Just What Are We Celebrating?

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

After spending days searching the local stores for a new nativity set, I gave up and ordered one on eBay. As I rode around Staten Island looking at the many homes lit up for the season, I counted on one hand those that had a religious theme.

There were snowmen, Homer Simpson Santas, reindeer, and plastic blow-up carousels, but very few crèches or outdoor Holy Family figures. Of course, how stupid of me to forget that we now celebrate winter solstice — not Christmas.

Exactly when did this season start going kaboom? When did it lose its true meaning of peace on earth and good will to all? In light of the recent death threats against that poor rabbi in Seattle, there are some who will blame Jews for the campaigns against Christmas. They are so wrong.

After Rabbi Elazer Bogomilsky requested that a menorah be put up in the Seattle airport, those who run the airport decided that rather than get into a battle over the political correctness of equal time for all religions, they would take down the 14 Christmas trees already in place. The rabbi received hate mail, even though he insisted the removal of the trees was not his purpose in requesting the menorah, which he had planned to provide himself. Nevertheless, the hypocrites popped up, insisting we keep the Christmas season holy even while hurling vile curses at another human being. Fortunately, after the rabbi appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor” and got the opportunity to explain his position, the Christmas trees were put back in place.

Christ is the reason for the season, and for time immemorial it was a joyous occasion celebrated by people of all faiths. The anti-Semites who blame the Jews for the war against Christmas are targeting the wrong individuals. Religious Jews have never objected to our celebration. After all, Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas,” and most of the great Christmas films of old were made by Hollywood studios headed by Jews.

My Jewish neighbors in Spanish Harlem (yes, there are poor Jews, too, folks) used to join in during the festive time of the year and gave us gifts of fresh-baked Challah bread on Christmas morning.

As usual, Jews are being made the scapegoats for an anti-Christmas campaign that is actually spearheaded by secularists who consider anything remotely religious as tantamount to promoting a theocracy. In fact, unfunny comic Bill Maher, in an interview with Larry King, said that we’re now living in one. Oh, please. Given our societal decadence and cultural amorality, it would be the most inept theocracy in history.

Why not just accept the fact that we are living in an age when the majority of Americans believe in God but cannot profess their faith in public. The early Christians hid their celebration of the birth of Christ within the pagan feast of Saturnalia, and we must now make sure we’re not offending anyone with our Christmas symbols.

Bill Donohue of the Catholic League issued a press release earlier this month announcing the exposure of the “Diversity Hoax.” He says: “The diversity hoax is being sold as a rationale to nullify Christmas. It’s also because the multicultural industry is big business.”

He cites the fact that America has more Christians than any other nation in history, according to a study by a Boston University professor, Stephen Prothero. A Hoover Institute scholar, Dinesh D’Souza, says, “America is no more diverse today than it was in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.”

In these troubled days, there is actually a need for spirituality that may not be heeded by the retailers. While I couldn’t find a nativity set I could afford to put outside my house, I was delighted when I read that the pastor of Blessed Sacrament church had ordered 500 simple lawn signs featuring a silhouetted Holy Family. All 500 signs were distributed in a day. He ordered 300 more, and they were gobbled up as well. He’s ordered another 300, and residents are lining up to get them.

I would have no problem with the secular celebration of the season if we were at least being honest about it. If we’re taking Jesus out of the picture, then why on earth are we still giving each other gifts? By all means, let’s light up the winter sky with colored bulbs and icicles and leave them up until springtime. A winter festival’s a great idea. Let’s do it like Quebec City and have a month-long winter carnival, but meanwhile let’s restrict the gift-giving to those who really want to emulate the Magi celebrating the birth of the Messiah, God’s gift to mankind.

Somehow, I don’t think the retail industry would be too happy about that.


The New York Sun

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