we once again try to stop Christmas from happening in every home in America (and perhaps even abroad one day). In the meantime, I'll try to check in periodically to see if I can offer any support.

Death to Christmas!!!

Cheers

Griz

Dude! You missed the call. They opened up another front in a different forum!
revanneosl's got your back though.

I'm in. And somebody should tell Grizz we're on again.

I know it's early, but my calls for truce have been ignored.

Can't we just please eat a big turkey dinner first?

 

[metherion]

Actually, I think the War on Christmas started before Halloween. At the very latest, October 29th, in Eastern Texas.

Why do I say this? On October 29th, we went to Wal-Mart to see if we could find a rubber hand to use in a prank by the rent slot at our apartment complex since my fiancee works in the office. About one third of the Halloween stuff was down and replaced by Christmas stuff ALREADY. It wasn't even Halloween and Christmas was already being merchandized.

That's the real war on Christmas, it's not Christmas anymore. It's a whole quarter of the year telling you BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY SANTA SANTA PRESENT PRESENTS.

With what Acehero said about Black Friday being the opposite of Christmas, well, it may not be Black Friday yet, but the merchants are already belittling a day two months away and two MAJOR HOLIDAYS away to try and cheapen it into a cash cow. THAT is a war on Christmas. Peace to all good will towards men? More like sell to all and more money towards our coffers.

I am reminded of this… Gotta love Stan Freburg.

STAN FREBERG - Green Christmas (1958) - A Classic! - YouTube

I don't subscribe to the notion of a War on Christmas… but if there is one it certainly isn't DON'T SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS AT STORES IN A DIVERSE NATION WITH DOZENS OF RELIGIONS THAT DON'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AT ALL, it's more CHEAPEN THE HOLIDAY WITH CONSTANT SAlES PITCHES STARTING IN OCTOBER BEFORE HALLOWEEN.

Metherion

 

[Joykins]

I don't subscribe to the notion of a War on Christmas… but if there is one it certainly isn't DON'T SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS AT STORES IN A DIVERSE NATION WITH DOZENS OF RELIGIONS THAT DON'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AT ALL, it's more CHEAPEN THE HOLIDAY WITH CONSTANT SAlES PITCHES STARTING IN OCTOBER BEFORE HALLOWEEN.

Is Jesus upset by having his name or title insufficiently commercialized?

 

[HonestTruth]

As was noted in post # 2 above, technically speaking, Christmas isn't even Christian. Nowhere in the Bible is this "holiday" celebrate or sanctioned. In fact, as was also noted, Jesus celebrated Hebrew holidays, not Saturnalia which is pagan.

The Bible teaches, LEARN NOT THE WAYS OF THE HEATHEN in Jeremiah 10:2. Therefore, before we see any more attacks on liberals as we see so often online whenever there is a discussion on this subject, let the critics read their own Bible first.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

Tell me Happy Holidays all you want, and I will respond with either a Happy Holidays or a Merry Christmas. It's when I'm told "YOU CANNOT WISH SOMEONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS" that I might get a little peeved. But I don't really see it as a War on Christmas.

That being said, there's a school district in New Jersey that has banned all religious-themed holiday music for school productions. I find that a bit overboard. Even some of the stoutest atheists I know don't mind a bit of "Away in a Manger" or "Silent Night" during Christmas.

So what we're left with is 5 dozen versions of Jingle Bells, some mommy kissing Santa, 12 annoying days of Christmas, a reindeer with a sinus infection and a snowman with a magical hat.

 

[AirPo]

Barenaked Ladies - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" [audio] - YouTube

 

[Oafman]

Great news folks! The forces of anti-Christmas have struck an early blow.

Here we see the Godless Soldiers of Secularism (bless them) conducting the extraordinary rendition of the Christmas mastermind known as Santa Claws (sometimes also Father Christmas, or St Nick). Claws will be shuffled between various little-known atheist military compounds until January 7th, when he will be released unharmed (though somewhat slimmer).

 

[Armoured]

Tell me Happy Holidays all you want, and I will respond with either a Happy Holidays or a Merry Christmas. It's when I'm told "YOU CANNOT WISH SOMEONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS" that I might get a little peeved. But I don't really see it as a War on Christmas.

That being said, there's a school district in New Jersey that has banned all religious-themed holiday music for school productions. I find that a bit overboard. Even some of the stoutest atheists I know don't mind a bit of "Away in a Manger" or "Silent Night" during Christmas.

So what we're left with is 5 dozen versions of Jingle Bells, some mommy kissing Santa, 12 annoying days of Christmas, a reindeer with a sinus infection and a snowman with a magical hat.

My local shopping centre already has all the decorations up, a massive 4 storey tree up in centre court, and fairy lights burning a couple hundred kW hours worth of electricity a day, 24/7, from now for the duration. If there was a war on Christmas, it was pretty short around here.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

My local shopping centre already has all the decorations up, a massive 4 storey tree up in centre court, and fairy lights burning a couple hundred kW hours worth of electricity a day, 24/7, from now for the duration. If there was a war on Christmas, it was pretty short around here.

My Home Depot where I work has had their Christmas set up almost since we got our Halloween end-cap put up. The customers were a bit annoyed by it, but I have to admit, the kids LOVE it. They always get excited when they see it, regardless of when it goes up.

And that's partly why I love Christmas so much.

 

[SummerMadness]

That being said, there's a school district in New Jersey that has banned all religious-themed holiday music for school productions. I find that a bit overboard. Even some of the stoutest atheists I know don't mind a bit of "Away in a Manger" or "Silent Night" during Christmas.

That happens to be my school district, we did not ban all religious themed holiday music. What we did was change our winter concerts to music other than holiday music, it's get really tired playing the same Christmas and Hanukkah music (our town is 25% Jewish) every year. We also realized there are other religions within our school district, so there was no need to favor one set of religions over others. We still have a gospel choir, we still had brass ensemble playing Christmas carols in the hallways in December.

Our district was this way for over 10 years. It only became national news because Bill O'Reilly "discovered" this and used his FWoC campaign to stir up a frenzy. He did not do this out of the goodness of his heart, he did it to get more viewers so he could charge advertisers more money.

As I wrote before, nothing changed in out towns, everyone still enjoys their holiday without issue just as you will enjoy your holiday without issue. However, the purveyors of this fake war will have more of your money because they have convinced you that you are somehow under attack.

 

[Dusky Mouse]

Hi everyone

I haven't been around for awhile. I needed to take a break from the partisan arguing (and I've been unusually busy). But I would like to ask a favor - can someone let me know when the War on Christmas starts up again? The War on Christmas has become an enjoyable part of my holiday season, and I want to fight side-by-side with my Christmas Jihadi brothers and sisters as we once again try to stop Christmas from happening in every home in America (and perhaps even abroad one day). In the meantime, I'll try to check in periodically to see if I can offer any support.

Death to Christmas!!!

Cheers
Griz

​

 

[PreachersWife2004]

That happens to be my school district, we did not ban all religious themed holiday music. What we did was change our winter concerts to music other than holiday music, it's get really tired playing the same Christmas and Hanukkah music (our town is 25% Jewish) every year. We also realized there are other religions within our school district, so there was no need to favor one set of religions over others. We still have a gospel choir, we still had brass ensemble playing Christmas carols in the hallways in December.

You highlighted "the same Christmas and Hanukkah music" - but what your district did really was just limit the "same Christmas and Hanukkah music" and took away some of the variety.

Our district was this way for over 10 years. It only became national news because Bill O'Reilly "discovered" this and used his FWoC campaign to stir up a frenzy. He did not do this out of the goodness of his heart, he did it to get more viewers so he could charge advertisers more money.

Hmmm...are you sure that this has always been this way? After some research, I found that the superintendent of the school only posted the information online around 10/31 and that it did not apply to some other schools in the district. She has since rescinded that and has said that religious music will be allowed.

Bordentown Regional School District restores religious songs to concert - Burlington County Times: Burlington County | Local news | Breaking News

Perhaps your district is a different district?

As I wrote before, nothing changed in out towns, everyone still enjoys their holiday without issue just as you will enjoy your holiday without issue. However, the purveyors of this fake war will have more of your money because they have convinced you that you are somehow under attack.

Can you explain how you think that the "purveyors of this fake war" will get more of my money?

I thought I was clear, but perhaps not. I don't really believe there's a war per se, but there's a definite movement to remove anything religious from just about everything public. I'm not sure how you can deny that, unless you live under a rock.

And THAT being said, let people try to remove it. As you said, I'm still free to sing whatever I want wherever I want, pretty much. Someone removing Silent Night, Holy Night from a school production doesn't change what I celebrate Christmas for. So if there IS a war being waged, it's a somewhat useless war.

 

[SummerMadness]

You highlighted "the same Christmas and Hanukkah music" - but what your district did really was just limit the "same Christmas and Hanukkah music" and took away some of the variety.

No they didn't limit anything.

Hmmm...are you sure that this has always been this way? After some research, I found that the superintendent of the school only posted the information online around 10/31 and that it did not apply to some other schools in the district. She has since rescinded that and has said that religious music will be allowed.

Bordentown Regional School District restores religious songs to concert - Burlington County Times: Burlington County | Local news | Breaking News

Perhaps your district is a different district?

You are correct. I thought you were referring to my school district where they switched from a holiday theme to a general winter concert. With my school system, Bill O'Reilly start whining on the air about a change that had been made in the mid-1990s. Having religious music in the winter actually limits variety and learning, do you know how annoying it is to stop playing your grade 5 music so we can play the same boring songs. Winter Wonderland is great and all, but it gets old after year one (you're talking to someone who played music in school for 10 years).

Can you explain how you think that the "purveyors of this fake war" will get more of my money?

Bill O'Reilly starts advertising this segment on his shows, he gets more viewers, he charges advertisers more money, he makes more money. Sarah Palin writes a book, people get duped into buying the book, she makes money. Websites write articles about the war, they get folks to share this propaganda through e-mail and web forums, their site traffic increases, they make more money. The purveyors of this fake war love repeat customers.

I thought I was clear, but perhaps not. I don't really believe there's a war per se, but there's a definite movement to remove anything religious from just about everything public. I'm not sure how you can deny that, unless you live under a rock.

And THAT being said, let people try to remove it. As you said, I'm still free to sing whatever I want wherever I want, pretty much. Someone removing Silent Night, Holy Night from a school production doesn't change what I celebrate Christmas for. So if there IS a war being waged, it's a somewhat useless war.

I think people are recognizing the fact that there are other people in this country (and increasingly a larger number of them) who do not follow Christianity, so using public schools and government buildings to promote one religion is a violation of their rights.

The government is not supposed to promote religion, be it Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Baha'i,Scientology, etc. There was a recent case in NC where they had a memorial for fallen soldiers and some official had raised a Christian flag above the memorial. Well, someone had a father who was not Christian, that memorial is for him too, and he did not want a religious flag up. It went to Court (because we all know how ignorant people can be about the law) and the city lost of course. But they came with a compromise: there was a raffle and you can fly any flag you want for a week, it will rotate. Well the person that sued got a week, and the other 51 people chose Christian flags. When the person got their week, let's just say he raised the Jolly Roger (I forget what he flew), someone tore down the flag and put up the Christian flag.

I do not think some Christians understand that not having your religion promoted is a sign of limitations or persecution, it is giving everyone equitable access and treatment in public space and government. When there are no religious symbols, no one is favored. And no symbols != atheism.

Now if they had this, you would have an argument.

 

[cow451]

I had to sit through a crappy movie Last Ounce of Courage a couple of weeks ago with some of my FoxCultNews-worshipping relatives. I didn't know what it was about when I accepted the invite, but when Bill O'Reilly showed up early in, I knew I was in for a long night. Besides the fake WOC and "Christian persecution" tripe, it was just a poorly-written, badly acted propaganda film from the Left Behind school of cinema.

If you get a chance to see it, pass.

 

[Armoured]

My Home Depot where I work has had their Christmas set up almost since we got our Halloween end-cap put up. The customers were a bit annoyed by it, but I have to admit, the kids LOVE it. They always get excited when they see it, regardless of when it goes up.

And that's partly why I love Christmas so much.

I've gotta say, I think having the tree up so early lessens the magic for the kids. Sure, my 7 year old was excited to first see the tree this weekend just gone, but you think she's going to maintain that level of excitement for the next 2 months? By the time its actually Christmas, all the decorations and Christmas marketing will have pretty much become a constant unremarked background buzz.

I know what they say about nostalgia, but I remember the Christmas period from when I was a kid being a highly intense couple of weeks, rather than a long and drawn out thing that went for almost a quarter of the year. I only hope that when she grows up she'll have the same fondness for her memories of Christmas today as I have for my memories of Christmas then.