2008 War On Christmas Has Begun

[red states rule]

As usual, the annual war on Christmas has started - and it sems more andmore people are getting fed up with Christmas being attacked year after year


New York Christmas Boat Parade Changes Name, Loses Fans
Monday, November 24, 2008

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — An annual parade of boats on a Long Island river that dropped "Christmas" from its name has apparently lost lots of supporters.

About 1,000 people showed up Sunday for the Patchogue Boat Parade of Lights. That's 500 fewer than usually showed up when it was called the Patchogue Christmas Boat Parade.

Brookhaven-based fireworks company Fireworks by Grucci dropped its sponsorship after the Greater Patchogue Foundation removed "Christmas" from the parade's name. The change was made after some residents complained the name wasn't inclusive enough.

Grucci vice president Philip Butler opposes the secularization of Christmas. His supporters encouraged area residents to stay away from the parade on Patchogue River.

Organizers say the parade still was a success.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,456585,00.html

[red states rule]

and this from liberal academia


SW Fla. college bans holiday decorations
THE NEWS-PRESS OF FORT MYERS • November 25, 2008

FORT MYERS — Christmas is just a month away, but Santa Claus won't be stopping by Florida Gulf Coast University this holiday, FLORIDA TODAY news partner The News-Press of Fort Myers reports.

He's not allowed on campus.

FGCU administration has banned all holiday decorations from common spaces on campus and canceled a popular greeting card design contest, which is being replaced by an ugly sweater competition. In Griffin Hall, the university's giving tree for needy preschoolers has been transformed into a "giving garden."

The moves boil down to political correctness.

"Public institutions, including FGCU, often struggle with how best to observe the season in ways that honor and respect all traditions," President Wilson Bradshaw wrote in a memo to faculty and staff Thursday. "This is a challenging issue each year at FGCU, and 2008 is no exception. While it may appear at times that a vocal majority of opinion is the only view that is held, this is not always the case."

Bradshaw's directive struck a chord with FGCU employees. The Staff Advisory Council received 44 anonymous comments on the issue; all were against the ban on holiday decorations.

"It says people are very passionate about this," said council president Ruth Rodrigues, who also is director of auxiliary services. "The holidays are a joyous time, and they want to express themselves."

The council voted Monday to send administration a letter outlining employees' comments.

In Bradshaw's memo, he said the decision was not an "attempt to suppress expression of the holiday spirit." Staffers will be permitted to display holiday decorations on their desks, but not on their office doors or in common spaces. Traditional workplace Christmas parties are not an issue at FGCU.

"We don't generally have Christmas parties here," said Audrea Anderson, associate vice president for community relations and marketing. "There are end-of-the-semester parties or end-of-the-calendar-year parties. They are certainly not related to anyone's beliefs."

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/.../81125012/1086

[Des]

I'm not religious, and we celebrate Christmas...not as a religious holiday, though. I always thought we as a society were well-equipped to deal with the diverse, changing, and separate meanings of the holiday, and the holidays surrounding it. Why is Christmas so offensive? If anything, it's a cultural tradition. An American one...idk, sometimes political correctness can go way too far. It's not like the church down the street is coming into my house and telling me my version of Christmas is evil, lol...

[red states rule]

I'm not religious, and we celebrate Christmas...not as a religious holiday, though. I always thought we as a society were well-equipped to deal with the diverse, changing, and separate meanings of the holiday, and the holidays surrounding it. Why is Christmas so offensive? If anything, it's a cultural tradition. An American one...idk, sometimes political correctness can go way too far. It's not like the church down the street is coming into my house and telling me my version of Christmas is evil, lol...

Every year, the offended left strikes out at the holiday, and tries to impose their views on society

[Des]

Every year, the offended left strikes out at the holiday, and tries to impose their views on society

Hm, thats funny, I don't think real liberals would really care what other people choose to do with their "holiday time".

[red states rule]

Hm, thats funny, I don't think real liberals would really care what other people choose to do with their "holiday time".

Then why every year do liberals attack the holiday and want to remove the word "Christmas" from Christmas?

[Kathianne]

Hm, thats funny, I don't think real liberals would really care what other people choose to do with their "holiday time".

Agreed. So there must be many of 'non real' liberals? For there are more and more attacks each year.

[red states rule]

To the left, there is only one group responsible...


Christians Ruining Christmas for Everyone

The folks here at Seattle Hemp Products are all in a titter over the holidays. There will be no tittering in my cubicle this year, though. As chairman of the company's morale committee, I've been charged with the dreaded task of planning an office "holiday party" that is both festive, and inclusive of all people of all faiths.

Except Christians. In past years, we've had problems with Christian extremists going nuts and wishing people a "Merry Christmas" despite being strictly warned not to, so we decided to exclude them entirely from this year's event. I had a cunning and quite hilarious plan to issue bogus invitations with phony dates and locations to any suspected Christian employees, but CEO Tony "Sherm" Sherman nixed it. Too risky, he said. Some clever Jesus freak might get wise to the scheme and crash the party. They might start singing "Christmas Carols" or mention Christ - a clear violation of the Separation of Church and State. So we all agreed it would be best to simply fire the Christians rather than risk them ruining anybody's Christmas.

I put human resources diva Christina Draper in charge of refreshments, provided she change her first name to something less offensive. Teena suggested we go potluck, but that never works because everyone always brings corn chips and twinkies. A few bad apples might even bring religiously-themed food, such as christmas tree cookies or egg nog, and then all hell would break loose. So after weighing the risks and costs, I decided to scrap the food this year. If anyone is hungry, there's a Denny's right across the street.

Entertainment posed another problem. We hired a lounge singer one year, but he freaked out in the middle of Bob Seger's "Hollywood Nights" and spontaneously segued into "O Holy Night". Several non-Christian employees were seriously offended before we were able to tackle the bastard to the ground and toss him out of the building. So no entertainment, either. Thanks, biblethumpers, for sucking even more joy out of the hoilidays!

Gone also is the traditional, yet highly offensive, arrival of Santa Claus and gift exchange portion of the evening. I can't begin to list all the religious connotations regarding jolly ol' "Saint Nick". So instead of Santa arriving on his "sleigh" and passing out presents to all the employees' children, I thought it would be neat to have a homeless person stagger in, lay a guilt trip on everybody, and then pass out. The boss put a kibosh on that one as well, unfortunately. What if the bum turned out to be a Christian? In his drunkeness, he might start proselytzing to the kiddies. They might get weird ideas into their heads. They might start voting Republican and beating up gays. So with heavy heart, we agreed to ban children from the party altogether for their own safety.

Lastly, and most importantly, was what to name the event. "Christmas Party" was out of the question for obvious reasons. "Holiday Party" implied that there was a holiday to celebrate, which pointed a gnarled finger right back at Christmas. So after much deliberation, we all agreed on "Mandatory Staff Meeting". It's simple, politically correct, and has the ACLU's seal of approval.


http://blamebush.typepad.com/blamebu...ians_ruin.html

[avatar4321]

Hm, thats funny, I don't think real liberals would really care what other people choose to do with their "holiday time".

Thats because they are really socialist totaliterians.

[red states rule]

Thats because they are really socialist totaliterians.

and because they hate America and everything it stands for, except of course the Office of the President Elect, that is sacred.

[Des]

and because they hate America and everything it stands for, except of course the Office of the President Elect, that is sacred.

I'm sorry, I just don't buy any of what you are saying. I'm liberal. A lot of my views match pretty closely some conservative views, but I identify with the more liberal side. Most of the people I know with the same attitude concerning politics, ect as me don't really care what other people do to celebrate whatever holiday they want to celebrate. In fact, I know quite a few "liberals" who try to teach their children about holiday traditions other than their own.

I don't think taking political correctness too far is a liberal trait. Just like I don't think the whole "global warming" issue is a liberal trait, either. I think the same exact types of people are behind the scenes, inwardly enjoying the fact that there is some sort of war between two groups of people who, in reality, want the same basic things. Just like the people who pollute the enviroment and try to sell carbon credits to "save it" are the exact same people with different public faces, the people who try to push their religious beliefs on others and the ones who try to do away with Christmas are the exact same people. If you take out the details and look at the big picture, things aren't so black and white. Most people just want to enjoy their lives and be left alone. Some people want to make money off the rest of us any way they can, and THOSE people are the ones ruining everything. They aren't liberal, and they aren't conservative, although they may try to get people on opposite ends of the spectrum to buy into their b.s. sometimes. They are the same people. The so-called "fake" conservatives and "fake" liberals.

[Abbey Marie]

Go here: http://www.wmamc.com/ and buy a button or magnetic bumper sticker that says, "It's OK to Wish Me a Merry Christmas". Mine will be on my car all of December.

[Joe Steel]

We demand the Solstice be returned.

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with "Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its Pagan nature is still strong and apparent. Pagans today can readily re-Paganize Christmastime and the secular New Year by giving a Pagan spiritual focus to existing holiday customs and by creating new traditions that draw on ancient ways. Here are some ways to do this:

Celebrating Winter Solstice

[5stringJeff]

We demand the Solstice be returned.

Celebrate the Solstice if you want. Nothing's stopping you. In fact, you could even wish people a happy solstice. That's the beauty of freedom of religion - no one can tell you what to believe!!

[avatar4321]

We demand the Solstice be returned.

Was the Solstice stolen? Last time i checked, it's the same day it is every year