Just Leave Christmas Alone

Charles Krauthammer seems to be very confused about Christmas, and about Hanukah for that matter.

One the one hand, he urges that "the usual platoon of annoying pettifoggers" stop trying to strip Christmas of Christian content, by pretending that it is merely a secular or commercial holiday. On the other hand, he asserts that those who are "steeped in the richness of their own religious tradition, know who they are and are not threatened by Christians celebrating their religion in public." Which is it: Are we "pettifoggers" trying to make Christmas non-Christian, or are we trying to stop the majority government from tacitly endorsing Christianity by celebrating a Christian holiday?

On the one hand, he says that a mall manager is wrong to claim that Hanukah is a celebration of a military victory, insisting that it celebrates a religious miracle. On the other hand, he opines that "American culture has gone out of its way to inflate the importance of Hanukah, easily the least important of Judaism's seven holidays, into a giant event replete with cards, presents and public commemorations as a creative way to give Jews their Christmas equivalent." Which is it: Is Hanukah an important religious celebration of a miracle, or is it a minor military festival that's been put on religious steroids to compete with Christian Christmas?

On the one hand, Krauthammer tries to draw out a double-standard, writing that "Broward and Fashion malls in South Florida put up a Hanukah menorah but no nativity scene." On the other hand, he fails to mention whether the malls have other symbols of Christmas, such as Christmas trees and Santa Clauses. (Surely they do.) Again, which is it: Is Christmas a Christian holiday, or are Santa Claus and Christmas trees just commercial logos?

We non-Christians (a group that includes both Krauthammer and myself) are not at all trying to "de-Christianize" Christmas. You don't hear from many Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc. who think that Christmas is a secular holiday. I am keenly aware of the religious basis of Christmas. It is precisely for that reason that I am concerned about certain sorts of government sanctioning of Christmas, namely in schools and courthouses. I have no qualms whatsoever about public displays of religion, and I enjoy the celebrations of my friends and family members of multiple faiths. Christmas is more than in the air, it is all around me and pervades our culture. It is, as Krauthammer notes, a national holiday;whereas we have no national holidays that celebrate holy days of any religion other than Christianity. But there is a difference between malls, parks and squares, and public schools and courthouses. I am not urging, or even asking, that the "overwhelming majority of this country stifle its religious impulses in public." But I am demanding that they not force their religion on children in schools.

By ignoring the differences between malls and schools, Krauthammer's column only fuels the right-wing conspiracy theory that liberals want to encroach upon religious freedom, when nothing could be further from the truth. Worse, he is inching toward their rhetoric of "suppressed majority." I don't care whether the religious right swung this past election, but you better believe they are flexing their muscles now. Where you hear the language of "suppressed majority"--which, I predict, we are about to hear quite a bit--then you know to look around and see whose rights are being trampled. By buying into this line of thinking, Krauthammer's attempt at holiday goodwill turns into a dangerous dropping of the protection of liberties.

Happy holidays. To all.